Automation of a reef tank

[melev]

I pulled out a few test kits last night to check Salinity, Phosphate and Alkalinity. Considering the auto-pilot nature of my reef, the numbers weren't bad at all:
Salinity 1.0255
Alkalinity 7ish
Phosphate .25ppm

I just don't find the motivation to do my tests with this temporary setup. Which is completely backwards, I know.

Why did I choose those three?
Phosphate: I feed a lot, so I needed to know how phosphate levels measured.
Salinity: My tank is topped off all the time, and even more so when my skimmer fills up quickly. If too much top off water replaced watery skimmate (aka saltwater), salinity will drop.
Alkalinity: The calcium reactor runs with a pH controller set to 6.5, but the effluent slows down and has to be adjusted to increase the output. If it is restricted too long, it doesn't provide enough of the solution to keep the numbers up.

By checking these items, I can adjust how things run for the next few days to get it back on track. So I lowered the pH in the calcium reactor slightly and dosed Phosphate Rx to correct those two numbers. Salinity was just fine.

 

[Guest]

Marc you might look at a Varistaltic or variable flow peristaltic pump for the ca reactor you set the flow on the pump which feeds the ca reactor. You remove the micro valve and you wont have to adjust ever effluent again as you set the amount of flow going into the ca rx


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[melev]

Hmm. I'm feeding my calcium reactor from the manifold, which is getting water from a Dart pump. I believe the small needle valve on the feed line gets clogged up with detritus, which slows it down sometimes. It's not an easy part to clean out, but for the most part works.