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09/25/2006, 02:05 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Simi Valley, Ca
Posts: 636
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Auto top off-Which one?
What does everyone use?
I posted in another forum but I think it is better suited in this one. I what to ATO a bucket(5-10 gallons) under stand. How do you guys do it?I will be using kalkwasser as my top off. |
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09/25/2006, 02:11 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 3,703
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this is the best product i have ever bout for my tank and past tanks....
Nautilus II dosing pump www.innovativeaquatics.com or so i hear www.reefdosingpumps.com my salinity constant 24/7 at 1.0255...my ph 8.19 at night and 8.32 during day...CA and ALK stay constant at full saturated limewater... i love it...only 180 bucks after you get extra tubing its a peristalic/refurbished medical pump...no back siphoning..no overdosing...only negative is if the power goes off or flickers off you have to turn it back on or it doesnt work....so the worst is your tank doesnt get topped off for that period of time...but way better than getting pumped full of kalk or pulling all the water out of the tank and if this happens...when you reset...lets say you keep it at 60ml per hour....if power goes out for 3 hours you just set it to 180 per hour to get it right back where it was...math makes it easy...also you can safely do modified "kalk slurries" with it...just crank it up to higher doses for short periods of time and you are still dosing heavily but safely.... i love it.....and if you dont....STan at inn aquatics will refund it just because you dont like it |
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09/25/2006, 02:31 PM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Simi Valley, Ca
Posts: 636
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How much do you top off per day and what kind of limewater do you use?
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09/25/2006, 02:49 PM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 4,718
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I use a Tunze Osmolator for auto topoff. I run the osmolator pump from an RO/DI resevoir through a kalk reactor so all the topoff is saturated limewater. With this kind of setup, the pump always sits in plain old RO/DI so it lasts longer. My system tops off about 1 gallon per day.
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"Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before." - GK Chesterton Current Tank Info: 90 gallon AGA RR. 20 gal sump. 6x54W T5. AquaController Jr. |
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09/25/2006, 03:11 PM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 3,703
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I havent spent the time knowing exactly how much I evap per day. I just set the reactor and tested the salinity every hour to make sure it was constant. I did this for a long time and found the right setting on the nautilus. The reason i dont know exactly is i use the high volume tubing i think(but i am not sure if it is the high volume norprene and i adjusted the tension in the tube)
If it is supossedly 60ml per hour that comes to 1440 ml/day. There are apporximately 3300 ml in 1 gallon(you can google and get exact ml/g). I think i am doing close to 2/3 g perday but this doesnt even add up with 1440...but as i said i am pretty sure i have high volume tubing(hvtube can do 800ml/hour vs. 350 of low volume) so you multiply what the actual number is being dosed on the doser by the 800/350 to get the "actual amt" Roughly and put simply i think i evap somewhere between 2/3g to 1g! |
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09/25/2006, 03:12 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ocean Springs, MS
Posts: 753
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I'm on a budget with my ATO, and cant afford a dosing pump. I am thinking about trying this...
http://autotopoff.com/products/SS1/index.htm With a aqualifter pump. Might be an option for you. Does anyone have any experience with this one? |
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09/25/2006, 03:30 PM
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#7 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Mckinney, Tx
Posts: 1,130
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I had one on my last tank...they work very well once you dial it in..I had a very small powerhead in a 30 gallon trash can hiding in a closet...hose ran to sump. worked very well
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09/25/2006, 03:36 PM
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#8 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 574
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I would be wary of anything using only a single switch. I was using a home built float switch assembly that worked very well ..... until the main switch failed and stuck on. I was lucky I had the backup, I was using what were being touted as 'high quality' float switches too.
Your mileage may vary but personally, I would save up for a 'real' ATO, something like a dosing pump or a tunze osmolator.
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K.I.S.S Current Tank Info: 90 Gallon reef, 2 x 250 Pheonix 14k on icecaps, 2 x Aquascience 17.5 on workhorse, ER RS-135, Tunze ATO Kalk bucket, 30 Gallon sump, MRC CR1 reactor, 2 x phosban reactor (Rowa, Carbon), 2 x MJ Mod, mixed reef |
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09/25/2006, 03:50 PM
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#9 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: indiana
Posts: 873
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well if your looking for a cheap way to do it here you go its 79 dollars i think look up fosters and smith the item #VT-22977 its cheap and works well all you need is a little cheap power head
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If it was'nt for the sea I could not see or sing ( Jimmy Buffet ) I like to glue animals to rocks and put disturbing amounts of electricity and saltwater next to each other Reefing is'nt how long you been in it. It is how deep you get in it. Current Tank Info: 400g display build, 300g sump, 75g ATO, 75g refug and a few more. Close to a 1000g. 200g mixing station. |
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