Controlling salinity

[Cary Meredith]

Ok let's start, I am dosing tropic marin 3 part balling and it was stated might see salinity creep up. So I thought perfect time to get an apex with salinity probe to monitor. Started thinking can I automatically remove salt water if salinity creeps up above a certain level and let ato automatically refill to lower salinity. I believe this is possible with use of the fmm module and pmup utility pump, can someone please comfirm and suggest programming to accomplis this.

Thanks
Cary

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Ok let's start, I am dosing tropic marin 3 part balling and it was stated might see salinity creep up. So I thought perfect time to get an apex with salinity probe to monitor. Started thinking can I automatically remove salt water if salinity creeps up above a certain level and let ato automatically refill to lower salinity. I believe this is possible with use of the fmm module and pmup utility pump, can someone please comfirm and suggest programming to accomplis this.

Thanks
Cary

Just so you know, it’s a known issue. The salinity probe with Apex has lots of problems and it’s not very accurate. I would suggest using a refractor every few days or so to find a trend and then stick with it like I do.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Ok let's start, I am dosing tropic marin 3 part balling and it was stated might see salinity creep up. So I thought perfect time to get an apex with salinity probe to monitor. Started thinking can I automatically remove salt water if salinity creeps up above a certain level and let ato automatically refill to lower salinity. I believe this is possible with use of the fmm module and pmup utility pump, can someone please comfirm and suggest programming to accomplis this.

Thanks
Cary

If you are getting an Apex just for the salinity probe to use, I would stop right there and do not buy an Apex. If you want an Apex for all the other amazing things that It can do yes buy one I onwn three of them.

 

[Cary Meredith]

If you are getting an Apex just for the salinity probe to use, I would stop right there and do not buy an Apex. If you want an Apex for all the other amazing things that It can do yes buy one I onwn three of them.

No not just for that, but it was my main starting point, I want to log results and the other unit I was considering didn't log. I have always wanted to have the apex but couldn't justify it in the past.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

Definitely agree with others in terms of using the salinity probe as a means of input/control. It would be better to use it as a guide or even an early warning sign. Having the apex act on that data is recipe for disaster.

Now, with that said, we have a product called the Salinity Probe Stability Kit, or SPS kit for short that can help with some of the issues the salinity probe suffer from, which primarily is it's susceptibility to micro bubbles and debris getting on the end of the probe that will fouling the reading.

The SPS kit can help the probe provide a more consistent reading, even in more difficult situations like where there are micro bubbles in the water column. I say "more consent" because it wont necessarily make it more accurate. But at the end of the day, it's really the trend you should be looking at and not the actual number when it comes to the salinity probe. Get the actual number with something more reliable like a refractometer or other device.

For watching trend lines though, a properly working salinity probe is great. Here's the data form the salinity probe in our office tank - the numbers are not necessary accurate, but the trend is clear - you can see where our ATO ran dry

Here's another trend line. In this case we notice salinity had dropped a bit, and we wanted to bring it up slowly. So we added saltwater to the ATO and monitored as salinity trend line rose up over the course of 5 days or so.

You can check out the SPS kit here:
https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/sps-kit-the-salinity-probe-shield/

 

[Cary Meredith]

Definitely agree with others in terms of using the salinity probe as a means of input/control. It would be better to use it as a guide or even an early warning sign. Having the apex act on that data is recipe for disaster.

Now, with that said, we have a product called the Salinity Probe Stability Kit, or SPS kit for short that can help with some of the issues the salinity probe suffer from, which primarily is it's susceptibility to micro bubbles and debris getting on the end of the probe that will fouling the reading.

The SPS kit can help the probe provide a more consistent reading, even in more difficult situations like where there are micro bubbles in the water column. I say "more consent" because it wont necessarily make it more accurate. But at the end of the day, it's really the trend you should be looking at and not the actual number when it comes to the salinity probe. Get the actual number with something more reliable like a refractometer or other device.

For watching trend lines though, a properly working salinity probe is great. Here's the data form the salinity probe in our office tank - the numbers are not necessary accurate, but the trend is clear - you can see where our ATO ran dry

Here's another trend line. In this case we notice salinity had dropped a bit, and we wanted to bring it up slowly. So we added saltwater to the ATO and monitored as salinity trend line rose up over the course of 5 days or so.

You can check out the SPS kit here:
https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/sps-kit-the-salinity-probe-shield/

Thanks I did see this when I ordered it and will definitely consider it if I don't like the results I am getting

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Definitely agree with others in terms of using the salinity probe as a means of input/control. It would be better to use it as a guide or even an early warning sign. Having the apex act on that data is recipe for disaster.

Now, with that said, we have a product called the Salinity Probe Stability Kit, or SPS kit for short that can help with some of the issues the salinity probe suffer from, which primarily is it's susceptibility to micro bubbles and debris getting on the end of the probe that will fouling the reading.

The SPS kit can help the probe provide a more consistent reading, even in more difficult situations like where there are micro bubbles in the water column. I say "more consent" because it wont necessarily make it more accurate. But at the end of the day, it's really the trend you should be looking at and not the actual number when it comes to the salinity probe. Get the actual number with something more reliable like a refractometer or other device.

For watching trend lines though, a properly working salinity probe is great. Here's the data form the salinity probe in our office tank - the numbers are not necessary accurate, but the trend is clear - you can see where our ATO ran dry

Here's another trend line. In this case we notice salinity had dropped a bit, and we wanted to bring it up slowly. So we added saltwater to the ATO and monitored as salinity trend line rose up over the course of 5 days or so.

You can check out the SPS kit here:
https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/sps-kit-the-salinity-probe-shield/

I own these on both the probes I use and still would not rely on the reading to control anything. Only monitor and use as a guide