automation is nice but...

Gary Majchrzak

Gary Majchrzak

Team RC
now that my auto topoff has in place for a month or two I've been weaning myself away from going downstairs to check on the sump level.... but I still do it every now and then.
It's a good thing!
The other morning I went to the basement only to discover my sump water level was extremely low. I quickly discovered the problem: the skimmer was skimming wetter than normal, slowly removing water from the system. Maybe a piece of debris loosened in the Beckett? That must have been the problem. Venturi's in general and Beckett's in particular are very susceptible to performance issues if you don't keep them clean. I must have adjusted the skimmer level while a piece of junk was stuck in the venturi. When the crap broke loose skimmer performance was enhanced and the water level rose in the skimmer.
I used to have a float switch that would kill the main pump in case the sump level got too low. Maybe I should rig one of those things back up.

Moral of story: automation is nice but keep checking your system out AND don't run your skimmer level too high... just in case something turbo charges it.
 
For those of us fortunate enough to already have one of these from a baby.

get


Automation + easy peace of mind check = win
 
I hear ya. it has its perks though!

For the low switch set it to turn the return pump off for X minutes and then try again if the level in the sump is not too low. This will help circulate a bit of water into the display even while you are low on water using the water that rushes back into the sump when the return pump gets turned off. I rush back about 35 gallons so it's quite a bit of water, and because the sump has the heaters it helps with temp a little.
 
the way i fixed the low sump level from this was to put the skimmer in my sump along with a open container for skim effluent. I drilled a hole in the container to allow the extra skim to overflow back in to the sump. simple fix and ben doing it this way for over 10 years.
 
I'm a much better reef keeper with everything in one room underneath the tank. There have been SEVERAL mishaps nipped in the bud because I check under the hood multiple times a day. With my basement sump, several days could go by with out me taking a lookie-loo. Top off ran dry. Ca reactor effluents clogged. Skimmers overflowed. Etc etc etc....

Paranoia and OCD makes good reef keepers!
 
My daughter used to get her foot tangled in the crib and she would cry. Other times she cried, she was just being fussy. These were a must have in my house. If we happened to open the door on a fuss day, she would never fall asleep.
 
I have automated for a couple of years now and still check the sump daily and the dosing pumps weekly. One of my major "events" was the result of a clogged ALk line breakng loose and forcing the Alk doser to turn on continuosly. Came down to a Milk filled tank. Since replace this with 2 Litermeters and it has had no problems since. I still get an occasional low sump level due to skimmer or heat/temp, etc. I auto top off almost 12 liters, yes 12 liters in my 400G total system and I recently had the cable tie on my auto top off doser get brittle and break. So for a half day or about 5 liters, my auto doser was topping off the floor!!! ahhhhh the memories. Conclusion - take a peak under the hood as daily as possible.
 
Yes, I have a camera on my sump so I can check up on it.

I really need to find a water sensor that goes off when it detects water on the floor.
 
Gary, I hear what you're saying. Any time you add a piece of equipment, it's another point of failure. Like you said, it can also be an excuse to be lazy. The key to good automation design is to avoid having single points of failure. In other words always have redundancy. Think about the result of every piece of equipment failing and ask yourself: what happens then?
 
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