00W's AIO Smorgasbord

[NanoSteam]

Guys I think I may have figured out why my ATO dumped water into my sump yesterday. A snail had gotten stuck in the drain pipe and caused one of the side compartments to fill with water which of course made the sump water level lower causing the ATO to kick on and keep running. I was organizing my little table beside the tank where I keep food and stuff and realized the compartment was almost full of water which it normally has very little water in it. I checked and sure enough found the snail shell. So any ideas how I can keep this from happening again? Could I make put plastic crafting mesh over the drain holes?

Yes, you can also cut something like a plastic mesh media bag (large micron) and drape over the overflow pipe and secure with a rubber band... that would be my bootleg fix

 

[Rocks reef]

Good morning all, have a beautiful day!

Good morning Steven

 

[kingranch2003]

East end and south shore of Long Island

You know you're from Torchville, and you're also the mayor.

 

[Rocks reef]

It was just Friday that we were enjoying 78* weather, wearing short sleeves, and taking photos among the daffodils... Now, it's 28* and snowing.

Holy cuteness overload!

 

[Rocks reef]

I have heard they taste really good especially if they are eating a lot of acorns...

 

[Rocks reef]

Happy Monday y'all
Peace

Hey Joel! I hope you a great day sir

 

[Rocks reef]

Good morning crew!

The North wind has the tide way out this morning. It would be a great day for some metal detecting.

Good morning Mississippi John! Nevermind, that's too long to type... It's just John

 

[Rocks reef]

I haven't done metal detecting in a hot minute. I really should do that again.

How about a cold second?

 

[Rocks reef]

Guys I think I may have figured out why my ATO dumped water into my sump yesterday. A snail had gotten stuck in the drain pipe and caused one of the side compartments to fill with water which of course made the sump water level lower causing the ATO to kick on and keep running. I was organizing my little table beside the tank where I keep food and stuff and realized the compartment was almost full of water which it normally has very little water in it. I checked and sure enough found the snail shell. So any ideas how I can keep this from happening again? Could I make put plastic crafting mesh over the drain holes?

Or some sponge

 

[kevgib67]

East end and south shore of Long Island

Oh no, I think you’re in the process of getting a couple feet of snow today, stay safe and warm!

 

[Mike.]

You know you're from Torchville, and you're also the mayor.

hahahaha, luckily it is 77 degrees in torchville and many preventative actions were put in place so the citizens could rest easy!!!

 

[Mike.]

East end and south shore of Long Island

Oh no, I think you’re in the process of getting a couple feet of snow today, stay safe and warm!

It was a fun time ha

 

[Mike.]

Good morning crew!

The North wind has the tide way out this morning. It would be a great day for some metal detecting.

hahahah kick me while im down!!!!

 

[kevgib67]

Good morning all, have a beautiful day!

Good morning Steven!

 

[tharbin]

Guys I think I may have figured out why my ATO dumped water into my sump yesterday. A snail had gotten stuck in the drain pipe and caused one of the side compartments to fill with water which of course made the sump water level lower causing the ATO to kick on and keep running. I was organizing my little table beside the tank where I keep food and stuff and realized the compartment was almost full of water which it normally has very little water in it. I checked and sure enough found the snail shell. So any ideas how I can keep this from happening again? Could I make put plastic crafting mesh over the drain holes?

There are lots of things that can cause those kinds of problems. Closing off access to the pipe only fixes one of the possible issues. For instance my ATO went nuts when my Foxface decided to sleep on the overflow grates.

The best solutions are to first have an ATO with a basic safeguard like a timeout. Many have that but you can also add a secondary sensor like this that will shut off the power to the ATO if it overfills.

I keep meaning to buy one of these myself as a secondary safety. In fact I'm adding it to my next order.

 

[tharbin]

Good morning everyone.

 

[kevgib67]

Happy Monday y'all
Peace

Happy Monday Joel!

 

[kevgib67]

Good morning crew!

The North wind has the tide way out this morning. It would be a great day for some metal detecting.

Morning John!

 

[tharbin]

@Calmwaters

You don't NEED to run a skimmer, like most equipment on a reef tank, it is optional. You will hear people tell you that you NEED to run one... but... I don't have on my tank and it's thriving. Skimmers aren't picky on what they extract, so it takes out both good and bad. However, they are only about 30% efficient at doing that. One positive thing is you can skim dry and just use it mainly for aeration/pH boost.

+5 cents, since they don't make pennies any longer.

A skimmer will remove SOME dissolved organics (DOC) so it can be useful if you tend to overfeed. It will slightly lower nitrates and phosphates due to the removal of the DOCs. It will also reduce some essential and trace elements. It has been a very popular device since the late 70s but it is never essential unless you design your filtration strategy around it. Most of your filtration happens in your rock and sand.

Where a skimmer is most useful is to increase gas exchange. That increases oxygen in the tank and, assuming the CO2 in your home is on the low side, will increase the pH of your tank.

It, like almost every piece of equipment on your tank is a trade off. It helps in some ways and hurts in others.

I do run a skimmer on my current tank but it is intentionally undersize and I run it fairly dry as I don't like stripping elements and nutrients just to spend more money reintroducing them. I use it mainly for additional gas exchange. My CO2 levels are pretty high since we are always home so it doesn't really help our pH at all.

 

[Rocks reef]

Good morning everyone.

Good morning Tom