fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
too bad about the ATO. too lazy to go back through the forty bazillion pages of the thread: what kind of ATO did you have anyways?
It's so on now - 72g Reef build
- Thread starter neilanh
- Start date
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OP
OP
neilanh
Sliced Bread
actually I don't know. it was unmarked. I picked it up used from someone at the local reef club here.
fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
so what brand are you gonna use now? Tunze? JBJ? Tsunami?
Quartz92
Aquarium Advice Activist
What does ATO stand for? Sorry I am just in the learning phase for salt water so I may sound like I don't know much.
CaptainAhab
Thanx but no.....
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2008
- Messages
- 2,333
Auto Top Off
OP
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
Yup, ATO = Auto top Off. It's a switch (or switches) that controls a relay to turn a pump on and off based on the water level. So when water evaporates, the float switch drops, closing the relay and allowing a small pump to pump water into the tank from a holding bucket.
I ordered the dual-switch design from autotopoff.com. I've heard nothing but good things about them, so I wanted to give them a try. I ordered on Friday evening, and received it on Monday. I hope to get it hooked up tonight.
I ordered the dual-switch design from autotopoff.com. I've heard nothing but good things about them, so I wanted to give them a try. I ordered on Friday evening, and received it on Monday. I hope to get it hooked up tonight.
super-duty
Aquarium Advice Regular
Great progress Neilan!
OP
OP
neilanh
Sliced Bread
as promised
thominil
Aquarium Advice Addict
Beautiful color and growth on everything! Tang just pops out at you too 8O. My favorite is the cleaner. Nicely done!
SparKy697
Aquarium Advice Addict
It doesn't hurt my eyes.
ccCapt
SW 20 & Over Club
That's the same 1 I have. It's been working flawlessly for me.
Tank looks great. How do you keep your back glass so clean?
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OP
neilanh
Sliced Bread
I've got a big, long-handled scraper.
thincat
Aquarium Advice Addict
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- Nov 7, 2008
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- 5,330
That dual shut off unit is the one that i have. The relay failed last week and they sent me a new unit at no charge. They wanted me to send the unit back but I told them that I would like to rewire the unit myself and got it in the mail in two days. Great service.
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well I think the tank is looking great considering the amount of time it has actually been set up. You've done well! I felt terrible when your wife called about the ATO. I had no way of getting out to the house that weekend my van was in the shop. I'm glad that Sean was able to get there so quickly!!
OP
OP
neilanh
Sliced Bread
Appreciate all your help while I was gone, too. I finally got to see Sean this past weekend and heard all the stories. The ladies in the shop said how right after the phone call he immediately grabbed the shop vac and left within minutes. 10 minutes after he left they had an overflow in the shop. haha!
I still have no idea what happened to the ATO. I see no way 2 switches could have failed like that, so I suspect it had to be something in the relay. I just installed a new one from autotopoff.com a few days ago and so far so good there.
Really happy now with my autodosers too for Ca and Alk. I came back after a month gone to my water parameters being almost perfectly in check in terms of Ca and Alk. Ca has been running a little low since I first set it up, I need to get a seperate timer to dose them independantly so I can turn that up without increasing the Alk doses.
While I was at F&F I picked up a new acro colony, a red tuxedo urchin and a fire shrimp. Those were my "Welcome Home" gifts to myself. Pics sooner or later. The Shrimp stays in the rocks pretty much constantly, and the urchin is attacking that brown stuff I have in the tank, but it keeps getting stuck in his spines which cracks me up and he drags it all over the place with him.
One of my clams, while I was gone, buried itself down in the sandbed and attached it's foot on the bottom glass. I don't know how to get him freed up to move him safely since he's under the sand. His mouth is just barely above the sandbed and I'm worried he won't get enough flow and food like this, but like I said I don't know how to detach him under the sand. It's the really pretty blue and green one I got most recently too.
I still have no idea what happened to the ATO. I see no way 2 switches could have failed like that, so I suspect it had to be something in the relay. I just installed a new one from autotopoff.com a few days ago and so far so good there.
Really happy now with my autodosers too for Ca and Alk. I came back after a month gone to my water parameters being almost perfectly in check in terms of Ca and Alk. Ca has been running a little low since I first set it up, I need to get a seperate timer to dose them independantly so I can turn that up without increasing the Alk doses.
While I was at F&F I picked up a new acro colony, a red tuxedo urchin and a fire shrimp. Those were my "Welcome Home" gifts to myself. Pics sooner or later. The Shrimp stays in the rocks pretty much constantly, and the urchin is attacking that brown stuff I have in the tank, but it keeps getting stuck in his spines which cracks me up and he drags it all over the place with him.
One of my clams, while I was gone, buried itself down in the sandbed and attached it's foot on the bottom glass. I don't know how to get him freed up to move him safely since he's under the sand. His mouth is just barely above the sandbed and I'm worried he won't get enough flow and food like this, but like I said I don't know how to detach him under the sand. It's the really pretty blue and green one I got most recently too.
OP
OP
neilanh
Sliced Bread
My new bulbs came in today. Rather than double post, just check here
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/new-bulbs-175w-iwasaki-15000k-120871.html
I'm excited!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/new-bulbs-175w-iwasaki-15000k-120871.html
I'm excited!
fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
cool. is the lighting difference big?
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neilanh
Sliced Bread
Yeah, huge difference to me. Time will tell what the corals think of it.
fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
did you light acclimate them?
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