Can i top up by too much in one go??

[Steo the great]

I top up with ro water once a week and its usually aout 25 litres in one go. And I have a 600 litre aquarium should i top up more regularity or is this ok

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Safer to top off small amounts of ro for there's no swing in salinity. Maybe try twice a week instead if once a week.

 

[mr_X]

I would do it daily. Get an auto top off. put a container of water in the stand and let it top off whenever necessary. Then fill the top off container once a week.

 

[Steo the great]

How do I figure out the daily amount though?

 

[mr_X]

How do you figure the weekly amount? Don't you fill the tank until it's full?

 

[Steo the great]

It's my sump levels that lower rather than my tank levels. Only time I know it's really low is when bubbles flow into the tank?

 

[mr_X]

That's late...so, basically you let the return pump start sucking air before you top off? I would draw a low and high line on the glass of the sump and look in there every so often. I would not let the pump run out of water. If you buy an auto top off, you can put the float switch at a certain height and it will turn the pump on every time it goes below that height.

 

[Steo the great]

I just don't think I'll be able to fit a barrel inside my sump and I can't get to the back or side of my tank it's fitted into an alcove.

But i will definitly draw on high and low lines.
Do the bubbles do any damage to anything? Other than salinity lowering?

 

[mr_X]

Well, running the pump out of water could be damaging to the pump itself.

 

[Steo the great]

Yeah. I just have a frog spawn coral and a hammer corals and it looks like something is biting them. And was just making sure it wasn't the bubbles in the water affecting them.

I tried everything to find the cause of this problem and really have come to an end.

 

[Dav3]

Basically turn off your return pump. Then fill your sump as much as you can without overflowing(allow some gap). Then turn on your return. When the water level in the sump stops dropping mark your sump. This is your absolute max fill line while the return is running.

Check everyday and fill to that line.

 

[Steo the great]

Basically turn off your return pump. Then fill your sump as much as you can without overflowing(allow some gap). Then turn on your return. When the water level in the sump stops dropping mark your sump. This is your absolute max fill line while the return is running.

Check everyday and fill to that line.

The thing is when I knock off my return. My display empties back into sump so I don't think this will work?

 

[Steo the great]

Tomorrow I'm actually gonna raise my emergency drain. Just invade my return pump ever fails my whole sitting room will be full of salt water. Thanks for the idea.

 

[mr_X]

Did you understand what Dav3 proposed? If too much water is draining into your sump, you need to find a way to limit that. I would keep the return line just below the surface of the display, or drill a hole in the line just below the surface, so it doesn't back siphon 5 inches of tank water into the sump.

 

[Steo the great]

I have an emergency drain and and then another return drain. One is just above the water line and the other way way below like half way down my display. I have raise that tomorrow and then ill knock off my return and fill the sump up to whatever else is needed.

 

[Steo the great]

Forget them two previously stupid things I've said.my weir prevents the tank from emptying.

So I've knocked off my return. And it doesn't overflow. And just reaches below my first baffle?

I should fill it so much that the water goes over the baffle should I?

 

[mr_X]

You should fill it so when running, the pump is submerged and there's no bubbles, and when off, the sump doesn't overflow.

 

[Steo the great]

Here's a picture of my sump setup.


Does it seem correct?

 

[mr_X]

Well, I like my return area separate from the refugium. Yours is part of it, since the last partition is raised up. Now the refugium area drops when the water evaporates. Not really a good idea IMO.

 

[Steo the great]

I don't have anything in my refuge im that can gonzo through the return though.

And I bought it like this and at the time didn't realise it was built wrong.

Can this still work?