Multiple ATO
- Thread starter CSremo
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I think this is actually a smart Idea. Most people if they dose with a kalk stirrer hooked through their ATO, it will drive PH and DKH higher than they wont, and if you dose RO only, you can't keep up with alk consumption. I like this idea. but if you have a doser, its simpler as mentioned above. Dose Kalk, ATO the RO.
I'm a new ApexEL owner wanting to improve my ATO regimen.
Currently, i don't really have an ATO, but instead use a Litermiter to just dose 2 gallons of RO/DI water every day. The two gallon figure is pretty accurate overall, so my salinity stays pretty stable.
But...I've been having heating issue lately with my tank getting up to around 84 degrees when the ambient room temperature is only in the low 70s. I'm thinking of installing fans in the sump and controlling them with the Apex.
However, I think this will increase the variability of my evaporation quite a bit and using the Litermiter set at two gallons a day might not work. So, I'm thinking of getting an official ATO mechanism.
I hear good things about the Tunze osmolator, but how well does it integrate with the Apex? Am I better of getting a Neptune ATO?
Currently, i don't really have an ATO, but instead use a Litermiter to just dose 2 gallons of RO/DI water every day. The two gallon figure is pretty accurate overall, so my salinity stays pretty stable.
But...I've been having heating issue lately with my tank getting up to around 84 degrees when the ambient room temperature is only in the low 70s. I'm thinking of installing fans in the sump and controlling them with the Apex.
However, I think this will increase the variability of my evaporation quite a bit and using the Litermiter set at two gallons a day might not work. So, I'm thinking of getting an official ATO mechanism.
I hear good things about the Tunze osmolator, but how well does it integrate with the Apex? Am I better of getting a Neptune ATO?
Ya might be right. Was just thinking the buffering would help. I’m not going way overboard. Just a little too much. 2 teaspoons for 3 gallons is too much right now. I’m thinking 1 might be just right.
Tuffyyyyy
2500 Club Member
If you have an apex I think this would be pretty simple to set up. Like if your ph goes below a number then you can set your kalk top off to run for a minute or something. I’ve been thinking of something similar but then ended up just putting kalk in my main ATO container since I don’t have a lot of floor space in my fish room.
Snoopy 67
Valuable Member
The Litremeter is a great ATO.
If you need more just increase the dose amount.
I have variation between the summer & winter months & with the press of a few buttons I'm right back where I need to be.
If you need more just increase the dose amount.
I have variation between the summer & winter months & with the press of a few buttons I'm right back where I need to be.
ca1ore
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I run dual ATO for redundancy. I’ve never been able to overdose kalk, even during low humidity months, so not an issue for me.
chipmunkofdoom2
Always Making Something
I would keep your limewater (kalkwasser) and ATO separate. Almost all of the problems that people frequently cite with calcium hydroxide are due to us dosing it in our ATOs. Topoffs are great at keeping the water level in a system relatively stable. They're not great at delivering high pH solutions in precise amounts at the same time of every day. We understand that it would not be smart to put sodium carbonate (soda ash) in our topoffs because they're not precise enough to supplement something like alkalinity. Why we still do this with calcium hydroxide is beyond me.
Dose your limewater with a dosing pump. Set it to dose a little bit every hour. The only caveat with this approach is that it's possible to add more liquid than your system evaporates per day. You'll just need to keep an eye on it as you're tuning the dose and when the seasons change.
Dose your limewater with a dosing pump. Set it to dose a little bit every hour. The only caveat with this approach is that it's possible to add more liquid than your system evaporates per day. You'll just need to keep an eye on it as you're tuning the dose and when the seasons change.
