Heading out of town...

[ReeferMaddness843]

I'm planning a vacation coming up in march and it'll be my first time away from my tank for a period of time. Its a 90 gallon display, 14 gallon fuge, and about 10 gallons of water in sump. I add about .75-1 gal a day from evaporation. I'm shopping around for an ato as well as a Doser to maintain my tank while I'm gone. I'll need to dose alk and Ca. Not overly concerned with mag as I rarely see a drop significant enough to cause a problem over a weeks time. Any suggestions for peace of mind? I'd like it to be budget friendly, but not willing to sacrifice quality and assurance it will do what it is supposed to for a few bucks. Any advice is appreciated. I would get a tank sitter, but, I'd rather just have myself to blame if something goes south rather than put someone in that situation. Lol. I will add I live in a second floor apartment so im sure my downstairs neighbor would appreciate a decent ato that won't be a flood hazard. Thanks again!

 

[ifarmer]

Yeah.
1. You need a large top off container like 10-15g .
2. A reliable auto top off system such as tunze osmoaltor or smart top off.
3. Doser? If you dont grow a lot of sps corals then i think you will be fine without it.
4. Try out the top of at least a.week before you go just to make sure....
5. Dont change.or do anything to your tank or add anything into your tank 1-2 days before you go.
I am speaking from my 10+ yrs of reefing experiences.
Good luck.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Much appreciated. Thank you! I think the tunze osmoalator is going to be my go to for the ato based on research. I'll snag a large container for the water for top offs when I get the ato. My alk seems to be used up pretty quickly, and not due to precipitation either. Whether it be my few sps, LPS producing skeletons, or just the corraline growth explosion here lately so even if it's a single feed Doser I'd prefer to be safe than sorry.
Thank you for your experienced input!

 

[minus9]

I agree with farmer. Whatever you do, do it soon so you know everything is in order. Good luck!

 

[mtraylor]

Do you have a controller on your system? I have my RODI unit directly connected to my sump via an electronic valve. The electronic valve is controlled by my apex via 2 float valves. The first float valve controls the water level in the sump. The second float valve is basically a backup in case the first float stops working for some reason. If the first float valve fails, and the second float valve is engaged. I get an email.

Been using this for years and have never had a problem. I have an industrial electronic valve on the RODI unit that if fails, it fails normally closed.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

No controller. All hands on.

 

[mtraylor]

Oh ok. Well my method will not work.

 

[portsie]

You should look at using kalk with your ato. Just add it to your top off water and it doses you alk and cal as it tops off.
Also, I love my osmolator, you will love it.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Thx. I've read some on it, but not enough to make an educated decision based on my needs. May be worthwhile for me to look it over though. Thx for the suggestion!

 

[portsie]

No problem. I have been using it with my osmolator for the past 4 or 5 years. It takes a little bit of trial and error to get it dialed in to match your consumption, but once you find the sweet spot, it's really easy to maintain.
It's the only dosing I ever did when I had my fully stocked 90g mixed reef set up, and I had it slammed full of lps, softies and 3 or 4 big sps colonies.