people with auto water changers

I think you need to look at the specific salt mix to determine if it's safe to sit a long time in storage. Salts like tropic marin bio-actif have organics added in them that could (would) decompose - likewise reef crystals has vitamins that could also be consumed by bacteria or other organisms in storage. If that is harmful or not probably depends on a lot of things, but it's probably not very desirable.

 

I don't want to get you guys off you conversation but can someone shoot me some info on the auto water changer? Been trying to Google it with not much luck. Thanks

 

Perfect. I will probably be hitting you up for some salt when I run out.

 

Well you got a bunch of cool SPS I gotta see some pics.

 

They are still settling in. So probably be a small change over time. But be ready to step up dosage when thing get happy and take off.

 

@hart, with the IO you keep for a month, you said you don't stir it after the initial mix...do you continue to heat the SW when not using? Do you arerate the SW before using after it has sat for weeks?

 

I never heated it at all, and after the initial stirring I never stirred again for the entire month. This was for the auto water change, if using for a larger batch change I would heat right before use and stir to make it heat faster. I really just copied what Randy Holmes does with his tank for the auto water change - no stir and no heat.

 

The BEST maintenance hands down For a tank is a water change. If you can stretch that out with a regular change over time, you should need to dose anything in a properly balanced tank.

With that being said, who wants a properly balanced tank? We want corals ceiling to floor SPS that shoot out the top almost and enough LPS to to cover every inch of the lower tank. Packed full of fish and other inverts right!?

Watch and monitor your cal and alk as the tank grows. there will come a time when the coral balance shifts and you will begin to see a drop even with water changes, at that point you can frag off, and lower the in tank need, or start to dose alk/kalk and the various other options available. I myself am a low maintenance kinda guy, and only run skimmers in my sump. With that being said. there's no one right way to run a tank, but many many wrong ways.

You have yourself a leg up with the auto change station and proper water consistency is the basis of a strong and healthy reef.

 

Thanks hart!!