what to say

[accentoldman9]

animals and plants suck up part of the minerals. So TWO actions unbalance your tank---evaporation increases the mineral concentration---and animals and plants take the minerals they need and leave what they don't. This means certain minerals run lower and lower and certain ones don't---they just pile up. As you add more fresh ro/di (water that's ONLY hydrogen and oxygen, with NO minerals) your tank gets no more minerals. And your shortage of what the animals and plants are using most gets bigger and bigger. Water changes, 20% a month, replenish the missing minerals, but they're alway playing catchup.

 

[wvned]

Evaporation does not increase the mineral concentration if the tank is kept full by an ATO with RODI water.

The minerals taken up by the corals and others are mostly replenished by 2 part dosing that ads calcium and alkalinity. I also add trace elements to my tank with a doser. I also add magnesium that way. I actually have a kalk stirrer that adds cal and alk all the time. I also have 2 doser channels for them to add a bit more

I dont do water changes. I add salt as my salinity falls and correct it. I have been doing this for years now. I can throw up to 16 cups of salt into my sump and let a wave maker mix it in. The first section of my sump is 40 gallons, the second 100 and the third 150. The salt mixes into all that before it gets to the return pumps.

A lazy way to do things.

 

[OrionN]

I never have to replace salt in my system. The salt loss through salt creep is minimal. I do water changes fairly often and add Mag, Ca and alkalinity. I don't add trace elements other than water changes.

It is not advisable to add salt to increase salinity. It is just best to add salt water as top off and let elaboration increase the salinity. Apparently @wvned must have a huge system to have sumps total volume of 290 gallons. Adding 16 cups of salt must result in minor increase in salinity. His sump must be lifeless. Adding 16 cups of salt in a system that is 40 gal, plus the variable salinity as the salt dissolves will cause havoc to any complex animals. thus not recommended in a fairly usual, normal system.

 

[wvned]

I never have to replace salt in my system. The salt loss through salt creep is minimal. I do water changes fairly often and add Mag, Ca and alkalinity. I don't add trace elements other than water changes.

It is not advisable to add salt to increase salinity. It is just best to add salt water as top off and let elaboration increase the salinity. Apparently @wvned must have a huge system to have sumps total volume of 290 gallons. Adding 16 cups of salt must result in minor increase in salinity. His sump must be lifeless. Adding 16 cups of salt in a system that is 40 gal, plus the variable salinity as the salt dissolves will cause havoc to any complex animals. thus not recommended in a fairly usual, normal system.

LOL, What if I said you are wrong.
The sump isnt lifeless. Not even the first section. I added 8 cups today.
I never said the system is 40 gallons. That the section of the sump the drains dump into.

 

[OrionN]

I said that your system likely to be enormous with sump section of 290 gallons. I never said anything about you could not do it. But adding 16 cups of salt in a 40 gal system would likely wipe out everything. I said this because you add 16 cups into a 40 gal sump. If the flow though is low in this area, this action is likely kill all the fish in this section. Even if it is high flow rate it can stress out a lot of the animals if they are alive in this section.
Adding solid salt, 16 cups into a normal/usual home reef is not recommended and likely cause a lot of problems like moralities.

I don’t think I am wrong. I never said anything about your system as whole because I don’t know.

 

[wvned]

I said that your system likely to be enormous with sump section of 290 gallons. I never said anything about you could not do it. But adding 16 cups of salt in a 40 gal system would likely wipe out everything. I said this because you add 16 cups into a 40 gal sump. If the flow though is low in this area, this action is likely kill all the fish in this section. Even if it is high flow rate it can stress out a lot of the animals if they are alive in this section.
Adding solid salt, 16 cups into a normal/usual home reef is not recommended and likely cause a lot of problems like moralities.

I don’t think I am wrong. I never said anything about your system as whole because I don’t know.

I simply ment about it being sterile and dead. It has the typical things found in a dark unfed sump. I have 240,180,75 and 29 gallon tanks on a common sump which isnt full. It has to handle drawback. It is about 650 gallons total.