Filter roler effect on sump level and ATO?
- Thread starter Zero_Cool
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OP
OP
I have one of those in the first sock position. I had never thought about opening the diverter and thought it was only used to send all the water through the roller.
7" Flow-Diverting Cap - Klir
Klir 7" Flow-Diverting Cap The Klir Flow Diverting cap works to cap any unused holes of your sock tray and direct the water into the Klir filter. It's adjustable and allows you to easily dial the the flow rate to divert excess flow or filter less aggressively. The Flow Diverting cap will...www.bulkreefsupply.com
Maybe that's the way to adjust the water equilibrium?
But in the end the Klir7 still needs the water level to rise to the sensor to trigger.
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So I think the ATO sensor is the only thing that needs to be adjusted. I haven’t used that particular one but the high sensor that cuts it off should be at or below the water line when the sump water level is at its lowest which should be when the filter roller chamber is at its highest or right before it would theoretically trigger it to roll up. So then when it does roll up some and the water level in the sump will completely submerge the ATO. So the only time the ATO will kick on is when the water level has dropped below the lowest point it normally is. This should only be due to evaporation if it’s set like this.
If you already have it set like this then I would ask what your return pump settings are. Do you have it set to change speeds throughout the day?
We had this same question when we built our setup last summer. Initially, it took quite a bit of fine-tuning on things like the ATO sensor heights, the return pump power, and how open our display tank drain is, but honestly it eventually all essentially balanced itself out. Our roller filter itself is not particularly customizable, so we had to adjust everything else around it instead. Our pump speed does not change throughout the day.
For context:
We have the Red Sea Reefmat 500, and a JBJ ATO. The sensor on the Reefmat roller cannot be moved up or down. The roller hangs in the refugium via a bracket that attaches over the side of the sump front wall, so you can't adjust its overall height.
Things we did that helped keep the water level & salinity consistent:
We do move through rolls quicker than I'd like with this setup, but our ATO isn't intermittently dumping tons of water, and our parameters are very stable.
For context:
We have the Red Sea Reefmat 500, and a JBJ ATO. The sensor on the Reefmat roller cannot be moved up or down. The roller hangs in the refugium via a bracket that attaches over the side of the sump front wall, so you can't adjust its overall height.
Things we did that helped keep the water level & salinity consistent:
- We have the JBJ ATO running on "Mode B" which uses a pair of sensors, one for low level and one for high level. When the high level sensor is activated, the ATO shuts off and will not run again until that sensor falls. We moved the high sensor down a bit, so there's a less drastic difference between high/low.
- Opened up the sump gate between the skimmer chamber and the return chamber completely, so water moves more quickly through the sump.
- Adjusted how many inches the roller advances each time the sensor is triggered. If you have it advance fewer inches of roll, it will run more often but release less water when it does.
- By using the sump wall brackets, the Reefmat naturally sits pretty low in the refugium water, so the sensor is only a few inches above the water line. This means that it isn't holding a significant amount of water above/outside of the main sump water line.
- Honestly, the Reefmat 500 is technically a bit too small for our system volume. We are right on the line and could/should have gone with the Reefmat 1200, but preferred the proportional stability of releasing less water volume.
- When we do water changes, we mix our saltwater a bit a stronger than the salt mix suggests.
We do move through rolls quicker than I'd like with this setup, but our ATO isn't intermittently dumping tons of water, and our parameters are very stable.
After re-reading your original post, I think your issue is simply that your ATO sensor is too high. Like I said above, keep lowering it until the kill switch level is at the lowest height the sump water is, which should be when your first chamber is at its highest or right before the roller is triggered. Is this how you have it set currently?
Yes it will adjust the equilibrium and also yes the filter will still clog and advance. You have to play with the return flow, the valve flow and the bypass flow to get it dialed in.
OP
OP
I have just set the ATO optical sensor at 7.5 inches of depth in the return chamber. Really had no thought to it. Skimmer section is set at 9 inches.
Oh I forgot patience and maybe a couple beers.
Here is the spec and the manual of the v2 controller. The sensor came with the magnet suppose to have a huge improvement over the first version and it is external. You can mount to the level you want.
I basically topped off sump, went 4 hours with the ato off. Then turned it on and timed how long it ran.
Then I put the ato on a smart plug and have it come on for 2 minutes longer than what I timed every 4 hours. I did this because I have a large ATO reservoir and wanted to limit the chance of accidentally overflowing my tank.
I also run a Klir filter roller and the sump level does fluctuate some but the Waterbox sump sock chambers don't hold much water so it's not an issue for me. This is the reason I suggested shrinking the sock chamber.
I agree though that just lowering your ATO sensor might fix it. Running your water level higher than your return baffle would help too because it will take a larger volume of water to make the return chamber fluctuate. I employ this strategy also.
For some history I've been running this setup for going on 3 years now without issue.
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