Supplementary Dosing Via ATO

[ReefPig]

I've been experimenting for a couple of weeks of adding additional elements, as recommended on my ICP's, to my ATO RO/DI and using this as a method to simplify my additional dosing. It seems to be working well, but wanted to see what you think of this approach.

Elements such as Vanadium, Manganese, Iodine, and a little touch of Iron.

Right now, my recipe, is as follows:

• 25L container (which holds closer to 27L) lasts me 6-7 days
• 3L of 35ppt mixed salt water, this is to compensate for salinity loss due to automated testing (GHL KHD). I have a container always full of salt mix, so this is easy to add a little to my ATO and has been working a treat for the last 6 months.
• Filled up with TDS 0 RO/DI
• 1.25ml of Iodine (plan to increase next week by a little)
• 0.3ml of Vanadium
• 4.5ml Manganese
• 0.8ml Iron (plan to increase to 1ml from next week)
• 10ml of Sodium Nitrate (my own DIY mix, and works perfectly to maintain my NO3, feeding my chaeto, and maintains my PO4 with no additional PO4 remover etc).

It sounds like a faff, but I make up two weeks worth of water each time I mix, and actually takes very little time.
I just swap out my ATO container once a week and all the supplementary dosing is then handled.

I don't see any obvious precipitation in the solution, and I'm careful to mix each element separately for a good few minutes.

I'm considering to also add Zinc to the mix, as I'm always low on my ICP's.

Is anyone else doing similar?
Can you see any obvious issues with doing something like this?
Could there be any issues between the elevated elements within the RO?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[esther]

I wanted to do something similar to this, so I emailed Triton to ask them if I could mixx up the elements with RODI and they told me not to do it. Curious to see how this goes with you. When will you do another ICP test to see if everything is staying in line? Thanks for posting. This is good stuff.

 

[ReefPig]

I wanted to do something similar to this, so I emailed Triton to ask them if I could mixx up the elements with RODI and they told me not to do it. Curious to see how this goes with you. When will you do another ICP test to see if everything is staying in line? Thanks for posting. This is good stuff.

I have an ICP due back today/tomorrow, so will see how it's going.

It all seems to mix up well, it's very small amounts anyway.

 

[ReefPig]

*cough* @Julian@Triton *cough*

 

[ReefPig]

For future reference for anyone thinking of doing the same.

Whilst the approach appears to be working, at least to some degree, as confirmed on my ICP, I've found that my RO containers are all starting to become dirty with an unknown brown algae.
It's a light dusting at best, but it's in all three of my RO containers, and this only started since adding the Triton elements to it.

RO + Nitrates hadn't done this in the prior six months, so it's definitely element related.

I've stopped doing this approach from today.

 

[Julian@Triton]

I've been experimenting for a couple of weeks of adding additional elements, as recommended on my ICP's, to my ATO RO/DI and using this as a method to simplify my additional dosing. It seems to be working well, but wanted to see what you think of this approach.

Elements such as Vanadium, Manganese, Iodine, and a little touch of Iron.

Right now, my recipe, is as follows:

• 25L container (which holds closer to 27L) lasts me 6-7 days
• 3L of 35ppt mixed salt water, this is to compensate for salinity loss due to automated testing (GHL KHD). I have a container always full of salt mix, so this is easy to add a little to my ATO and has been working a treat for the last 6 months.
• Filled up with TDS 0 RO/DI
• 1.25ml of Iodine (plan to increase next week by a little)
• 0.3ml of Vanadium
• 4.5ml Manganese
• 0.8ml Iron (plan to increase to 1ml from next week)
• 10ml of Sodium Nitrate (my own DIY mix, and works perfectly to maintain my NO3, feeding my chaeto, and maintains my PO4 with no additional PO4 remover etc).

It sounds like a faff, but I make up two weeks worth of water each time I mix, and actually takes very little time.
I just swap out my ATO container once a week and all the supplementary dosing is then handled.

I don't see any obvious precipitation in the solution, and I'm careful to mix each element separately for a good few minutes.

I'm considering to also add Zinc to the mix, as I'm always low on my ICP's.

Is anyone else doing similar?
Can you see any obvious issues with doing something like this?
Could there be any issues between the elevated elements within the RO?

Cheers,
Dave

Yes, this not advised.