Erin O's 75G Build

sfin52 · Mar 3, 2020

Erin O said:
Can we talk ATO's? Some people say "Gotta have 'em. They make life so much easier!" Others say "I've had too many problems with ATO's in the past. I will never use one again. Don't do it!" What are you're thoughts?

I don't have one but they do make life easier. @Why-Me @Katrina71 @Fin

crusso1993 · Mar 3, 2020

Erin O said:
Can we talk ATO's? Some people say "Gotta have 'em. They make life so much easier!" Others say "I've had too many problems with ATO's in the past. I will never use one again. Don't do it!" What are you're thoughts?

Well, you can either do one or not do one. Isn't this just the best input you've received!

I'd be interested in knowing about people who have hated an ATO. FWIW - I am a believer in ATOs.

Erin O · Mar 3, 2020

crusso1993 said:
Well, you can either do one or not do one. Isn't this just the best input you've received!

I'd be interested in knowing about people who have hated an ATO. FWIW - I am a believer in ATOs.

One of the people I've talked to was the owner of my LFS. He said that he would maintain the little sensor thingy religiously, and it still kept overflowing the tank. He also said that he had tried different kinds, from DIY to expensive set ups, and he never had any luck with them. Another person I spoke to said that after the 3rd time having water all over the floor, she got rid of hers and went to adding water manually. To be honest, no one that I've talked to them about in person has liked them, but I have read a lot of threads and such where people have had great success with them.

crusso1993 · Mar 3, 2020

Erin O said:
One of the people I've talked to was the owner of my LFS. He said that he would maintain the little sensor thingy religiously, and it still kept overflowing the tank. He also said that he had tried different kinds, from DIY to expensive set ups, and he never had any luck with them. Another person I spoke to said that after the 3rd time having water all over the floor, she got rid of hers and went to adding water manually. To be honest, no one that I've talked to them about in person has liked them, but I have read a lot of threads and such where people have had great success with them.

Thanks for answering my question!

Erin O · Mar 3, 2020

crusso1993 said:
Thanks for answering my question!

You bet! Anything for you! Well, not really anything. But I was more than happy to answer your question lol

sfin52 · Mar 3, 2020

Erin O said:
One of the people I've talked to was the owner of my LFS. He said that he would maintain the little sensor thingy religiously, and it still kept overflowing the tank. He also said that he had tried different kinds, from DIY to expensive set ups, and he never had any luck with them. Another person I spoke to said that after the 3rd time having water all over the floor, she got rid of hers and went to adding water manually. To be honest, no one that I've talked to them about in person has liked them, but I have read a lot of threads and such where people have had great success with them.

A buddy of mine has three on two dt and one qt tank and they love it. I've never delt with them so I'm not sure.

NY_Caveman · Mar 3, 2020

I love my ATO. I would never keep up manually. Just ask my Betta fish.

DownSouthBandit · Mar 3, 2020

I thought about getting one for my tank. I guess having done manual top offs of the past 2 1/2 years it doesn’t bother me to do it. Plus that’s more money to spend on corals.

Why-Me · Mar 4, 2020

I manually top off 2 tanks daily.
Just thought about it recently since I'm planning a vacation.
But I'm going to keep manually topping off for some time.
1. If I can't remember to dump water in my sump oncer per day how the heck am I going to remember to feed my fish once per day or use the bathroom once per day or feed myself once per day...see where I'm going here?
My vacation plans?
My 10 year old daughter will do the top off and feeding of the tanks.
I'm going to get the empty 1 gallon jugs for RODI and fill one for each tank each day for my daughter to be able to blindly and easily just dump a jug into each sump per day, feed each tank and then feed the corals their red sea A+B (by then I'll have that spiffy new 1 part and might even be using the doser for it by then too)
TLDR I haven't found ATO a necessity YET, but will get one someday.

Erin O · Mar 4, 2020

Thanks everyone! I guess I'll start out topping off manually and decide from there, once I figure out what my evaporation rate will be. It's not that bad with my FW tanks, but I have glass lids on them. I don't think the glass tops are typically recommended for SW though, correct?

Why-Me · Mar 4, 2020

It creates quite a bit of salt creep and condensation that negatively affects the lighting penetration.
That being said plenty of people use glass lids.
Both my tanks are screen top though as they're cheap and easy to make quickly.

Erin O · Mar 4, 2020

Why-Me said:
It creates quite a bit of salt creep and condensation that negatively affects the lighting penetration.
That being said plenty of people use glass lids.
Both my tanks are screen top though as they're cheap and easy to make quickly.

Makes sense. While I don't have to deal with salt creep with my FW tanks, I do have to deal with condensation and the occasional algae growth on my glass tops. I can definitely tell a difference in the lighting when I've skipped cleaning them for a few weeks lol

sfin52 · Mar 5, 2020

I run glass tops for evaporation prevention. I don't think the light is that bad through the glass. I'm have soft corals.

Erin O · Mar 5, 2020

I'm so excited, you guys! The OR light from @DownSouthBandit came today! Since the stupid stands are taking FOREVER, I've decided to do what Tyler did and get the 29g set up and running. Then, when the 75 is finally ready, I'll just either move everything over or keep the 29 going in addition to the 75. I just want to get a tank going! This is killing me lol

crusso1993 · Mar 5, 2020

Erin O said:
I'm so excited, you guys! The OR light from @DownSouthBandit came today! Since the stupid stands are taking FOREVER, I've decided to do what Tyler did and get the 29g set up and running. Then, when the 75 is finally ready, I'll just either move everything over or keep the 29 going in addition to the 75. I just want to get a tank going! This is killing me lol

Huh? Wait! What? I thought you were making the 125 a reef. (From where I sit, I am very certain your husband was only kidding when he disagreed about converting the 125g.)

Setting up the 29 is a fine idea! Especially if you're simply going to swap it to the "75" (125).

Erin O · Mar 5, 2020

crusso1993 said:
Huh? Wait! What? I thought you were making the 125 a reef. (From where I sit, I am very certain your husband was only kidding when he disagreed about converting the 125g.)

Setting up the 29 is a fine idea! Especially if you're simply going to swap it to the "75" (125).

Oh, I haven't given up on the 125 lol. It'll happen eventually. My Cow just needs to see how awesome SW tanks are. He'll change his mind. I've been thinking about trying to talk him into switching from canisters to a sump on the 125, even though it's FW. That way, the new stand can be built to accommodate it and I won't have to try to run canisters on it once it's switched.

crusso1993 · Mar 5, 2020

Erin O said:
Oh, I haven't given up on the 125 lol. It'll happen eventually. My Cow just needs to see how awesome SW tanks are. He'll change his mind. I've been thinking about trying to talk him into switching from canisters to a sump on the 125, even though it's FW. That way, the new stand can be built to accommodate it and I won't have to try to run canisters on it once it's switched.

Your "Cow"? Don't you mean your Bull?

I'm a big believer in sumps, regardless of water type. The only reason I run the FX6 canister on the 90 FW is because of the steal of a deal I got on it. Picked it up for $100 fully loaded. However, I did change it up a bit and replaced the ceramic with pumice. I also upgraded the sponges.

Erin O · Mar 5, 2020

Lol! I've called him My Cow for 20 years. When we first started dating, he'd belch, I'd call him a f*#kin' cow. It became a term of endearment lol.

The more I think about a FW sump for the 125, the more I like the idea. I think he'll like it too, once I have him read up on them.

crusso1993 · Mar 5, 2020

Erin O said:
Lol! I've called him My Cow for 20 years. When we first started dating, he'd belch, I'd call him a f*#kin' cow. It became a term of endearment lol.

Poor guy must not understand that cows are the females of the species. ;Hilarious

Erin O said:
The more I think about a FW sump for the 125, the more I like the idea. I think he'll like it too, once I have him read up on them.

I'd have him read up on the advantages of a sump too. However, I am not sure I would hold out too much hope of his understanding about what he reads. After all, he doesn't even understand what a cow is!

;Hilarious

Erin O · Mar 5, 2020

crusso1993 said:
Poor guy must not understand that cows are the females of the species. ;Hilarious

I'd have him read up on the advantages of a sump too. However, I am not sure I would hold out too much hope of his understanding about what he reads. After all, he doesn't even understand what a cow is! ;Hilarious

AND, he's from Nebraska! He has so many strikes against him ;Hilarious