Help with beginner dosing setup

[shiftline]

Hi guys, i finally decided to setup a dosing system (yet i question if i even need to yet.. )

Tank Nuvo 30L 30g
Mixed reef
Filtration 2x 469gph pumps dialed down a bit on spin stream nozels to randomize flow.
IM Desktop ghost skimmer (a little under sized but already had it from the previous tank)
Salt: Reef Crystals
Corals: Mixed reef with a variety of softies/lps/sps
Stocking: decently heavy - 2 Clowns, 1 Azzule damsel, 1 banggai cardinal, 1x YWG, 1x Cleaner wrasse, 1x cleaner shrimp, and misc inverts

I moved everything to this tank about 2-3 weeks ago.. I wanted to give it a bit of time to settle before i looked at dosing.

Sunday afternoon i did a 5G water change.
Monday night tested parameters

29/06/2014
Calcium 400
alkalinity 2.5/7.0
Magnesium 1360

So far everything is in check according to this chart

Im going to measure it again tonight and see if the totals change.. (i wish i did it yesterday right after the water change)
Now i do 5G weekly water changes which may be to much if dosing? or on the other hand maybe i dont really need to dose if the salt provides enough... hopefully a few days of testing will clarify.

As for the levels are the current levels good to aim for as my consistent target or should i bump up the calcium/alk a bit?

 

[shiftline]

So I think I'm going to shoot for
Calcium 420
Alkalinity 8.5-9 ish
Mag 1350 is good

Bull reed supply calculators suggested 75ml of each which I'll break into 3 doses.
Did 25ml of calcium/alk this morning. Will add another 25 ml later this afternoon or tonight

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That sounds like a fine plan. Alkalinity will be your gauge when you need to start regular dosing of it and calcium as alk shows the need much faster.

I wouldn't worry about magnesium dosing now.

 

[Vincent H Leffler]

Currently starting the build on my first reef tank. Due to size limitations (55 gal with a 30 sump / refug) i want to set up a dosing pump for the sps, lps, and clams. so the question is which supplements would you recommend? this will also help me decide 2, 3, or 4 station pump

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Currently starting the build on my first reef tank. Due to size limitations (55 gal with a 30 sump / refug) i want to set up a dosing pump for the sps, lps, and clams. so the question is which supplements would you recommend? this will also help me decide 2, 3, or 4 station pump

If I were to go the dosing pump route, I'd use a 3 part DIY (using chemicals from a place like BRS; I can provide the recipe if you want). But the magnesium part does not really need a dosing pump if you do not want to dose it that way since the amounts are very small.

If I wanted to go a commercial route, I'd probably elect B-ionic two part since I trust them to get the recipe right.

 

[Justin1997]

I've also never dosed before I have just moved so my corals are all in don't have much because I had given most away, I'm planning on mostly montis and Zoas, maybe some other corals here and there, I have a 4 stage dosing pump but I'm planning on using 3. When should I start dosing? Sooner than later? Is there online calculators to figure out how to keep at steady levels?

 

[Stephanie11]

Just make sure you need to dose and not just want to dose. I have a lot of coral, mostly zoas and lps, few sps. I use salfert test kits for the big 3. My numbers don't fluctuate enough that I need to dose. I do 20% water changes weekly and that does it for me. I use half instant ocean half reef crystals now mixed. I used to use reef crystals but my alk was always high (14) and I felt that was doing more harm than good.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I've also never dosed before I have just moved so my corals are all in don't have much because I had given most away, I'm planning on mostly montis and Zoas, maybe some other corals here and there, I have a 4 stage dosing pump but I'm planning on using 3. When should I start dosing? Sooner than later? Is there online calculators to figure out how to keep at steady levels?

A calculator can only tell you how much is needed for a particular boost, not how much is needed to keep a tank at a specific value.

When to dose: when alkalinity drops below where you want to keep it. Use that as a guide for routine dosing of calcium too.

Is alkalinity low?

 

[chefjpaul]

A calculator can only tell you how much is needed for a particular boost, not how much is needed to keep a tank at a specific value.

When to dose: when alkalinity drops below where you want to keep it. Use that as a guide for routine dosing of calcium too.

Is alkalinity low?

Couldn't you use the calculator to find your daily value needed to dose?

Example:
If, after testing, and finding you are consuming 1.22 DKH daily.

Couldn't you plug into the calculator , say, 8dkh (current level). And just put in 9.22 (desired level).

That would give you your daily dose?
(Im currently testing a doser to set up and number crunching).

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, that's certainly true. That's what I mean by you can use it to figure a particular boost. If you know that drop rate is appropriate for the alk you want to maintain, the calculator is useful. If you only know that you are 1.4 dKH below your target, however, it isn't except for that single correction.

Additionally, you will likely also need trial and error to set the final daily routine dose, since the amount used is a pretty strong function of the alkalinity itself. So unless you determined that need exactly at the alk you maintain, it may be a bit different.

For examaple, if it took 5 days to drop from 10 dKH to 7 dKH, and you want to maintain it at 7.2 dKH, the daily doses needed may be much lower than you calculate because you might drop 1 dKH the first day, 0.8 the second, 0.6 the third, 0.4 the fourth, and 0.2 the fifth. The final dose needed is probably closer to 0.2-0.3 dKH per day than the average of 0.6 dKH per day.

IMO, you may be better off selecting a reasonable starting dose for your type of tank and adjusting by trial and error in the first place.

 

[chefjpaul]

Makes sense. Didn't think about consuming fluctuations.

Thats why I'm sticking with your guide.