Topping up tank

[PeterEde]

Recently via topping up I managed to get my salinity to 40ppm
I have since corrected this but have been wondering what people do when using ATO and skimmer.

So I replace my skimate with salt in equal amounts and the difference in level is RODI.

If you are going away and rely on ATO do you turn off the skimmer?

 

[Jbell370]

What size tank is it? I never add salt to account for my skimmer, only ATO, minor variation.

 

[PeterEde]

30 gal.
Using hanna salinity checker to ensure 35

 

[homer1475]

How much water is your skimmer pulling out?

Never in all my years of reefing have I had to account for skimmer pull when measuring salinity.

My salinity will slowly creep up over several months, but thats due more to dosing 2 part then what my skimmer pulls out.

Your ATO should be replacing what your skimmer pulls out. If anything your salinity should decrease, not increase if your skimming wet.

 

[blaxsun]

What size tank is it? I never add salt to account for my skimmer, only ATO, minor variation.

Over the course of a week my salinity does tend to trend downwards by around 0.1-0.2ppt just from emptying the skimmer, so topping up with a bit of pre-mixed saltwater is perfectly fine. Note that this is on a larger system, so on a smaller AIO you wouldn't necessarily need to do this (especially with frequent water changes).

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I plan on running a hose from my skimmer cup to a larger container just in case. My ato will be full and I will have 40 more gallons next to the top off tank.
D

 

[PeterEde]

How much water is your skimmer pulling out?

Never in all my years of reefing have I had to account for skimmer pull when measuring salinity.

My salinity will slowly creep up over several months, but thats due more to dosing 2 part then what my skimmer pulls out.

Your ATO should be replacing what your skimmer pulls out. If anything your salinity should decrease, not increase if your skimming wet.

No ato.
Skimmer takes nearly a liter (pint +1/2) a day.

 

[PeterEde]

On a 30gal tank I think my 120 mantis skimmer is too big.
A small change and it's over flow time.

 

[homer1475]

I think you might just be skimming too wet. I know it's tough in 30G(I used to own a biocube many moons ago), but try and tune it down a bit, and just replace loss with RO/DI.

On my 80G heavily stocked(13 fish) I only pull about a gallon of skimmate in a month.

 

[homer1475]

Just looked up that skimmer.......

Yes it's way oversized. lol

At a heavy bioload, it's rated for a 300L tank. Your tank is roughly 113L? Sorry I'm american and we use our own means to measure. lol

 

[PeterEde]

I think you might just be skimming too wet. I know it's tough in 30G(I used to own a biocube many moons ago), but try and tune it down a bit, and just replace loss with RO/DI.

On my 80G heavily stocked(13 fish) I only pull about a gallon of skimmate in a month.

I got 9 fish and Softies lps. Too wet for sure.
I'm stuck in a loop of adjusting skimmer.

 

[PeterEde]

Just looked up that skimmer.......

Yes it's way oversized. lol

At a heavy bioload, it's rated for a 300L tank. Your tank is roughly 113L? Sorry I'm american and we use our own means to measure. lol

The stock aqua one skimmer was way bigger.
Maybe I should try a cheap cube skimmer

 

[homer1475]

I got 9 fish and Softies lps. Too wet for sure.
I'm stuck in a loop of adjusting skimmer.

If your constantly fiddling with it, it's for sure way too big.

It took me a many skimmers to realize that a properly sized skimmer for your bioload, means you can set it and forget it.

Tunze makes some nice mini skimmers.

The aquamaxx hob1 is what I use to run on my biocube. Although large, it ran well. Think that got replaced with the HOB1.5?