Anyone dose your ATO water?

[BanZI29]

I was wondering if anyone doses there ATO water to help keep params. stable? (calcium, pH, mag, ect) and not using Kalkwasser
I am not ready to do auto dosing yet ( I will when we finally move) As of now I use a 5 gal bucket and a Tunze ATO.
Thoughts?

 

[iMi]

Never though of it, but it's a brilliant idea assuming the evaporation rate balances out with the necessary rate of replenishment.

 

[jordan10]

I was wondering if anyone doses there ATO water to help keep params. stable? (calcium, pH, mag, ect) and not using Kalkwasser
I am not ready to do auto dosing yet ( I will when we finally move) As of now I use a 5 gal bucket and a Tunze ATO.
Thoughts?

I think kalk is the only thing people dose in ATO. I

 

[Smokeshow]

Most common issue I've read about it is it leaves a residue in the ato and can clog the pump and lines if not cleaned regularly.

 

[mdb_talon]

It can work fine this way. I think the biggest thing to be aware of is if you have large swings in evaporation throughout the year it can cause big swings in dosing. For example generally humidity in houses drop a lot in the winter in cold areas. This means your dosing would go up in the winter if that scenario applies.

 

[BanZI29]

I got thru about 5 gal a week on my ATO and I am using aquavitro products. I was thinking about dosing what is needed for that amount of water and seeing what happens.

 

[Rukk]

One possible issue with utilizing the ATO to dose is that one has to be concerned about, and have a plan for, consistency, which can be done, at least to a large degree, as I do it with Kalk.

I dose Kalk in the ATO, run a Tunze ATO, have a spare pump, current pump has been going for 2+ years, so far no issues with Kalk killing the pump. I did soak it in Citric Acid recently as it didn't seem to be pumping strong, afterwards worked like new.

I dose Cal, Alk, and Mag/Supplements individually and adjusted the three until I had the combinations right with the Kalk. I change water twice a year (maybe) and hadn't checked my parameters for 4+ months until this last weekend. Parameters were nearly identical to the numbers I was at the last time I checked.

I am not advocating this approach necessarily, simply putting it out there, that there can be different approaches to get a similar result. In the end, do what is best for you and your maintenance schedule to maintain stability.

 

[Garf]

I put magnesium and amino acids in mine.

 

[fade2black]

I think you lose control over the amounts you are dosing this way. Like it was mentioned, your evaporation rate will fluctuate during the year and not necessarily match your required dosing amounts.

 

[Rukk]

I should explain further my methods that I mentioned in a previous post.

My evaporation does not vary that much, so my ATO needs are pretty consistent. My house stays within the same 3 degree temperature range year 'round. Also, I have an HVAC unit that controls humidity as well.

Biggest factor is that the tank is in a large room with a10' ceiling. I have a ceiling fan that is 6' across. That fan can move a crazy amount of air. If I have been running the fan at higher speeds for any significant amount of time it will increase my evaporation rate slightly. I am aware of this, I notice needing to refill a little sooner, and just back off of the Kalk dose just a bit.

Like I said in my previous post, evaluate your situation and attempt to pick solutions that are going to work, and actually work for your individual circumstance.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I was wondering if anyone doses there ATO water to help keep params. stable? (calcium, pH, mag, ect) and not using Kalkwasser
I am not ready to do auto dosing yet ( I will when we finally move) As of now I use a 5 gal bucket and a Tunze ATO.
Thoughts?

Go for it. I have done it and had no issue with it. Nutrient dosing via an ATO can cause issues with algae growth in the ATO container. Watch for precipitations as well

 

[reeftigergal]

I was wondering if anyone doses there ATO water to help keep params. stable? (calcium, pH, mag, ect) and not using Kalkwasser
I am not ready to do auto dosing yet ( I will when we finally move) As of now I use a 5 gal bucket and a Tunze ATO.
Thoughts?

I been dosing Kalk through the ato and ca stirrer for many years. Never an issue unless skimmer overskims but just got new $470 skimmer digital and now great.