ATO to control skimmer level

[workhz]

So my DIY sump acrylic partitioned failed. Had 3 section. Skimmer section survived for a good 2 months but then started doing water changes by draining the sump and the pressure overcame my horrible silicone job.

Anyway, I have an ATO now. My skimmer is a Red Sea 300. I’m thinking the ATO should be able to control the water level well enough. At some point I’ll redo the skimmer

You folks think an ATO is sufficient to control skimmer water level on a 29G tank/sump?

 

[dedragon]

matters how much the water level is actually fluctuating, skimmers need pretty consistent water level to skim correctly

 

[Mschoolman]

For just about everyone an ato will keep a more consistent water level better than they can

 

[workhz]

For just about everyone an ato will keep a more consistent water level better than they can

Not sure it will keep a better level than a partition but I'm hoping it's sufficient for a while till I get another tank and build another (better) sump.

 

[Biglew11]

My ato keeps my water level within 1/4 inch or so, Plenty close enough to keep my skimmer happy.

 

[BoxKing]

How were you doing your water changes? Obviously the pressure was coming from the addition of fresh mixed water and not the removal. Were you just dumping a bucket back in? My suggestion would be to empty your sump And redo the partition- if you were doing the bucket dump method, switch to using a cheap pump. Around 600gph will aid in the removal of sump water, then drop the pump in the bucket to precisely add back in a controlled fashion.

 

[workhz]

It’s likely the partition was on its last legs.

On the water change, I threw a small pump with tubing into the sump and pumped out water trying to keep the level about the same between partitions by moving the pump.

Adding the SW back, I tried to do the same to try to keep levels the same but obviously didn’t. It wasn’t more than a 3-4” delta but obviously enough to cause failure.

yeah, I’ll redo the sump but given the time it takes silicone to cure, I’m better off just buying another 29 gallon tank and doing a new sump and then converting the old sump to something else.