Oxygen content - surface agitation in the main display required if running sump and skimmer?

[Lebowski_]

I don't have an oxygen test or meter, so I am hoping someone a little more high-tech can answer: can I keep a fairly calm display tank in terms of surface tension, if I have water trickling into a sump and am running a skimmer?

Reason I ask is that my lagoon is best appreciated top down, but when I angle my returns and wave-makers to "slosh" the surface, it then means I need to shut off pumps or use a viewing square to look down on the coral.

This is a fishless system, if that matters at all.

My guess is that for a definitive answer, specific to my tank, I would need to measure ORP with different flow patterns. I am looking more for general advice as I don't have that type of testing equipment.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Is your tank open, I mean, can dust collect on the surface?
I have open top tanks, and even though I have a skimmer, I agitate the water surface. If not, I get a layer of dust build up that I know interferes with the lighting.

 

[Dan_P]

I don't have an oxygen test or meter, so I am hoping someone a little more high-tech can answer: can I keep a fairly calm display tank in terms of surface tension, if I have water trickling into a sump and am running a skimmer?

Reason I ask is that my lagoon is best appreciated top down, but when I angle my returns and wave-makers to "slosh" the surface, it then means I need to shut off pumps or use a viewing square to look down on the coral.

This is a fishless system, if that matters at all.

I suggest that you buy a Hanna oxygen test and determine the best way to oxygenate your system. Opinions are good starting points for your experimentation.

 

[taricha]

A tank surface smooth enough to look straight down on doesn't sound like it gets enough aeration for me. But the amount of turnover with the tank water through the skimmer could easily make up for that.

 

[Dan_P]

A tank surface smooth enough to look straight down on doesn't sound like it gets enough aeration for me. But the amount of turnover with the tank water through the skimmer could easily make up for that.

And if we had the op’s oxygen reading with and without the skimmer, we could better appreciate just how much a skimmer aerates the water.

 

[Lebowski_]

And if we had the op’s oxygen reading with and without the skimmer, we could better appreciate just how much a skimmer aerates the water.

Who wants to pay for OP's hanna checker I have a budget to consider! Or at least my wife thinks I do...

 

[Dan_P]

Who wants to pay for OP's hanna checker I have a budget to consider! Or at least my wife thinks I do...

I hear ya!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't have an oxygen test or meter, so I am hoping someone a little more high-tech can answer: can I keep a fairly calm display tank in terms of surface tension, if I have water trickling into a sump and am running a skimmer?

Reason I ask is that my lagoon is best appreciated top down, but when I angle my returns and wave-makers to "slosh" the surface, it then means I need to shut off pumps or use a viewing square to look down on the coral.

This is a fishless system, if that matters at all.

My guess is that for a definitive answer, specific to my tank, I would need to measure ORP with different flow patterns. I am looking more for general advice as I don't have that type of testing equipment.

i don't believe ORP is useful to gauge O2 levels.