Very confused on when top off
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JosephM
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Honestly after thinking it through. Until I get an ATO I’m planning on just topping off once or twice a day. Could I not just remove the sock and let the water stabilize and fill return chamber based on that. Because sump with no sock can’t fluctuate like a new sock and clogged sock can. Thoughts anyone?
((FORDTECH))
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Yes that would work. For first couple days you could pull sock up to let water stabilize then take measurement of how much you add on those days then just add the same amount from then on obviously every few days double checking.
Brett S
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Unfortunately, I think this is really kind of a design flaw with your sump. I think that any solution will require some modification.
You could redesign it to allow for more or larger filter socks. This way they wouldn’t clog as quickly.
Or you could raise the filter sock holder as some of the other posters have mentioned, so that when the socks clog it overflows into the next chamber and doesn’t significantly affect the water level in the return pump chamber.
Frankly, though, the better solution would probably be both.
Of course the other option is to ignore it, but depending on how much water you have in your system, this could cause salinity fluctuations, especially if you ever plan to get an auto top off.
You could redesign it to allow for more or larger filter socks. This way they wouldn’t clog as quickly.
Or you could raise the filter sock holder as some of the other posters have mentioned, so that when the socks clog it overflows into the next chamber and doesn’t significantly affect the water level in the return pump chamber.
Frankly, though, the better solution would probably be both.
Of course the other option is to ignore it, but depending on how much water you have in your system, this could cause salinity fluctuations, especially if you ever plan to get an auto top off.
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JosephM
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After some looking at it and testing between clogged and not clogged I don’t think it makes a huge difference. I tested water level and salinity after filling to each extent and they had very little variation in salinity and no risk of flooding in case of power outage. I will continue to monitor and hope to invest in an ATO in the future where I will have to adjust something again most likely.
Josh@BVA
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Ur return pump chamber should be the biggest concern. If other chambers fluctuate then u should keep ur return consistently filled and the rest will follow. Also ATO will eliminate all the confusion. Place sensor wherever ur return pump is. In my opinion the return is really all u should worry about.
Brett S
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Yes, I think it’s true that the return chamber is the one that needs to stay filled, but the potential problem is that depending on how much the water level is rising and how big the filter sock chamber is then it could be holding as much as a gallon or two of water. Which would mean that the ATO would add an extra gallon or two of fresh water to the tank, and depending on the size of the system that could make a significant difference in the salinity.
And then once the filter socks get changed and the water level in that chamber lowers again there will be an extra gallon or two of water in the return pump chamber which will stop the ATO from running until that extra water evaporates, again affecting the salinity.
It sounds like the OP measured his salinity at both extremes and is satisfied that there is not a big swing, so I think that in his case it’s safe to ignore it. But I don’t think that would be true in all cases and is something to consider.
Josh@BVA
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If you have this set on an ATO then you wont fluctuate more then like a cup of water at best. I dont think that you will find any solution with precision unless you install an ATO otherwise your always gunnna be a gallon or 2 off since evaporation will vary day to day and I doubt you will have exact measurements to avoid the issues your talking about. the return chamber is usually the first chamber to go low on water and the rest follow suit. chasing without an ATO is futile unless u dont mind a bit of fluctuation in water levels and that will result in the skimmer issues you are describing
