# supplement dosing and ATO



## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

this is not for my 2 gallon tank. But I am interested in something that would dose my supplements and top off the water. Now the ATO I could make myself with a switch and some clever handiwork. 

I think you, Ameekplec, had one on your nano tank before you moved up to the deep. But how does one inject supplements into their tank at a sort of regular steady rate? I have no idea what they are called, what I need and all that.


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## caker_chris (Apr 22, 2010)

people use automatic dosers for dosing stuff like calcium, vodka, ect. Eric (Ameekplec) uses one to does vodka.

things like kalk you can mix in with your top off water.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

You can set up automatic dosers on the cheap with aqualuft pumps and timers. The system I use is a bit more sophisticated (and much more expensive), but essentially does the same thing - timed, measured doses of specific components.

I'd look over at nano-reef to see what DIY solutions people used. I think most who go the cheapest DIY route end up using luft pumps to pump liquids ($10 - $20/pump), and a timer set to dose once a day. If you get a fancy timer that allows multiple on/off cycles a day then you'll be able to get more precise control, but considering that most people who dose by hand do it once a day, a once a day timer should be good enough.

One thing to consider though when dosing into nanos is the volume - most timers work in increments of 1 min or more, so if your pump delivers 100 ml/min, then there's a good chance you'll have a problem that is two-fold: 1, you'll dose too much volume into the nano that it'll overflow, 2: you'll have to have such big containers (reservoirs) that it becomes inpractical. Also, with large single doses, you can get large swings in parameters, so it's something to watch for as well.

That's what sold me on the profilux system - it can dose as little as 1 ml, so it was perfect for periodic infusions of whatever component was needed, as well as dosing 1 ml of vodka a day.


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## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

I am actually interested in something like yours. If oyu can tell me more about the system, pros cons and what not. I plan to get that for the 25 gallon.


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## dimples76 (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm new at dosing so please excuse my ignorance. I have a hang on the back refugium and was wondering if i were to dose the tank with 2 part should I place the tube over the refugium or over the tank.


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