AIO expert? Please help. Return chamber water level keeps lowering.

[Reef.]

Just an update for others w/ AIO and ATO issues.

It seems as my floss clogs up, the amount of water entering the back chambers reduces. This effect causes the water in chamber 3 (return pump) to lower, which cycles my ATO on.

For most days it is not an issue, I change the filter floss every 2 days. The problem is when I am away on vacation for a week. I notice the salinity will drop a bit. It is not an ideal solution, but I add more saltwater to the tank, allowing the ATO sensor to be below water line. As the days pass the filter gets dirtier and the flow into chamber 3 reduces and this triggers the ATO.

Wonder if anyone has encountered this or has a better solution.

I said that was likely the reason back in December.

As for running the tank without the return, you could but you would need to move the heater into the display, and you would also be creating more ATO issues.

 

[DFR]

Trying to get more days out of your floss would also affect your salinity I would think.

Yes, it allows the salinity to increase back to the normal range by not replacing the excess freshwater that caused to level to raise.
In my case, this is not done with the intention of getting more days out of the floss (after all a $10 roll lasts a few months) but rather how tedious it is to replace. I had a custom lid made that covers the entire tank (display and rear chamber). I had cutouts/covers made for the skimmer sections but did not think of the filter sock sections at the time. So during the summer months when the fan is attached to the tank, the WHOLE lid has to be moved so I could change the floss.

I have considered removing the floss, but would hate the clean up in the rear chambers. If no floss, why not just turn off the return pump all together? I have a powerhead inside.

Haha, I hate cleaning it too. But it is an option if you’ll be gone for extended periods. If it is done infrequently, the detritus accumulation should not be bad.

 

[Schulks]

In Chamber 1 I have in this order: filter floss, carbon in a sac and then rubble media.

I have had this set up since the inception of the tank (carbon added 6 weeks ago) and until this week I never had an issue.

I believe I read that someone had to clean out where the water flows in-between chambers to fix this in a WB.

Detritus can get trapped in between chambers and impede flow. You'll need a long wire brush or something to get to it.