Top off

[johnsamm7]

just a quick question when I top off I just use r/o water correct and heat it to the temp of the aquarium don't mix it with salt cause the salt remains in the tank. Been runnin my tank since the 23rd still in the cycle of that matters or not . Thank you

 

[Saltine]

Correct, RO water. No Salt! I wouldn't worry about heating it if you are only adding small amounts at a time. Best to invest in an ATO asap.

Salt

 

[twilliard]

I love my float

 

[johnsamm7]

That's awesome thank you what would u consider a small amount half a gal or so

 

[johnsamm7]

And also another thing I need to shim the right side of my tank stand my tank is s tad off right side is a lil lower what would be good to hold that type of weight

 

[twilliard]

Without a top off make a line on the glass with a sharpie and every day keep it filled to that line

 

[Saltine]

That's awesome thank you what would u consider a small amount half a gal or so

How many gallons is your tank?

I'm no expert on shimming but a quick search and you should find what you need.

Salt

 

[Salty1962]

Be sure to test a pump failure to make sure you don't over flow your sump.

 

[FishOfHex]

just a quick question when I top off I just use r/o water correct and heat it to the temp of the aquarium don't mix it with salt cause the salt remains in the tank. Been runnin my tank since the 23rd still in the cycle of that matters or not . Thank you

Thats correct you defiantly dont want to add salt to your ATO water and as for heating it up really no need. Are you doing it by hand? For stability wise using an external ATO system would be best. But if you cant afford an ato atm putting a little bit of water in every day or every other day is better then a bunch at one time.

 

[johnsamm7]

Gotcha I have a nuvo fusion 30l . I don't have a sump I'm just doing it by hand. I as well do not have a ato. Just a simple tank power heads overflow.

 

[Salty1962]

Gotcha I have a nuvo fusion 30l . I don't have a sump I'm just doing it by hand. I as well do not have a ato. Just a simple tank power heads overflow.

I'm using a Smart ATO Micro and it's perfect for my Nuvo 20. My salinity stays right on the spot and the ATO is very small making it easy to place in the return area of the Nuvo.
Maybe something to look into. I got mine from Premium Aquatics for $99.

 

[johnsamm7]

Do u guys think 2 power heads are over kill in a 30l i have 2 Aqueon 700 Gpd I was reasearching and they said one should suffice I had both in the back at first both pointed at the middle of the front glass but after reading that I left only one in the tank pointing at the same location .I'm brand new to all this I have a million questions lol. But that is for the good tips so far really appreciate it

 

[johnsamm7]

Yea I'm defiantly going to have to invest in to something like that

 

[edinphilly]

Yea I'm defiantly going to have to invest in to something like that

I waited a year and it was the worst decision. My Tunze ATO was the best purchase and I wished I'd done it A LOT sooner.

Look for composite shims not wooden ones. They won't compress over time and withstand moisture better.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Use RO/DI and don't worry about the temperature. The small amount of top off is only a fraction of what the system volume is so a variation in the temperature will have little if any effect.

 

[Bumgrundle]

I waited a year and it was the worst decision. My Tunze ATO was the best purchase and I wished I'd done it A LOT sooner.

Tunze ATO is the schnizz! It uses and optical and float. Why use 2 sensors of the same type? how is that redundant? last thing you want is to come home to a flood because your redundant seized for the same reason your primary seized. Juuuust my opinion =)

 

[brownsalt92]

Just ordered my tunze ato, it will be here tommaro from amazon can't wait to hook it up!

 

[tiggs]

I also run a smaller tank (14g) and the Tunze 3152 nano ATO is a great investment. I have a 5 gallon reservoir that it pulls from and I go through about a gallon a week. Nano reefing is a slightly different ballgame than a larger tank, because even slight environmental changes can affect such a small volume of water quickly and shock your inhabitants. In other words, we have a MUCH smaller margin of error and our levels can shift very quickly. When I was manually topping off water, I did it 3 times per day, so the impact on SG was minimal. Adding an ATO is a wise investment that will both stabilize your tank and reduce your manual maintenance.