water evaporation question

[MiniQuaid]

hey everyone I know I've been posting a lot recently lol but I have a question a bout evaporating water and the salinity swing from it, so my ATO in my tank allows a gallon of water to evap before it fills it back up, using a calculator I realized that changes the salinity from 1.025 to 1.062 and then back down to 1.025 is this too much of a swing within a few days to keep the corals happy? any advice in modifying my current ATO sensor to make it a smaller gap?

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

What kind of ato sensor ? I had to make a bracket to lower my sensor down so it tops off sooner .

 

[MiniQuaid]

its a hydro smart level

 

[MiniQuaid]

hydor dumb auto correct

 

[lmm1967]

a gallon at a time seems like a lot to me. How large is your total water volume?

I have 4 ATOs (different tanks) and none of them put more than probably 2 - 3 cups of water at a time.

 

[MiniQuaid]

its a 20 gallon tall, so its a smaller tank what im thinking is that the ATO is meant for a larger tank so it has a bigger gap between top and bottom

 

[MiniQuaid]

I wish there was a way to make it only fill to the minimum instead of the max

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Is that sensor in the tank or a sump ?

 

[MiniQuaid]

I don't have a sump, so the sensor is in the tank

 

[CJD18]

At most it should just run a few seconds at a time just keeping it at set lvl

 

[CJD18]

Got a pic, it might be to deep in tank!!

 

[MiniQuaid]

I might have to get a new ATO then cuz this one only will run after it goes below minimum and fills to the max level and that's about a gallon in my tank.

 

[MiniQuaid]

here's a picture of it in my tank, the top prong is the alarm, the one at water level is the max and the minimum is below the water line

 

[CJD18]

Do you clean sensors often? any bubbles around them??

 

[MiniQuaid]

I clean the sensors every few days to get salt off and no bubbles

 

[dball711]

its a 20 gallon tall, so its a smaller tank what im thinking is that the ATO is meant for a larger tank so it has a bigger gap between top and bottom

I use these ATO’s on my tanks. Tanks size is not the issue, this ATO works for any tank size but it’s meant to be used in a sump (or rear chamber in an all in one). The Hydor sensor allows about 1/2” of water level fluctuation, not sure how much other sensors allow but another sensor might fit your needs better. In my 80g & 60g the 1/2” range translates to about 3-4 cups of water. Not enough to affect salinity. Any chance you can add something like the tune comline 3161. You could place the hydro sensor in the unit and 1/2” of level fluctuation would only be about 4-6 ounces. Just a thought.

 

[bzb]

Is this in a sump, or directly into the tank? Frequently squirting fresh water directly onto the corals seems like as much of a poor idea as allowing that big of a salinity swing.

If in the sump, I’d suggest creating a small chamber for your return that you can control the levels. If you have a 10G sump, that chamber would be around 1-2gal, so a one inch evap in that chamber would only represent a cup or two of water. Salinity swing would be much lower, and you could squirt the fresh water into the chamber with the skimmer, mixing it thoroughly before it’s pumped back into the DT.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

If it's let's say an inch gap between sensors and no adjustment. In your display you will have to loose that much water , ie 1 inch of surface water . If it was in a sump , being much smaller you would see less volume per active cycle . Looking at their site for a sec I see a lot mounted in sumps but not any in tank demos .

 

[ActiveAngel]

I think your calculations are off. Assuming a specific gravity of 1.025, on a 20 G tank. After 1 gallon of evaporation, your new specific gravity is 1.0263.

Assuming my phone math is correct. I could be wildly off.

nonetheless, you’re correct that trying to minimize these swings will help you immensely.

 

[MiniQuaid]

I think your calculations are off. Assuming a specific gravity of 1.025, on a 20 G tank. After 1 gallon of evaporation, your new specific gravity is 1.0263.

Assuming my phone math is correct. I could be wildly off.

nonetheless, you’re correct that trying to minimize these swings will help you immensely.

Lol that’s what I meant to put not 1.6 good lord!