auto top off?

[innomen/dennis`]

Just when i thought i was all set to go, i have been told that i need something called an auto top off. I am not sure what this is, and how essential it is. Also i am not sure about a calcium reactor for a small tank (29 g).

Any thoughts?

[cheese1]

A top off system is just a way to refill your tank after evaporation. Some people use pumps set on timers or better yet a float switch to replenish the water. I currently use an auto top off system but before that I did it manually for 2 years and everything worked fine. If your new to the hobby I would not worry about a calcium reactor just yet. It is a huge expense and will be unnecessary if you do not keep sps corals.

[moe_k]

Yeah, I totally agree with Cheese.

Auto top offs are a nice, but unnecessary, gadget. They need quite a bit of tweaking, from what I hear. Nice way to save you some labor if you have the money to burn.

I just top my tank off with kalkwasser. That way I don't need any calcium reactor either.

But if I won the lottery, I would have both in my mansion. :D

[hartman]

dennis,

If you have strong ligths close to the surface and run your tank warm 82-83 you migth want to plan on a auto-top off. I ran a 20G long at 83 with 110W of PC on it only 2 inches from the surface. I was getting about .5 - 1.0 gallon evaperation a day. Granted I just added water by hand for a year without to much issue but the auto made it much easier. I got the AquaTune II doser and it works great.

<b>calcium reactor</b> No way. just buy some 2 part stuff like ESV Bionic Calcium Buffer System 64 fl. oz for $15.00. I use this stuff and it is great.

Hartman