Which tech system would be great?

[Bronest!]

Hello! Im wanting to know which tech systems are great for my tank? I have a 40Gallon Neptunian AIO. I'm wanting a system that im able to check parameters and ive seen something along the lines of "dosing" chemicals. I'm starting to get into getting into corals so anything that would help me out would be great!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

It all depends on what you want to do!
I have an Apex and love the capabilities of it.
For dosing, you have sorts of systems. This thread I am linking below has some dosers that some of our members use!

What's your preferred dosing pumps?

Im trying to put together a list of equipment and looking to know what dosing pump is best, if it makes a difference

www.reef2reef.com

 

[exnisstech]

Horse before the cart I think.
No automation is going to replace the basic skills needed be successful. IMO a person should learn the basic skills needed to succeed without automation that way they have the skills needed to deal with problems that arise because of or in spite of said automation. The only automation that I would recommend early would be a dosing pump but i currently have 5 tanks running and only one has a doser all others are taken care of manually.

Feel free to look at my tanks for examples of non automated tanks. I'm not against automation and many people who travel need some or a lot but IMO it has nothing to do with being successful which should be the first goal when starting a tank.

 

[Bronest!]

Horse before the cart I think.
No automation is going to replace the basic skills needed be successful. IMO a person should learn the basic skills needed to succeed without automation that way they have the skills needed to deal with problems that arise because of or in spite of said automation. The only automation that I would recommend early would be a dosing pump but i currently have 5 tanks running and only one has a doser all others are taken care of manually.

Feel free to look at my tanks for examples of non automated tanks. I'm not against automation and many people who travel need some or a lot but IMO it has nothing to do with being successful which should be the first goal when starting a tank.

Im out of town for almost 3 days I leave my place at 2pm on a friday and usually come back sunday evening. Sometimes I even leave on thursday night and wont come back till Sunday. Reason why I would want something automatic. The fear of coming back home to a tank being broken or water spilling dawns on me every time I head home

 

[Bronest!]

It all depends on what you want to do!
I have an Apex and love the capabilities of it.
For dosing, you have sorts of systems. This thread I am linking below has some dosers that some of our members use!

What's your preferred dosing pumps?

Im trying to put together a list of equipment and looking to know what dosing pump is best, if it makes a difference

www.reef2reef.com

I just want to make it more a easier thing for myself since during black Friday I ended up with 4 saltwater tanks... anything that is able to give me a automatic water reader would be great

Anything that is budget friendly would work as well. Additionally more into as making sure everything is running correctly, and also to make sure everything is fine while I'm away from my house. Im still new to this sort of thing but if its something regarding adding chemicals due to my nems or hammerhead since i just added them yesterday.

 

[Dom]

You may want to do more research and read up on some of the threads here. Familiarize yourself with the trials of owning a reef tank.

From you, I get a vibe that you are looking to set it and forget it. That isn't how reef tanks work; they aren't flat panel TVs that you pull out of a box, plug in and enjoy.

Think of your reef tank as a garden. A garden isn't beautiful as soon as you plant. A garden needs to be nurtured, so that it can grow into the beautiful display of colors and aromatic blends that we enjoy.

As @exnisstech said "Horse before the cart" (But I think he meant cart before the horse).

I wouldn't worry about dosing and automation out of the gate. In a 40 gallon tank, faithful, weekly 20% water changes will replenish elements consumed by your tank. That's all you need to do. But as your tank matures, and demands increase, THEN dosing and automation may be necessary.

 

[exnisstech]

Im out of town for almost 3 days I leave my place at 2pm on a friday and usually come back sunday evening. Sometimes I even leave on thursday night and wont come back till Sunday. Reason why I would want something automatic. The fear of coming back home to a tank being broken or water spilling dawns on me every time I head home

I totally understand and why i mentioned travel. But at the risk of sounding negative automation can introduce points of failure as well as illuminate them. Tho I can't think of any it really illuminates except human memory failure. I get the need for ATO and auto dosers. I even get AWCs but the auto testing thing I just don't understand. I spend less than an hour a week testing 5 tanks.

 

[Bronest!]

I totally understand and why i mentioned travel. But at the risk of sounding negative automation can introduce points of failure as well as illuminate them. Tho I can't think of any it really illuminates except human memory failure. I get the need for ATO and auto dosers. I even get AWCs but the auto testing thing I just don't understand. I spend less than an hour a week testing 5 tanks.

What do you use for your testing? Reason why i want something automatic is cause even for myself Im colorblind and I cant tell the colors off the color chart when I use the manual testing

 

[Bronest!]

You may want to do more research and read up on some of the threads here. Familiarize yourself with the trials of owning a reef tank.

From you, I get a vibe that you are looking to set it and forget it. That isn't how reef tanks work; they aren't flat panel TVs that you pull out of a box, plug in and enjoy.

Think of your reef tank as a garden. A garden isn't beautiful as soon as you plant. A garden needs to be nurtured, so that it can grow into the beautiful display of colors and aromatic blends that we enjoy.

As @exnisstech said "Horse before the cart" (But I think he meant cart before the horse).

I wouldn't worry about dosing and automation out of the gate. In a 40 gallon tank, faithful, weekly 20% water changes will replenish elements consumed by your tank. That's all you need to do. But as your tank matures, and demands increase, THEN dosing and automation may be necessary.

Not necessary set it up and forget it. I have alot of money invested in the tanks the reason why i want something automated is so I can trust something to be like "Hey you forgot to add this or that" so that way I can make sure something wouldnt mess up with my tank. Ive seen alot of videos of tanks crashing and I would hate to fall victim of that.

I have gotten alot of opinions from people and even lfs about how to own a tank but even then with my memory i cant remember everything that was being told to me

 

[exnisstech]

I use Hanna high range for nitrate, ultra low range for phosphate, and Hanna alkalinity which are tested weekly. I use salifert for calcium but only test every month or two since I've never had to make adjustments. For salinty I use a tropic marin hydrometer. I don't test anything else because I've never felt the need.

 

[exnisstech]

Ive seen alot of videos of tanks crashing and I would hate to fall victim of that.

Many crash due to equipment failure not human error. Just saying . Everyone piece of equipment added is a point of failure. Some automation is a single point of failure that shuts down everything on the tank when it fails.

EDIT: to be fair there are people who have had automation save their tank. I just don't see the risk being worth the reward but I'm an old retired guy with too much time on my hands and I'm never away from home longer than a few hours at a time. I understand not every one has that luxury so automation does have its place and is needed for some. Some folks just enjoy the tech which is also cool because they get two hobbies in one package so to speak.