tunze ato 3155 capabilities??

[cracker]

Hey Tunze Ato owners, Do You think the pump will push around 1.25 gallons a day, up 6 feet? I understand You can increase the power of the pump with an adjust inside the controller box. I have one on the 75 and like it a lot. My hope is to install another on a 180gl tank. Thanks for any insight. Oh Ya and have a nice day !

 

[DaveK]

I don't think you'll have a problem. The Tunze pump on the ATO is actually rather powerful, for an ATO unit. Use it as is.

But that does beg the question, why do you need it to go up 6 feet?

 

[cracker]

Thanks Dave, I built the stand very tall so the tank was at eye level. That's why the height is just under 6 feet. To be honest I was going to order the thing anyway . I was just looking for some affirmation ! LOL
I'll let everybody know how it goes !

 

[cracker]

Evening Folks, I got the ato installed today The unit works just fine. Now the output isn't that much but adequate . I may increase the power by turning the knob(inside the box) a little just to see if it perks up a bit. Now ,say I want to use Kalkwasser , would more or less output make a difference? An obscure detail of little importance .

 

[cracker]

Evening everybody, It's been awhile I hope all is well with You !
I'd like to talk about the ato /Kalkwasser experiment Iv'e been doing on the 75.
So I started with water matching the mix I use KH 7.6 and Ca at 370( my test)
I started with 1/2 teaspoon .Tha alk droped like a rock to around 6. So I went to 1 teaspoon with the same results.
This round I used 11/2 pickilng lime this round, Ca stayed the same & kh dropped to 7. That's a lot better. I want to go with 2 teaspoons. The full amount I hear. It can't hurt right? This actually works !

 

[DaveK]

To get kalk to work correctly, that is really do something for you, you should use a kalk reactor, also known as a Nilsen reactor. If you just add kalk to the ATO water, most it it falls right out of solution.

Here is an example of one (offsite) - http://www.marinedepot.com/Reef_Oct..._Reactors-Reef_Octopus-CV21070-FICRKR-vi.html It is also possible to construct one as a DIY project.

By using a reactor, you can add a large amount of kalk to it. Then the water will pick up as much as it can as it flows through the reactor. It is very difficult to overdose kalk.

Yes, alkalinity will often drop when you use kalk. You can resolve this by using a calcium reactor or by adding additional alkalinity buffer. Many people use a kalk reactor and a calcium reactor together.

One work of caution. Be careful about messing with all this stuff. It is rather easy to throw the entire tank out of whack, and do more harm than good.

 

[cracker]

This 75 sucks up the alk .Can't understand where it goes. This an experiment to see if ato/ kalkwasser is practical. I don't think it will be for the 180 though. Most likely will go with a doser of some sort. So I do a water change and the levels are ok. Hoping the kalwasser will keep up in this 75. Thanks Dave.

 

[DaveK]

If you dose with kalk, to make it effective you need to use a kalk reactor. A dosing pump just doesn't do it unless it feeds a kalk reactor. You can run all the ATO water through the kalk reactor. As I mentioned, it's really hard to overdose it.

You would feed the water from the ATO pump into the reactor and from the reactor to the return point in your system, usually the sump. Kalk reactors are sealed to keep out air. If you let mixed kalk water sit around in air any length of time, it's much less effective. Much will precipitate out.

The other way you can dose kalk and have it be effective is to use RO/DI water, and mix just the amount of kalk water you need that day and add it to you system. This works but is a pain to do because this method needs to be done daily. That get old fast.

While we are on the subject, test your magnesium level. If that is low it's very hard to maintain the calcium and alkalinity balance.

 

[cracker]

I'm happy to say that finally, after much effort and gnashing of teeth, I got my alk &^Ca levels to stay the same between water changes ! This Kalkwasser/Ato works !