Billdemart Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I have four, 5 gallon buckets in the corner of the room near my 10 gallon nano. One is for Instant Ocean salt One is for RO/DI Evaptopoff Water One is for Water Change Water One is extra for mixing water change water Usually I don't have any in the 4th bucket, its just if I mix too much sale in the 3rd bucket I can use the 4th to add fresh water and get the SG down. Anyway right now I am currently alternating Power heads and heaters between the topoff water and the water change water because I have run out of equipment (not to mention money, 10 gallon has already cost me over 400 dollars not 4 weeks old). I was wondering if there is a cheap simple solution to keep this water the right temp and with some type of water movement (bubbles? Pump? Air hose), that I can use for both of these buckets? I remember someone mentioning a pump with some air stones? and some air hoses to keep the water moving. Also whats a good heater for a 5 gallon bucket? Thanks, Bill Link to comment
seabass Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I wouldn't think that you need a powerhead for your topoff water. Top it off everyday and you should need less than a pint. Also, I wouldn't worry about the temp or your topoff water as long as it's room temp and you add it slowly (I drip it in with a Kent Marine AquaDoser). Link to comment
Vincerama Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Probably cheaper if you can get an IV dripper thing! Vince Link to comment
Dennis_said Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Hey hey, a different question on a similar note... can I just top off with higher SG saltwater if my current aquarium's salinity is a bit on the low side? Will this raise my SG to the desired level/ Link to comment
seabass Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Yes Dennis you can top off with saltwater to get your SG up. If you continue to top off with water which has the same SG that is in your tank, you will eventually get it up to the levels that you want. Link to comment
Billdemart Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 Do you set the frequency of drops with that aquadoser? Link to comment
Dennis_said Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Thansk see bass... isn't it difficult to maintain SG then? Seeing how when you do water changes and top offs that the SG would drop little by little everytime you top off? Or are teh changes so low that it's negligible? Link to comment
seabass Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Bill, it's hard to set the doser to be a true auto topoff unit, but people do use it that way. I think it's hard to adjust it just right, and it seems to require you to adjust it from time to time. Therefore, I put in the amount of freshwater that I need for a day (so I don't overfill) and drip it in faster than the evaporation rate. Depending on how much evaporation your tank experiences, it would take roughly 1 drip every 45 seconds to keep up. I modified the doser a little with a new reservoir. [Check it out] Dennis, it's pretty easy to maintain your SG. Evaporation will leave the salt in your tank (minus any salt creep); freshwater topoffs will then restore your SG to where it was. So to raise your SG, measure your tank's SG before your topoff, it should now be slightly higher than it was after your last water change. Mix some saltwater to that SG and top off your tank with that. Your tank's SG will continue to rise until you get your levels up to where you want. After your SG is up where it should be, only topoff with freshwater. Link to comment
Dennis_said Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Thanks seabass I guess I should save up for a refractometer Link to comment
seabass Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Refractometers are great (very accurate), but you won’t need one. A hydrometer works good enough. Personally I keep my tank’s SG as close to 1.024 as I can. You can also adjust your SG during partial water changes, but if you do, make sure that you are not changing the salinity too fast (as this will stress your inhabitants). Link to comment
Vincerama Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Hey, you only need a doser if you are going to, uh, dose! So dripping kalkwasser is a good use for one, but if you are just topping off, you can just top off in the evening, or whatever. If you use the drip doser, then I guess it makes sense to set it lower and then top off the difference at night. V Link to comment
Billdemart Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 I think the point is however that if you do use a dripper you don't have to worry about buying another heater and powerhead to keep your topoff water going. I could just drip it which would be MUCH easier. Link to comment
seabass Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Bill and Vince, I agree with you both. You can perform safe topoffs without a doser, a heater, or a powerhead. However, I like to use my doser for topoffs to: • Maintain water levels as constant as possible • Maintain salinity levels as constant as possible (avoiding the slight changes caused by a quick topoff) • Minimize temperature changes caused by a quick topoff • Minimize the disruption caused by pouring water into the tank • Perform automated weekend topoffs for my office nano • Dose supplements if needed Link to comment
Dennis_said Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 A doser? Dripping? Am I thinking about this right? Do you guys mean like those EYE dropper things? Where it would be drop after drop after drop really slowly? ??? Link to comment
seabass Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 We are talking about a gravity operated siphon utilizing an IV style delivery system like... www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3677 Link to comment
Dennis_said Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 AHh yes, I do something similar... I call it pressure quick suck siphons pretty well Link to comment
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