I just have a small learning experience to share for people who may just be starting out. I woke up this morning and checked on my skimmer because I had cleaned it last night, just wanted to make sure it was adjusted right. I opened up the cabinet door to see the waste collection bottle full (It holds about 1 gallon in addition to the collection cup). This has happened before when I added an air pump to the venturi intake to try to produce more bubbles, which it did but the foam production was very variable.
Anyway, I had hooked up an auto top off connected to a 5 gallon bucket 2 weeks ago and after filling it yesterday all 5 gallons ended up in the sump. I have no idea how fast this was added and haven't had a chance to measure ph, alk, or calcium levels yet. There was no precipitation so I assume alkalinity and calcium are ok. I did have a swing in SG from 1.026 to 1.0245, and again I don't know how quickly this changed.
The moral of the story and my project for this afternoon, if you have any waste containers hooked up for things like this it may be a good idea to set up a high water level sensor to shut off the pump or at the very least plumb in a line high in the container that returns to the sump so it is less likely to overflow.
I will have to keep an eye on things for a while and hope for no losses!
Anyway, I had hooked up an auto top off connected to a 5 gallon bucket 2 weeks ago and after filling it yesterday all 5 gallons ended up in the sump. I have no idea how fast this was added and haven't had a chance to measure ph, alk, or calcium levels yet. There was no precipitation so I assume alkalinity and calcium are ok. I did have a swing in SG from 1.026 to 1.0245, and again I don't know how quickly this changed.
The moral of the story and my project for this afternoon, if you have any waste containers hooked up for things like this it may be a good idea to set up a high water level sensor to shut off the pump or at the very least plumb in a line high in the container that returns to the sump so it is less likely to overflow.
I will have to keep an eye on things for a while and hope for no losses!