Top Off Water

Oscar · #1 08-22-2008, 04:48 PM

I have had my auto top off running for about 2 months now. It is working quite well but I am seeing quite a drop in salinity in the tank.

I am attributing this drop to the skimmer water. The skimmer produces ~1 cup every two days while my top off is fresh RO. I am trying to keep salinity in ~35% range but it is now sitting ~33%.

I tried to partially bring the tank salinity back up during my last 10% water change by increasing the replacement water to ~40%. That helped slightly.

I think the other solution is to change my top off water to ~10% solution plus continue my water changes at a higher slainity until I get back into my target range.

How do others with small tanks and agressive skimmers dealing with salinity changes?

mseepman · #2 08-22-2008, 05:25 PM

I'm not sure I would mix your top off as that can quickly spiral out of control making the tank have too much salinity. I would say that most owners try to manage this through water changes.

Oscar · #3 08-22-2008, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

I'm not sure I would mix your top off as that can quickly spiral out of control making the tank have too much salinity. I would say that most owners try to manage this through water changes.

That is certainly something to watch for, but daily monitoring of the tank until it gets back into the target range should dodge that spiral.

slakker · #4 08-22-2008, 05:45 PM

What skimmer are u using, it sounds like it's skimming really wet? In my 72G, I get a cup every 4 or 5 days...

Oscar · #5 08-22-2008, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slakker

What skimmer are u using, it sounds like it's skimming really wet? In my 72G, I get a cup every 4 or 5 days...

It is indeed wet. It is a no-name pin-wheel skimmer that came with the tank, sort of looks like a Euroreef. Skimmate is a pale green tea. I would like to reduce the volume if possible.

slakker · #6 08-22-2008, 06:22 PM

Is there a way to adjust the bubble height? I have a Euroreef and they can be adjusted with the intake air or the water out flow to control the height... it tooks me about 2 weeks to really get the hang of it... but now the skim is the color of brown/dark green matcha tea...