so I've got an auto topoff...new to this open tank thing...

[Sk8r]

...and I'm facing a trip of about a week, first time I've ever left this tank. My calcium demand for my 52 gal/10 gal sump is a little shy of 1/8th tsp Kent calcium supplement 3x weekly, and buffer dosing 2tsp 3x weekly on alternate days. I use ro/di water. Evaporation rate about 1/2 gallon a day.
This is a 2-3 month old tank with good coral growth for the few spses I have and I don't want to mess it up.
What I envision is adding enough calcium to the topoff water to have it come into the tank at 400, and just not worrying about the buffer for a week, because the calcium will be constantly replenished via the topoff water, right, so the topoff won't be dragging the buffer down?
Am I thinking correctly?:doubt:

 

[wrightme43]

Letting the calcium drop is probley better than letting the alk drop. More alk is used in building coral, and it buffers the ph which is much more important.
One week if thats all it is, I would just let it be, and just add rodi. Do a water change when you get back to bring the ca/alk back in line and go from there.
Just my opinons though, and have been wrong at least once today. Maybe twice. LOL
HTH

 

[Sk8r]

Thanks! I was a little worried about the alkalinity side of things, since it sure drinks up more powder, ounce for ounce. My mg is always pretty high, without any help, and the cal stays up pretty well. Perhaps I could give the cal in the tank a little shove toward 450 before leaving and the alk toward 3.5(it's usually 2.95) and hope the decline doesn't go too low. Is that a good idea? Or not? I have sps and frogspawns, shrimp, a whole lot of inverts, and two nano-fish, in my 52 with skimmer. Lots of pods. Nothing's going to starve.

 

[wrightme43]

It probley best to just leave it be. Pushing it up high is worse in my opinon, than a few days of it being low. Just my opinion again though.

 

[Sk8r]

Again, thanks: I appreciate the advice. I did reefs back in dinosaur times, before this lovely new equipment: those were pretty well sealed systems, with no evaporation to speak of, and coral growth was minuscule. The speed at which these systems operate is really quite amazing, and the technology is quite clever.