Does it matter if your ATO reservoir is colored?

[sky414]

I am new to reefing and I am having an ATO reservoir built for my 150 display tank. I know colored reservoirs is an option. Does having it colored instead of clear have any practical impact? I ordered a Redsea ATO, so I am guessing the app will tell me if the reservoir is close to being empty, but other than that, what are the pros and cons of having a colored reservoir? Thanks.

 

[Troylee]

Nothing but seeing a water level..

 

[MoshJosh]

Science has found a direct correlation between gear color matching and coral grown (and happiness). So having a blue reservoir sitting next to a red sump is just BEGGING for a tank crash!!!

Only kidding of course!

Color won’t matter. Being transparent is a plus so you can see water level but not a must. . . My old ATO “reservoir” was a solid blue horse feed bucket!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

My ATO is just a basic white bucket that has water level lines to it

 

[Otto]

Color doesnt matter at all, unless it makes you happy!

 

[Reefing102]

For me color would matter if I cared. I use a 5.5 gallon tank. It sits under my stand right next to my sump which is also clear. With the fuge light, my ATO gets enough light that algae would start growing in it. If it had been black, I’d like to assume less algae would grow as the top is otherwise covered.

That said, I don’t really have a need for a lighted fuge anymore so I don’t care that my ATO is clear

 

[gbroadbridge]

I am new to reefing and I am having an ATO reservoir built for my 150 display tank. I know colored reservoirs is an option. Does having it colored instead of clear have any practical impact? I ordered a Redsea ATO, so I am guessing the app will tell me if the reservoir is close to being empty, but other than that, what are the pros and cons of having a colored reservoir? Thanks.

Ideally you should have three ATO's.

One Red, one Green and one Blue.

You can them hook them up to some $250 lights and an Aquarium lighting controller (another $750), and maximise Coral growth and happiness by tuning the ATO lighting to match the tank lighting.

Maybe even hook up a gaming PC to control the RGB lighting and use the PC water cooling as an additional cooler for the tank during hot weather.