Does it matter if your ATO reservoir is colored?

sky414

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2024
Messages
67
Reaction score
34
Location
East Valley Phoenix
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I am new to reefing and I am having an ATO reservoir built for my 150 display tank. I know colored reservoirs is an option. Does having it colored instead of clear have any practical impact? I ordered a Redsea ATO, so I am guessing the app will tell me if the reservoir is close to being empty, but other than that, what are the pros and cons of having a colored reservoir? Thanks.
 

MoshJosh

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 27, 2022
Messages
3,988
Reaction score
4,433
Location
Grand Junction
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Science has found a direct correlation between gear color matching and coral grown (and happiness). So having a blue reservoir sitting next to a red sump is just BEGGING for a tank crash!!!

Only kidding of course!

Color won’t matter. Being transparent is a plus so you can see water level but not a must. . . My old ATO “reservoir” was a solid blue horse feed bucket!
 

Reefing102

Metal Halides Til The End
View Badges
Joined
Apr 25, 2021
Messages
4,300
Reaction score
6,166
Location
Central Ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For me color would matter if I cared. I use a 5.5 gallon tank. It sits under my stand right next to my sump which is also clear. With the fuge light, my ATO gets enough light that algae would start growing in it. If it had been black, I’d like to assume less algae would grow as the top is otherwise covered.

That said, I don’t really have a need for a lighted fuge anymore so I don’t care that my ATO is clear
 

gbroadbridge

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 25, 2021
Messages
4,585
Reaction score
4,881
Location
Sydney, Australia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I am new to reefing and I am having an ATO reservoir built for my 150 display tank. I know colored reservoirs is an option. Does having it colored instead of clear have any practical impact? I ordered a Redsea ATO, so I am guessing the app will tell me if the reservoir is close to being empty, but other than that, what are the pros and cons of having a colored reservoir? Thanks.
Ideally you should have three ATO's.

One Red, one Green and one Blue.

You can them hook them up to some $250 lights and an Aquarium lighting controller (another $750), and maximise Coral growth and happiness by tuning the ATO lighting to match the tank lighting.

Maybe even hook up a gaming PC to control the RGB lighting and use the PC water cooling as an additional cooler for the tank during hot weather.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHICH OF THESE CREEPY REEF CRITTERS IS MOST LIKELY TO GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES? (PICTURED IN THE THREAD)

  • The Bobbit Worm

    Votes: 50 66.7%
  • The Goblin Shark

    Votes: 4 5.3%
  • The Sea Wolf

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Giant Spider Crabs

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • The Stargazer Fish

    Votes: 5 6.7%
  • The Giant Isopod

    Votes: 9 12.0%
  • The Giant Squid

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Other (Please explain!)

    Votes: 5 6.7%
Back
Top