My tank Plumbing - Page 2

dimasv · 08/07/2017, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnsreefer

Where did you get the red pvc. Looks sharp!

bulk reef supply

dimasv · 08/17/2017, 07:13 PM

Finally plumbing for tank is done. Still working on plumbing to deliver water after that can do leak test. I used silicone on all the bulkheads. Replaced main valves with gate valves. Hopefully it will all work out.

fishyguy7 · 08/18/2017, 06:01 AM

You said you used silicone on the bulkheads. Do you mean silicone oring lubricant or silicone adhesive ? Plumbing looks great !!! Good luck with the leak test !

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimasv

Finally plumbing for tank is done. Still working on plumbing to deliver water after that can do leak test. I used silicone on all the bulkheads. Replaced main valves with gate valves. Hopefully it will all work out.

dimasv · 08/18/2017, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishyguy7

You said you used silicone on the bulkheads. Do you mean silicone oring lubricant or silicone adhesive ? Plumbing looks great !!! Good luck with the leak test !

I used this one is that a mistake?

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-st...-10.1-oz..html

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

dimasv · 08/18/2017, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishyguy7

You said you used silicone on the bulkheads. Do you mean silicone oring lubricant or silicone adhesive ? Plumbing looks great !!! Good luck with the leak test !

I put silicone between the gasket and glass, aswell as between the nut and glass. Is this really wrong, would u suggest to redo it ?

der_wille_zur_macht · 08/18/2017, 11:13 AM

Silicone isn't inherently bad on a bulkhead but it is unnecessary and can cause problems. If you ever need to replace that bulkhead it will be a lot more work than if you hadn't glued it in. Also the silicone can lubricate the gasket to the point that it squeezes out when the bulkhead is tightened and causes a leak.

If you don't have leaks you might as well leave it as is for now.

dimasv · 08/18/2017, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht

Silicone isn't inherently bad on a bulkhead but it is unnecessary and can cause problems. If you ever need to replace that bulkhead it will be a lot more work than if you hadn't glued it in. Also the silicone can lubricate the gasket to the point that it squeezes out when the bulkhead is tightened and causes a leak.

If you don't have leaks you might as well leave it as is for now.

I guess I better replace them now when tank is empty. brr...

dimasv · 08/18/2017, 12:15 PM

Just curious. I removed the first bulkhead and silicone gets off easily. Can i use the same bulkhead or better order a new one?

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Lsufan · 08/18/2017, 05:58 PM

U can use the same bulkhead if u can get the silicone off. The gasket is what u may not be able to reuse. If u can get the silicone off the gasket without messing the gasket up then u can reuse both. U have to be careful not to damage the gasket.

Like der willie mentioned, it should be ok with the silicone. The issue is if u ever have a leak & need to replace the bulkhead it will be hard to do.

The bulkhead gasket is all that is needed on the bulkhead

dimasv · 08/18/2017, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsufan

U can use the same bulkhead if u can get the silicone off. The gasket is what u may not be able to reuse. If u can get the silicone off the gasket without messing the gasket up then u can reuse both. U have to be careful not to damage the gasket.

Like der willie mentioned, it should be ok with the silicone. The issue is if u ever have a leak & need to replace the bulkhead it will be hard to do.

The bulkhead gasket is all that is needed on the bulkhead

Thank you for your reply. Already took of all the bulkheads. wasnt easy had to buy wrench. The silicone came off very easy of the bulkhead and gasket even easier. Gaskets looks new so no damage, so I guess I will set them up back tomorrow no silicone this time.

danferd2002 · 08/19/2017, 02:02 AM

Finger tight should be all you need, no wrench.

Benar · 08/19/2017, 02:48 AM

It looks nice and clean.

As a plumber; I see $$ in all the extra fittings.
For your pump line. Tee's are the greatest restriction to flow, followed by 88/90degrees. That Y junction that feeds off to the reactors and tank, I would swap direction so the straight line of the y feeds the tank and the branch line feeds the reactors. Water wants to take the easiest path, and that's straight.
What's that junction that feeds back down to the pump chamber for? I missed that sorry.

All in all, nice. It will work. It is what it is!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

dimasv · 08/19/2017, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benar

It looks nice and clean.

As a plumber; I see $$ in all the extra fittings.
For your pump line. Tee's are the greatest restriction to flow, followed by 88/90degrees. That Y junction that feeds off to the reactors and tank, I would swap direction so the straight line of the y feeds the tank and the branch line feeds the reactors. Water wants to take the easiest path, and that's straight.
What's that junction that feeds back down to the pump chamber for? I missed that sorry.

All in all, nice. It will work. It is what it is!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you. The idea behind that pipe that feeds back to sump is when I need to clean the sump, I shut valves to DT, and open this one to simply circulate the water. Clean sump with powerheads and let it circulate for about 30 mins let skimmer do the job. At least thats the idea, if it will work or not will see but wanted to try

Lsufan · 08/19/2017, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benar

It looks nice and clean.

As a plumber; I see $$ in all the extra fittings.
For your pump line. Tee's are the greatest restriction to flow, followed by 88/90degrees. That Y junction that feeds off to the reactors and tank, I would swap direction so the straight line of the y feeds the tank and the branch line feeds the reactors. Water wants to take the easiest path, and that's straight.
What's that junction that feeds back down to the pump chamber for? I missed that sorry.

All in all, nice. It will work. It is what it is!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with u because what u said is true. But I would keep the Y facing how it is. I think u may have missed that he has another return after the manifold. He will probably end up having to close the valve some on the return that isn't on the manifold line to create some head pressure to feed the manifold & the other return. Half the lines he has the valve will stay completely closed because he will only use them for maintenance.

Alot of the op's issue, especially on the drains was the hieght difference between tank & sump. He doesn't have much of a difference hieght wise between the tank & sump. So he had to use 90's in places where 45's would have been better.

dimasv · 08/20/2017, 09:51 AM

Hi guys. Ok i setup everything without silicone and now testing for leaks. As i am very new to this what is the level of water supposed to be in sump compare to buffles?

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dimasv · 08/20/2017, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsufan

The valve on the syphon will be partially closed. U adjust the valve so the water level in the overflow is the height u want it. So by closing the valve it will raise the water in the overflow & by opening the valve it will drop the water level inside the overflow. If u leave the valve fully opened it will more then likely kick in & out of syphon. It will syphon all the water out of the overflow box & suck air & break the syphon. Once the overflow fills again it will start a syphon again & drain all the water out of the box again & so forth. U want the open channel to only take a small amount of water. So u would tune the valve on the syphon until the water level inside the overflow box is just above the bottom of where the 2 90's connect to each other on the open channel standpipe.

When u start the system for the first time I would have the valve on the syphon fully open. Once the water gets circulating through the system slowly close the valve until the water raises in the overflow box. It will take u a few minutes to get it to not kick in & out of syphon & emptying the overflow box. At first just adjust the valve so the water stays stable inside the overflow box. Once u get that u can start fine tuning the valve to get the water level inside the overflow to where u want it. U adjust the water level to where the open channel only has a small amount of water going through it. The open channel will be loud if it has to much flow. Once u get it stabilized if it is loud & u have bubbles entering the sump from the open channel then it means u need to open the valve on the syphon a small amount to lower the water level because the open channel has to much flow.

The system will more then likely work how it is, but changing to 45's would definitely help. It will help the open channel be a little quieter also. If u do change them I would do it on both the syphon & open channel. If u change them don't use 2- 45's to make a 90. Install a 45 directly below your union & have the pvc run through the wall on a 45 degree angle. Once u get to where it needs to be put another 45 to get back square with the sump. So u would only use 2- 45's in the hole run. I would consider just cutting a square out of the wall for the plumbing if u go that route. It doesn't have to be big but big enough to run both drains through. On the open channel I would turn it to where it is aiming to the section of the sump it is entering. So instead of coming straight through the wall then having to 90 over to get it to the sump, have the 45 that is below the union facing the section of the sump it will enter. That is one good thing about the union below the bulkheads. U can turn it to where the plumbing is facing where u want it to. By doing that u can plumb it almost identical to the syphon & would only have 2- 45's in the run. Plumbing wise, the open channel & syphon need to be configured as similar to each other as possible. By doing that they will be.

It looks like it is going to be tight to try to change to 45's unless u remove the unions or lower the sump. They make a street 45 that one end will slide into the union. That will save some room & may give u just enough. At the very least I would go ahead & turn the open channel to where it's a straight shot to the sump. That will atleast eliminate one 90.

At the very least I would put a gate valve on the syphon & gate valves on the manifold. U can get away with the ball valves everywhere else.

Trying to follow your guide ti setup the water level. So I have the pump at the very low speed. Fully opened full siphon. The water level in overflow goes up and down up and down making lots of noise. So I started to close it almost completely, this is when it stabilized. So now if I turn on the pump full speed, I have to adjust it again correct ? If yes, lets say I adjust it at full speed, what would happen when it goes into the feeding mode ?

dimasv · 08/20/2017, 05:57 PM

ok finally got it resolved. Man that thing is quite ! Turned on pump at full speed, closed main valve a bit, and its done, had a bit more bubbles from open channel, opened a bit, and no bubbles now. In which chamber is the best to have ATO ?

Lsufan · 08/21/2017, 09:51 PM

U put the ato sensor in the return section. The skimmer section & fuge will always stay the same hieght because of the baffles. So the evaporation makes the return section flunctuate. By having the ato in the return section everything should stay stable.

I would stick to one speed on the return pump so u don't have to constantly adjust the valve. Every time u change speeds u will have to adjust it. U shouldn't have to do anything about feed mode. When it turns back on the water in the overflow will rise above normal until the syphon purges the air & kicks in. Once it kicks in it will be back to how it was before u turned your pump off. U shouldn't have to adjust the valve. That is one of the many great things about a bean animal, u should very rarely have to adjust the valve. I don't ever have to adjust mine, it has been over a year since I touched it & may be even longer then that.

As far as how much water to run in the sump. I would set it up to where the water in the return section is just barely lower then the fuge section. So the water would only fall 1/4" to 1/2" over the baffle for the return section. If the system is running in the picture then I would remove a little water from the sump so the water is barely falling over the baffle. From the pic it looks like u would lower it by about 1". By doing that it will keep the surface of the water a little agitated & keep any film from building up on the surface. It will also give u a little more room for the extra water that drains to the sump when u turn the return pump off.

I'm glad u got it going with no issues & I hope I explained how to get it dialed in well enough so it helped. I didn't see your posts yesterday so I know I'm probably a little late. Looks like u got it figured out though

dimasv · 08/22/2017, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsufan

U put the ato sensor in the return section. The skimmer section & fuge will always stay the same hieght because of the baffles. So the evaporation makes the return section flunctuate. By having the ato in the return section everything should stay stable.

I would stick to one speed on the return pump so u don't have to constantly adjust the valve. Every time u change speeds u will have to adjust it. U shouldn't have to do anything about feed mode. When it turns back on the water in the overflow will rise above normal until the syphon purges the air & kicks in. Once it kicks in it will be back to how it was before u turned your pump off. U shouldn't have to adjust the valve. That is one of the many great things about a bean animal, u should very rarely have to adjust the valve. I don't ever have to adjust mine, it has been over a year since I touched it & may be even longer then that.

As far as how much water to run in the sump. I would set it up to where the water in the return section is just barely lower then the fuge section. So the water would only fall 1/4" to 1/2" over the baffle for the return section. If the system is running in the picture then I would remove a little water from the sump so the water is barely falling over the baffle. From the pic it looks like u would lower it by about 1". By doing that it will keep the surface of the water a little agitated & keep any film from building up on the surface. It will also give u a little more room for the extra water that drains to the sump when u turn the return pump off.

I'm glad u got it going with no issues & I hope I explained how to get it dialed in well enough so it helped. I didn't see your posts yesterday so I know I'm probably a little late. Looks like u got it figured out though

You were more then helpful I really appreciate that. Learned a lot !
So to keep pump at one speed what speed you keep ? 100% or maybe 50 % what does it depends on ?

Lsufan · 08/22/2017, 05:20 PM

It depends how much flow u want thru the sump. What gph is the pump rated at & what size tank is it that u have? Most people shoot for between 5 to 10 times turnover with 10 times being on the higher end. So a 100 gallon tank u would want between 500 & 1000 gph flowing through the sump. I like a little higher turnover so I have both of my systems at about 7 to 8 times turnover. So on a 100 gallon tank that would be 700 to 800 gph.

I was just saying that u don't want to be changing speeds on the pump because everytime u do u will have to adjust the drain. I would lean towards just keeping it at 100 percent but I can't say without knowing the size of the tank. The M1 isn't great with pressure so with how u have everything plumbed u may not get but around 500 gph from it

dimasv · 08/26/2017, 08:23 AM

Small thing i see now while testing the power outage is when power gets back on the water level in return section droping apx 5 cm below the ato level first. In 30 seks it gets back up. How do u guys handle such drops with ato? As i dont want it to pure water for those 30 seks. Should i create a hole maybe in my full siphon pipe for air?

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Lsufan · 08/26/2017, 06:11 PM

No, u don't need a hole in the syphon. There is no need if the drain is setup properly which I believe u are. There really is no getting around the water level dropping some when u turn it on. It will build up in the overflow box until the syphon gets started. A hole may help a small amount but I don't think it would make much difference. The only time I turn my return pumps off is when I do a water change or feed corals. I see no need to turn my pumps off when feeding. In fact it helps keep the food from settling until it is eaten. There really isn't much at all that may go into the overflow.

If u want to keep turning the return off u will need to find a way to turn the ato off until u start the system back up & the syphon is steady. I do turn my return off when I feed corals once or twice a week & I manually turn everything but the lights off. I wait to turn the ato on until the syphon is back steady. If u have a apex I'm sure u can turn off the ato with the apex & have it set to where it comes back on a few minutes after the return. If u don't have a apex u can just use a timer on the ato. Being your return pump has a controller u can put the ato on a timer & have it turn off for a hour each day the same time as the return

fishyguy7 · 08/27/2017, 02:00 AM

are you using a controller like a apex or reef keeper ? if so you can add defer option for your ATO so it won't start when the water level stabilizes. if no controller then you don't really have a option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimasv

Small thing i see now while testing the power outage is when power gets back on the water level in return section droping apx 5 cm below the ato level first. In 30 seks it gets back up. How do u guys handle such drops with ato? As i dont want it to pure water for those 30 seks. Should i create a hole maybe in my full siphon pipe for air?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

dimasv · 08/27/2017, 08:11 AM

I have plans to use APEX in future but dont have one yet. As for the feeding time Apex will work as u can program to shutoff diff equipment, but when we have a power outage APEX is down too in this case, not sure how would that work

Taking about timers u gave me a great idea. all I do is I will setup timer to turn on ATO every hour for 5 minutes. In this case there is a very small chance of power come back in exactly those 5 minutes. I think it should work.

Thank you

Lsufan · 08/27/2017, 12:54 PM

If the return turns of every day or multiple times daily then it may be a issue. If it is only once or twice a week then it really isn't a issue. I check my salinity about once a month & every once in a while my salinity will drop from 1.026 to 1.025 & I just turn off my ato for a day or two & top off with saltwater to get it back up. U definitely don't want it to have big swings in salinity so if u are using feed mode on the return daily a timer can work well. U can eighther set it up like u mentioned or set it up to where it turns off for a hour at the same time as the return.

Unless u have outages every day I really wouldn't worry about that. U will have to raise your salinity every once in a while anyways because of your skimmer. Your skimmer pulls out saltwater & it is replaced by freshwater from the ATO. In my case all I do is turn my ato off for a day or so about once a month & top off with saltwater. In my case that is enough to keep my salinity within .001 ppt which is about as stable as u can get.

I would check your salinity pretty often for a while until u see what your system is doing. Once u get a good baseline & figure out a good routine to keep it stable u will only need to test once a month or so. That really goes for all params & not only salinity. While u are cycling is a good time to get the salinity figured out so once the tank is cycled & u start adding livestock u will have the salinity stable & can move on to the other params.

08/17/2017, 07:13 PM	#27
dimasv Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Brampton ON Canada Posts: 73	Finally plumbing for tank is done. Still working on plumbing to deliver water after that can do leak test. I used silicone on all the bulkheads. Replaced main valves with gate valves. Hopefully it will all work out. __________________ 180gal starphire reef build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25040952

08/18/2017, 11:13 AM	#31
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Silicone isn't inherently bad on a bulkhead but it is unnecessary and can cause problems. If you ever need to replace that bulkhead it will be a lot more work than if you hadn't glued it in. Also the silicone can lubricate the gasket to the point that it squeezes out when the bulkhead is tightened and causes a leak. If you don't have leaks you might as well leave it as is for now. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

08/18/2017, 12:15 PM	#33
dimasv Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Brampton ON Canada Posts: 73	Just curious. I removed the first bulkhead and silicone gets off easily. Can i use the same bulkhead or better order a new one? Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk __________________ 180gal starphire reef build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25040952

08/20/2017, 09:51 AM	#40
dimasv Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Brampton ON Canada Posts: 73	Hi guys. Ok i setup everything without silicone and now testing for leaks. As i am very new to this what is the level of water supposed to be in sump compare to buffles? Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk __________________ 180gal starphire reef build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25040952

08/20/2017, 05:57 PM	#42
dimasv Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Brampton ON Canada Posts: 73	ok finally got it resolved. Man that thing is quite ! Turned on pump at full speed, closed main valve a bit, and its done, had a bit more bubbles from open channel, opened a bit, and no bubbles now. In which chamber is the best to have ATO ? __________________ 180gal starphire reef build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25040952

08/18/2017, 05:58 PM	#34
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	U can use the same bulkhead if u can get the silicone off. The gasket is what u may not be able to reuse. If u can get the silicone off the gasket without messing the gasket up then u can reuse both. U have to be careful not to damage the gasket. Like der willie mentioned, it should be ok with the silicone. The issue is if u ever have a leak & need to replace the bulkhead it will be hard to do. The bulkhead gasket is all that is needed on the bulkhead

08/19/2017, 02:02 AM	#36
danferd2002 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 882	Finger tight should be all you need, no wrench.

08/19/2017, 02:48 AM	#37
Benar Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Auckland, NZ Posts: 335	It looks nice and clean. As a plumber; I see $$ in all the extra fittings. For your pump line. Tee's are the greatest restriction to flow, followed by 88/90degrees. That Y junction that feeds off to the reactors and tank, I would swap direction so the straight line of the y feeds the tank and the branch line feeds the reactors. Water wants to take the easiest path, and that's straight. What's that junction that feeds back down to the pump chamber for? I missed that sorry. All in all, nice. It will work. It is what it is! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/21/2017, 09:51 PM	#43
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	U put the ato sensor in the return section. The skimmer section & fuge will always stay the same hieght because of the baffles. So the evaporation makes the return section flunctuate. By having the ato in the return section everything should stay stable. I would stick to one speed on the return pump so u don't have to constantly adjust the valve. Every time u change speeds u will have to adjust it. U shouldn't have to do anything about feed mode. When it turns back on the water in the overflow will rise above normal until the syphon purges the air & kicks in. Once it kicks in it will be back to how it was before u turned your pump off. U shouldn't have to adjust the valve. That is one of the many great things about a bean animal, u should very rarely have to adjust the valve. I don't ever have to adjust mine, it has been over a year since I touched it & may be even longer then that. As far as how much water to run in the sump. I would set it up to where the water in the return section is just barely lower then the fuge section. So the water would only fall 1/4" to 1/2" over the baffle for the return section. If the system is running in the picture then I would remove a little water from the sump so the water is barely falling over the baffle. From the pic it looks like u would lower it by about 1". By doing that it will keep the surface of the water a little agitated & keep any film from building up on the surface. It will also give u a little more room for the extra water that drains to the sump when u turn the return pump off. I'm glad u got it going with no issues & I hope I explained how to get it dialed in well enough so it helped. I didn't see your posts yesterday so I know I'm probably a little late. Looks like u got it figured out though

08/22/2017, 05:20 PM	#45
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	It depends how much flow u want thru the sump. What gph is the pump rated at & what size tank is it that u have? Most people shoot for between 5 to 10 times turnover with 10 times being on the higher end. So a 100 gallon tank u would want between 500 & 1000 gph flowing through the sump. I like a little higher turnover so I have both of my systems at about 7 to 8 times turnover. So on a 100 gallon tank that would be 700 to 800 gph. I was just saying that u don't want to be changing speeds on the pump because everytime u do u will have to adjust the drain. I would lean towards just keeping it at 100 percent but I can't say without knowing the size of the tank. The M1 isn't great with pressure so with how u have everything plumbed u may not get but around 500 gph from it Last edited by Lsufan; 08/22/2017 at 05:27 PM.

08/26/2017, 08:23 AM	#46
dimasv Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Brampton ON Canada Posts: 73	Small thing i see now while testing the power outage is when power gets back on the water level in return section droping apx 5 cm below the ato level first. In 30 seks it gets back up. How do u guys handle such drops with ato? As i dont want it to pure water for those 30 seks. Should i create a hole maybe in my full siphon pipe for air? Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk __________________ 180gal starphire reef build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25040952

08/26/2017, 06:11 PM	#47
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	No, u don't need a hole in the syphon. There is no need if the drain is setup properly which I believe u are. There really is no getting around the water level dropping some when u turn it on. It will build up in the overflow box until the syphon gets started. A hole may help a small amount but I don't think it would make much difference. The only time I turn my return pumps off is when I do a water change or feed corals. I see no need to turn my pumps off when feeding. In fact it helps keep the food from settling until it is eaten. There really isn't much at all that may go into the overflow. If u want to keep turning the return off u will need to find a way to turn the ato off until u start the system back up & the syphon is steady. I do turn my return off when I feed corals once or twice a week & I manually turn everything but the lights off. I wait to turn the ato on until the syphon is back steady. If u have a apex I'm sure u can turn off the ato with the apex & have it set to where it comes back on a few minutes after the return. If u don't have a apex u can just use a timer on the ato. Being your return pump has a controller u can put the ato on a timer & have it turn off for a hour each day the same time as the return

08/27/2017, 08:11 AM	#49
dimasv Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Brampton ON Canada Posts: 73	I have plans to use APEX in future but dont have one yet. As for the feeding time Apex will work as u can program to shutoff diff equipment, but when we have a power outage APEX is down too in this case, not sure how would that work Taking about timers u gave me a great idea. all I do is I will setup timer to turn on ATO every hour for 5 minutes. In this case there is a very small chance of power come back in exactly those 5 minutes. I think it should work. Thank you __________________ 180gal starphire reef build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25040952

08/27/2017, 12:54 PM	#50
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	If the return turns of every day or multiple times daily then it may be a issue. If it is only once or twice a week then it really isn't a issue. I check my salinity about once a month & every once in a while my salinity will drop from 1.026 to 1.025 & I just turn off my ato for a day or two & top off with saltwater to get it back up. U definitely don't want it to have big swings in salinity so if u are using feed mode on the return daily a timer can work well. U can eighther set it up like u mentioned or set it up to where it turns off for a hour at the same time as the return. Unless u have outages every day I really wouldn't worry about that. U will have to raise your salinity every once in a while anyways because of your skimmer. Your skimmer pulls out saltwater & it is replaced by freshwater from the ATO. In my case all I do is turn my ato off for a day or so about once a month & top off with saltwater. In my case that is enough to keep my salinity within .001 ppt which is about as stable as u can get. I would check your salinity pretty often for a while until u see what your system is doing. Once u get a good baseline & figure out a good routine to keep it stable u will only need to test once a month or so. That really goes for all params & not only salinity. While u are cycling is a good time to get the salinity figured out so once the tank is cycled & u start adding livestock u will have the salinity stable & can move on to the other params.