ATO and daily water change question

[reeferericb]

I’m having a hard time maintaining my salinity numbers. I’m wondering if it’s possible that my water change schedule is causing the ATO to run during the water change and lowering my salinity. Is there a way to stop the ATO during water changes? I’m changing water throughout the day, is it better to concentrate the change to a specific time of day and stop the ATO during that time? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Supa]

I unplug mine

 

[reeferericb]

I unplug mine

You unplug your ATO? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of using it?

 

[SuncrestReef]

What controller are you using, and what method of auto water change? If using the Apex and a DOS, Neptune's standard method for AWC is to add and remove water at the same time, so there's no fluctuation in water level that would artificially trigger your ATO.

 

[reeferericb]

I am using a Apex and a DOS. Maybe I just need to recalibrate it. Something is causing a reduction in salinity. Maybe I’m taking out more water than I’m adding. There’s nothing that should effect salinity, right? I am adding alkalinity and calcium to the tank.

I mix 50 gallons of saltwater a month. I mix it to 35ppm testing with a Hanna salinity checker (also measuring the salt and water as well). My Apex salinity meter has been out of whack for a while so I don’t use it for testing. I tested my tank water and it was at 31.5ppm. My new mix is 39ppm and I’ve been adding it to my tank a couple gallons a day for two weeks. My tank is just now at 32.5ppm. Something seems off.

 

[RSREEFING]

You unplug your ATO? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of using it?

You unplug it or turn it off during a water change. Otherwise it will be on and pump freshwater into the tank and will affect your salinity. Then just turn it back on when the water change is done.

 

[coralfishreef]

Is your water change during a specific window period? My ATO is plugged into an APEX energy bar outlet. The outlet is configured to turn off the ATO a few minutes before the daily AWC and turn it back on a few minutes afterwards.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Amen for turning the ATO off during a water change!

 

[reeferericb]

Is your water change during a specific window period? My ATO is plugged into an APEX energy bar outlet. The outlet is configured to turn off the ATO a few minutes before the daily AWC and turn it back on a few minutes afterwards.

My water change is throughout the day. It adds water (2 gallons) several times an hour, 24 hours a day.