do nanos need auto-top off?

[westonm]

Hi everyone. For years I have had a 75 gallon acro dominated tank, but in a recent multi-day power outage lost essentially everything. I thought I would just quit till I have more money/house/etc. but can't resist the pull of the hobby so i am setting up a nano for softies mainly.
I am going to get a 12 gallon possibly jbj dx or some other closed but fan cooled lid and was mainly wondering how much evaporation people with similar set-ups get. I have a nice peristaltic top-off pump with float switches from my old tank, but would rather simplify things and not set up a reservoir if not needed. I am asking before I get the tank because it will in part decide what stand I get. My wife and I like those S stands for the jbj's but those do not have storage for a reservoir. So do you guys think I will be wanting a top-off system or not?

thanks,
Matt

[reefwick]

Okay I have the jbj 12 gallon dx and the S-stand. I don't have all that much evaporation in my tank. I top-off everyday a little bit but just by hand. The salinity swings are evident but not drastic.

BTW sorry for your loss. I've been thinking about starting a 75 gallon for some time now. Must be a blow to loose all that.

Good luck!

[Quatro]

Hey Matt,

For softies, you could get away with just topping off every other day, but when you get into more sensitive corals like your acros, in a small tank the swings can be big over a few days, especially if you are running lots of lights in a small hood like the upgraded JBJs.

But, if you already have the equipment, I would just set it up, that way you won't have another disaster if you forget to top off for a week or something.

Good luck,

[k_kagy]

I have a top-off switch and I wouldn't have it any other way! Its very convenient.

[Daemonfly]

Usually depends on your specific setup. With smaller tanks, evap is more of a problem, especially when the water volume is so small and evap can really mess with the salinity, etc...

If you have enough evap for it to be annoying, then could set up a ATO.

[westonm]

thanks for the help guys. I am going to go with a stand I can fit a reservoir in and just set up my old auto top off. Topping off every other day is a bit of a pain and like you guys said if I already have the equipment its probably worth it. i had a feeling it might be the wiser choice anyway, just needed some confirmation I guess since I wasn't sure what evap to expect. This way i can sneak a little kalk in too. Thanks.

[Quatro]

I never really thought about putting kalk water in the top off, does it really help? Did you do that with your old 75? I would think it could help keep the ph up at night along with ca and alkalinity, but do you think it's necessary in a small nano reef? If so, maybe i'll sneak a little kalk in my top off.

[westonm]

I have always liked adding kalk through a top off. The primary reason being the calcium and alkalinity. i won't be running a calcium reactor like in my 75, but I wont have acros now either. i figure a bit of calcium for corraline and maybe a couple lps can't hurt. I am not intending full dose kalk, just a bit. Kalk also helps precipitate out phosphates I believe. Basically, a little kalk in the top-off always seemed to give my tank a highly subjective boost. Is the current nano line of thinking no kalk?

--Matt

[mbunakeith]

i run kalk in my auto topoff. i like it. it has been advised to my by other pro reefers in my area. its the only way i can keep up with calcium intake. otherwise i have to do water changes every other day. you will be happy that you do the ATO. i have to topoff about .5-.75 g every day and it becomes a pain if you cant do it one day for some reason. makes it very stable. i dont like adding things like 2 part calcium additives-too much of a pain. kalk is so easy.