PSXerholic
Supporting Member
Guys,
let's talk about a New School Era type of Water change system I have tested now since a short while ;-))))))))
I used some parts of the old system since it's still installed ;-)
The Video below is my traditional semi-automated Water change system explained and shown, that I have used for quite some time until I had an issue with it and stopped using some time last year.
So what I have done the last few weeks, since I had the feeling after about 6-8 months of no water changes, that there were some exotic trace elements are missing that we probably can't find in any common Trace element mix.
Therefore I thought the easiest way is to do some Water changes :-(
But they are always a pain, even with my Semi automated system! I needed something easier.
NEW SCHOOL SETUP
So I installed a Salinity Controller, which I was looking for anyways since a while to really stabilize my Salinity on at least the higher end.
I simply use the Temperature compensated Salinity Probe of my APEX with a quick written code, which I operate my Waste Water Booster Pump with for a short period of time (1 Minute on / 10 minutes off) when a specific Salinity is exceeded.
Then I just start to increase Salinity with the Old fashion cup method, which is you just simply take a Jar and fill it up with dry salt and put it into the sump in an area with moderate flow and not too much turbulences.
The Salt actually dissolves over the period of time of about 12-18 hours and slowly increases the salinity.
Well, not in my case since the APEX pumps the water out of the tank, the ATO maintains the water level with RODI and dilutes the system until the Salinity level is reached.
Then I played a bit with my timers to keep fluctuations of Salinity in reasonable ranges, which is 0.1ppt right now.
I never could reach this low of a swing via a water changes btw, even not with the automated system.
So it takes about 12-18 hours to dissolve the amount of salt I would use for about 5-6 Gallons of fresh Saltwater.
Interesting is the Brands of Salt dissolve significantly. RC - 18hours TMP-12hours for the same amount.
The cup is completely empty at the end, no residue seen, so I guess there is not much precipitation going on with this method.
-Andre
If anyone is interested in the entire description and details of my old system, it's here:
http://www.marsh-reef.org/my-diy-pr...ystem-ato-reservoir-hd-video-description.html
[video=youtube;TjJ-PrHmuio]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjJ-PrHmuio[/video]
