Wet Skimmate Water Changes?

[CleveYank]

I agree with the sealed type as well.

After I get my new build up and in place I have 2 of these sealed skimmate resivoirs to build, a carbon filter for top(air venting out of skimmer top) and bottom output(skimmer water discharge) of large skimmer I refer to as the fire hydraunt 1 to remove ozone from air and water outputs, Kalk reactor, and new dual chamber 6 22 Ca reactors, and two dual chamber nitrate filters for ehiem glass media. A trip to US Plastics for lots of acrylic is in my near future.

This skimming waterchange jazz has opened a new door for an automated water change Idea if I can get my hands on the right soliniod (corrosive chemical liquid type) and some valving.


Oh yeah, along with this whole testing for venturi shutoff, I've been setting up for a RO/DI water stream to be shot into the venturis to keep them clean. On my timer based gravity setup which uses those little blue pumps which I have running through pump 100ml of fresh RO/DI water though a tee that suck the water through venturis to keep everything running smoothly to prevent clogging due to salt buildup. My HSA becket will do it too but it needs alot more water to keep things the same and the cheap doser doesn't pump enough so a check valved low powerhead feeding air input may be required. But that's another test I've not gotten to yet.

 

[JMBoehling]

Thanks to everyone that chimed in.. I've made a couple changes to my reef because of your great feedback. I now have a continous water change set up. I am now wet skimming 1 gallon a day water changes. All evaporation and Kalk is dosed with a simple drip from a 5 gallon bucket. The Salt Water is replaced via a Float Valve. (I may change this out in a few weeks for a Float Switch and Pump, as I have a feeling the Saltwater will clog up things pretty quickly)

Here are a few pics of my ghetto setup. Pardon the nasty sump.

Thanks again everyone. I really like this setup.

Jim

 

[mobert]

i use both a kent float valve and two float switches (hi and low). it takes a long time to clog.

 

[JMBoehling]

Update:

Working perfectly. I've got my skimmer pulling about 1.5 gallons a day. All Corals and fish seem to be very happy!

Highly recommend this set up to everyone. I think my water parameters will stay much more consistant this way as well. No major ALK and PH spikes with water changes now.

Jim

 

[Elliott]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14223652#post14223652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JMBoehling
Update:

Working perfectly. I've got my skimmer pulling about 1.5 gallons a day. All Corals and fish seem to be very happy!

Highly recommend this set up to everyone. I think my water parameters will stay much more consistant this way as well. No major ALK and PH spikes with water changes now.

Jim

ditto

 

[Konadog]

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[Elliott]

well deserved, this technique has been the single best thing I have done for my reef tank, water quality is significantly higher and much more stable.

 

[Marklu]

Okay, somebody should write a simple step by step guide to this, I'm having trouble wading through this info, but am quite interested!

 

[Elliott]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14255901#post14255901 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marklu
Okay, somebody should write a simple step by step guide to this, I'm having trouble wading through this info, but am quite interested!

In theory it's simple, just turn your skimmer up a bit so it pulls a gallon or two each day and replace it with newly mixed seawater. I have an 80g reservoir with a submersible pump, controlled by a float switch in my sump, so as the skimmer pulls more skimmate it activates the float switch and replenishes the lost volume with new seawater. The benefit is you are replacing skimmate, which has the highest density of waste, with fresh seawater. Over time this results in much higher water quality compared to standard water changes.

 

[chieuxuan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14141954#post14141954 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Elliott
good thought! you could even have a slow drain on the bucket so it would allow the skimmer to run but not so fast as to fill the bucket and trip the switch, and if it did once the bucket drains down a little it would turn the skimmer pump back on, I'm running a PanWorld 250 that draws 400 amps so I need to obtain an appropriately sized float switch

Yes, there is float switch that can handle that wattage!!!

 

[Marklu]

Elliot - I understand that part. But the part i'm having trouble with is evaporation. I guess you should lower the s.g. of the resovoir water? Is there anyway that you could figure out exactly what it should be, or is kind of a guessing game?

 

[JMBoehling]

I drip Kalk for my topoff. Assuming you have an idea of how much water evaporates in a day, I set my kalk to drip at a rate equal to my evap rate (approximately). For my setup it is 1 drip per second.

My fresh Saltwater is set on my float valve and is replaced equal to that which is skimmed out. I do check my salinity once a week to make sure things are in check.

Hope this helps!

Jim

 

[Elliott]

chieuxuan, thanks for the link

Marklu, as mentioned above by JMBoehling , I drip Kalk in RO at a rate approximate to my evaporation with a dosing pump, so I can adjust my s.g. by adjusting the skimmer and/or Kalk drip, so far it's been real easy

 

[Marklu]

Hmm, so right now i'm using a float valve for my kalk top off, but i should use it for my fresh saltwater and get a dosing pump for kalk. Got it now, thanks a lot guys! I also need to install a drain on my skimmer...

 

[Jerm77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14102401#post14102401 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mobert
A few pictures worth a thousands words:

mobert,

I'm trying to figure out how your "flush" works on your drain container.
can you try to explain it again for me please?

also can you take a pic of your skimmer cup? I want to see where your venturi and drain container vents are going.

 

[mobert]

yes, just blue tape
yes drilled in the middle and the
tube extends down to 2" off the bottom so that it leaves the really thick sludgy stuff that has settled behind.

 

[Jerm77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14268580#post14268580 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mobert
yes, just blue tape
yes drilled in the middle and the
tube extends down to 2" off the bottom so that it leaves the really thick sludgy stuff that has settled behind.

thank you.

 

[mobert]

the venturi air intake I just drilled through the top of the skimmer lid and stuck the tube in so that the end is just below the stand pipe overflow to the sump. Vent tube for the drain container just needs to be above the skimmer cup so that if it were to fill up the liquid would not overflow in my cabinet. It can be stuck in through a hole in the skimmer lid also to contain any odor.

 

[Jerm77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14268606#post14268606 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mobert
Vent tube for the drain container just needs to be above the skimmer cup

just to clarify, when you say above the cup, do you mean the tube is vented into the cup at the highest point?

 

[mobert]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14272665#post14272665 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerm77
just to clarify, when you say above the cup, do you mean the tube is vented into the cup at the highest point?

The tube must be vented at a point where it would cause the skimmer to stop working. Imagine if your regular skimmer went crazy. If the cup were to fill up, what happens? The skimmer cup just overflows back into the skimmer. So my drain container is vented so that if the skimmer were to go crazy, the drain container fills up and backs up in the the skimmer cup. If the vent was lower than the skimmer cup, it would fill up and overflow out of the vent opening----same as if the drain container was just an open container.