Using ATO to dose multiple elements

ddwbeagles · Mar 21, 2010

Quick question concerning compatibility of several additives combined together in a single ATO container. I routinely have to dose calcium, magnesium and iodine/dide. Yes liquid calcium on top of my regular two part - but I know those can not be combined/stored together.

So, space is a problem as wife wants everything out of site and hidden in the cabinet. That forces me to use a single ATO resivior. Can I safely combine the magnesium, liquid calcium and iodine solutions together and use the ATO system to make this less of a choir? :squigglemouth: Thanks in advance!

RBursek · Mar 21, 2010

I am not a chemist, you could add the iodine and one of the others but I do not think you can add the Mg and Ca together in large amounts, How much Mg, Ca, to how much top of water in the container?

ddwbeagles · Mar 21, 2010

That is the million dollar question. Since I'm not doing this yet, I'll have to figure out how much of each or any singular element to add to keep that particular component stabile. Here is what information I can share - I'm currently using about 2 gallons weekly for water top offs. Getting ready to plumb in a new frag tank which will complicate things, but total water volume of system (- sand/LR) will be: (22g MT, 20g sump, 12.5g fragtank) -so we're looking at about 54 gallons +/-.

Using the dosing calculator linked as a sticky in this section, it indicates that I will have to increase my weekly calcium dosing to 45ml and magnessium to 200 ml.

Can anyone else chime in a verfiy or dispute whether you can combine liquid calcium/magnessium/iodine&dide together?

(side bar) - has absolutely nothing to do with this, but the dosing matrix so needs to be updated. Currently I'm suing Julian Sprung's liquid magnessium and that isn't listed on the chart - so I either need to buy something that is listed there or gamble that all liquid magnessiums are similar. Bad gamble to take - but if I start dosing MG automaticly, I'll increase water testing to daily instead of weekly until I'm happy with the results.

RBursek · Mar 22, 2010

That sure seems like alot of MG to have to add every week depending on your water change amount and schedule. I want to do some thing simular, but witha daily water change, I will quote you here what Boomer PM me about what I wanted to do.How much A & B part to WC water?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobBursek
Boomer,
I was doing 30g/25% biweekly, then went to every 4 weeks. Then after reading Randy's daily change I decided to go to 3qts a day of the new RC at 1.025SG and I also dose 4qts of max out Kalk for MU a day. With the Kalk dose I loose 20ppm Ca a week, and drop about 2dkh a week. Can I add his 2 part A&B to the already RC mixed WC water to raise the Ca and Alk of it, to keep from adding any thing but the Kalk, with out a precip in the 5 gal bucket of the WC water that I would add the A&B to? Mg would be addressed as needed seperatly.
TIA,
Bob

Addding it may be very iffy and a non-no. You need to know how much that A & B, you want to add to it, is going to change the Alk and Ca++ in that RC batch.

Why ? As the RC is rather high in Alk and Ca++, i.e,

490 Ca++ 13 Alk dKH

Meaning, you are going to see a big a snow storm in the bucket from CaCO3 precip and more so if the pH is above low 8's. And fresh mix of RC has high pH. I think you will be making limestone in the bucket. Me, I like to prove that I'm right or wrong. So, I would do it and see what happens, it is only 5 gals
e 5 gal bucket of the WC water that I would add the A&B to? Mg would be addressed as needed seperatly.
490 Ca++ 13 Alk dKH

Meaning, you are going to see a big a snow storm in the bucket from CaCO3 precip and more so if the pH is above low 8's. And fresh mix of RC has high pH. I think you will be making limestone in the bucket. Me, I like to prove that I'm right or wrong. So, I would do it and see what happens, it is only 5 gals

Meaning, you are going to see a big a snow storm in the bucket from CaCO3 precip and more so if the pH is above low 8's. And fresh mix of RC has high pH. I think you will be making limestone in the bucket. Me, I like to prove that I'm right or wrong. So, I would do it and see what happens, it is only 5 gals

Re: How much A & B part to WC water?

lazyreefer · Mar 22, 2010

I'm following along not for space issues but because I don't like Kalk and see the addition of "nothing" via RO/DI in ATO as not only a waste - I would rather add "something" which is a positive addition to system - but its actually a detriment inmho when I'm dosing to keep parameters at certain levels.

In other words, I'm adding 3-4 gallons a day of "nothing" due to evaporation while I'm dosing 6 ounces of Alk/Ca daily to keep up "something". Same thing goes for salinity, in a 3 week span between WCs my salinity drops from 1.026 down to ~ .023/24

I'm starting to fill my ATO with saltwater once every 10 days or so to see what that does. (I fill it 3 times a week and its a 12 gallon reservoir)

ddwbeagles · Mar 22, 2010

Not a lot of feedback yet, but I'm starting to wonder what really is/was the source or root cause of my constant calcium and MG depletion rates. I'm only doing a 10% water change a week and that may not be enough to replenish the MG, rebuffer the water and keep CA up. So, ....and this has nothing to do with combining elements in the ATO resiviour, but I'm going to mix up a fresh batch of SW (heated, agitate, covered and stored for 24hrs) then test same. I know I'm dosing way more than most and I'm missing something obvious here. So it may be as simple as the salt I'm using (IA RC) isn't really what I need -or- I need to increase the size or frequency of WCs.