7 months into the hobby, Time to start dosing Alk/Calcium... :/

[Zeal]

Title, So i've noticed that I have a cyphestra that had started encrusting a rock and mid way through the week I see it recedes a bit. Then at the start of the week it spreads quite far out...

So I decided to do a Alk/Calcium test just now and I was shocked to see my....

Alk: 7.7
Calcium: 440

I do a water change every Sunday (5G) with red sea pro salt. I thought that would be enough but apparently not. I have quite a bit of corals (everything started off as frags) and everything is growing nicely but id like to tackle this issue ASAP. I know its not that low but Id like to keep it at 8/9k Alk and 490 calcium if possible.


Where do I start?

Edit: I dont know my magnesium dont have a test, and my phosphates

Edit: I was under the impression that the 5G water change with Red Sea Pro would allow me to get through the entire week without dosing but apparently not.

Edit: I understand that 7 alkalinity is fine and 400-450 Calcium is ok but Id like to keep a steady number every week. If I start dosing Alk/Calcium would I have to spread out my water changes?

 

[TheEngineer]

Your simplest option is to do larger or more frequent water changes. That said, water changes not keeping up is pretty much the tipping point for most people to start supplementing. It's good in the sense that you're tank is growing, it's annoying since you've now got one more thing to deal with.

How big is your tank? If you are doing a 5g water change, I'm going to guess somewhere south of 50g?

 

[pdiehm]

What I would do (and by all means others more knowledgeable chime in)...Test your tank an hour after you do a water change. Make a note of the Alkalinity.

Just before you do your next water change, test your alkalinity. Make note of what it was to what it is. If it's 1 or more dkh lower, then you probably need to dose. Figure that out by taking the difference divided by 7, and find a calculator (ex: BRS) to find out how much you need to dose per day.

That's how I did it, and I could be very wrong as well!

 

[TheEngineer]

What I would do (and by all means others more knowledgeable chime in)...Test your tank an hour after you do a water change. Make a note of the Alkalinity.

Just before you do your next water change, test your alkalinity. Make note of what it was to what it is. If it's 1 or more dkh lower, then you probably need to dose. Figure that out by taking the difference divided by 7, and find a calculator (ex: BRS) to find out how much you need to dose per day.

That's how I did it, and I could be very wrong as well!

That's helpful advice. You will get a feel for your weekly draw down.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

I am about at the same point and have started to dose as well. Definitely test your mag I was surprised to find how low mine had gotten.

Also you want to test your fresh salt mix. I believe the coral pro has elevated alk and mag. Its probably best to try and keep numbers as close to your mix as possible to avoid spikes if the need ever arises for a large water change.

 

[Sean1986]

first thing that stuck out to me is your alk is not stable. If you are using RedSea pro salt that’s mixing to a much higher number then 7.7

Easiest may be to add Kalk to your ato, but that’s not my favorite way. If I was you I’d manually dose alk. Best way for me was to just test alk each morning around the same time. You will see how much it drops each day. And can adjust your dosing. If you don’t want to manually dos pick up a used doser or a cheap jabo doser I used one for two years was the best thing

As far as water changes stability is key, if you are shooting for lower alk like you said 8-9 then use Red Sea blue bucket mine mixes to 8 ish give or take a little. Then I will dose alk into my fresh batch to match my tanks alk. Same with calcium but haven’t needed to dos that into my new batch.

 

[Zeal]

Your simplest option is to do larger or more frequent water changes. That said, water changes not keeping up is pretty much the tipping point for most people to start supplementing. It's good in the sense that you're tank is growing, it's annoying since you've now got one more thing to deal with.

How big is your tank? If you are doing a 5g water change, I'm going to guess somewhere south of 50g?

Tank is a Nuvo 40G!

What I would do (and by all means others more knowledgeable chime in)...Test your tank an hour after you do a water change. Make a note of the Alkalinity.

Just before you do your next water change, test your alkalinity. Make note of what it was to what it is. If it's 1 or more dkh lower, then you probably need to dose. Figure that out by taking the difference divided by 7, and find a calculator (ex: BRS) to find out how much you need to dose per day.

That's how I did it, and I could be very wrong as well!

Ill do that this weekend. Im making RO/DI water right now and ill throw it in the tank tomorrow. Ill check out the calculator.

first thing that stuck out to me is your alk is not stable. If you are using RedSea pro salt that’s mixing to a much higher number then 7.7

Easiest may be to add Kalk to your ato, but that’s not my favorite way. If I was you I’d manually dose alk. Best way for me was to just test alk each morning around the same time. You will see how much it drops each day. And can adjust your dosing. If you don’t want to manually dos pick up a used doser or a cheap jabo doser I used one for two years was the best thing

As far as water changes stability is key, if you are shooting for lower alk like you said 8-9 then use Red Sea blue bucket mine mixes to 8 ish give or take a little. Then I will dose alk into my fresh batch to match my tanks alk. Same with calcium but haven’t needed to dos that into my new batch.

Sorry, Id like to hold a STEADY 9/10 but I do prefer a bit higher.

 

[Sean1986]

I have the Nuvo 30 and I’m dosing about 60ml a day of alk. The more your corals grow it will continue to rise. So frequent monitoring is required

 

[Super Fly]

This is how I calculate amount to dose; before a water change, measure the Alk & Calc level of freshly made saltwater and also of your current tank water. Your history of water test results (hopefully a record has been kept) should be used as baseline to compare against newly made batch of saltwater. Otherwise, just few tests of existing water should be fine to use.

The difference in the Alk & Calc levels is the amount of elements being used up by your tank and the amount to replenish via dosing. If u decide to go with 2-part dosing, it should be dosed in equal amounts as they act in balance, i.e. when alk goes up, Calc goes down and vice versa. Don't just dose Alk or else Calc will decrease and if that happens corals will not be able to absorb Alk.

Many reef keepers seem to have success keeping Alk around 8-8.5 dkh. Keeping levels stable is key especially when u start dosing. My doser's Calc tube got clogged which caused imbalance with huge Alk spike, this lead to burnt tips then bleaching on birdsnest... which I'm hoping will survive. So if u decide to use a doser, try to keep an eye on it often to ensure it's working properly.

2-part should be dosed in an area of good water flow and not stagnant area and dose them in staggered schedule bc if they come in direct contact, Alk & Calc will precipitate and harden. Here's a good article that explains about 2part dosing https://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/the-right-way-to-use-2-part-additives/

 

[Zeal]

This is how I calculate amount to dose; before a water change, measure the Alk & Calc level of freshly made saltwater and also of your current tank water. Your history of water test results (hopefully a record has been kept) should be used as baseline to compare against newly made batch of saltwater. Otherwise, just few tests of existing water should be fine to use.

The difference in the Alk & Calc levels is the amount of elements being used up by your tank and the amount to replenish via dosing. If u decide to go with 2-part dosing, it should be dosed in equal amounts as they act in balance, i.e. when alk goes up, Calc goes down and vice versa. Don't just dose Alk or else Calc will decrease and if that happens corals will not be able to absorb Alk.

Many reef keepers seem to have success keeping Alk around 8-8.5 dkh. Keeping levels stable is key especially when u start dosing. My doser's Calc tube got clogged which caused imbalance with huge Alk spike, this lead to burnt tips then bleaching on birdsnest... which I'm hoping will survive. So if u decide to use a doser, try to keep an eye on it often to ensure it's working properly.

2-part should be dosed in an area of good water flow and not stagnant area and dose them in staggered schedule bc if they come in direct contact, Alk & Calc will precipitate and harden. Here's a good article that explains about 2part dosing https://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/the-right-way-to-use-2-part-additives/

Thx for the info, im going to be buying one of thos Jabeo dosers. I guess itll take a couple weeks to figure out the correct amount to dose daily

 

[pdiehm]

Thx for the info, im going to be buying one of thos Jabeo dosers. I guess itll take a couple weeks to figure out the correct amount to dose daily

Make sure you get check valves on the end of the output lines for the jebao doser. I have one and a ton of air in the line. Added a check valve 2 days ago and doing a test over a few days the line is air free still

 

[Neo Jeo]

Thx for the info, im going to be buying one of thos Jabeo dosers. I guess itll take a couple weeks to figure out the correct amount to dose daily

Hey man,

I bought this: https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/wifi-dosing-bundle/

Love it! so easy to use. I started low dosing alk and cal. Im working my way up daily dosing alk but my cal is staying the same. I think its because of alk was in the 7's and once i raise my alk the cal will start to be consumed. As I believe. My mag is on the high end and I do not dose that..

Good luck! Its scary at first but as you understand its kinda simple. Really look into that Coral Box Wifi doser. super simple to use and cheap.

 

[pdiehm]

Hey man,

I bought this: https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/wifi-dosing-bundle/

Love it! so easy to use. I started low dosing alk and cal. Im working my way up daily dosing alk but my cal is staying the same. I think its because of alk was in the 7's and once i raise my alk the cal will start to be consumed. As I believe. My mag is on the high end and I do not dose that..

Good luck! Its scary at first but as you understand its kinda simple. Really look into that Coral Box Wifi doser. super simple to use and cheap.

how do you like the reefbreeders doser?

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Following... I just started dosing 2 part as well...

 

[Neo Jeo]

how do you like the reefbreeders doser?

I have been using for 2 weeks. Really nice. I like how I don’t have to get down under my tank and change the settings. WiFi is great. Seems to be made well.

 

[pdiehm]

what about air in the line? It's a problem for my jebao dp4

 

[Neo Jeo]

what about air in the line? It's a problem for my jebao dp4

I used the supplyed close valve thing and it’s been fine

 

[kswan]

The easiest way I have found is to dose saturated kalk throughout the day with a cheap dosing pump. If alk is dropping I just bump up the dosing time. I mix the kalk once every 1.5 weeks. Cheap and easy...

 

[lion king]

The whole weekly water change to maintain a nano tank is a scam to make it seem like easy maintenance to maintain. You may get away with this on a softie tank or a very new tank with little stock. But as you start to stock your tank and depending on the type of corals, you will be using more elements that can be replaced by a weekly water change,

I would test for mg, and be mindful of how you mix your fresh water and use it right away. Storing your mixed water can produce precip which will lower one or more of your primary elements.

Establish your tank to the parameters you want to keep, then test daily to establish your tank's usage. Initially you may only need to dose every other day or even weekly, mg usually stays pretty stable and you may only need to dose even less frequently. I like to use a salt mix which elements are balanced to what I keep my tank. Fritz and BRS HW are the ones that match my tank. Your tank will stay more stable and it's easier as you don't have to worry about your water changes throwing off your balance.

 

[pdiehm]

The whole weekly water change to maintain a nano tank is a scam to make it seem like easy maintenance to maintain. You may get away with this on a softie tank or a very new tank with little stock. But as you start to stock your tank and depending on the type of corals, you will be using more elements that can be replaced by a weekly water change,

I would test for mg, and be mindful of how you mix your fresh water and use it right away. Storing your mixed water can produce precip which will lower one or more of your primary elements.

Establish your tank to the parameters you want to keep, then test daily to establish your tank's usage. Initially you may only need to dose every other day or even weekly, mg usually stays pretty stable and you may only need to dose even less frequently. I like to use a salt mix which elements are balanced to what I keep my tank. Fritz and BRS HW are the ones that match my tank. Your tank will stay more stable and it's easier as you don't have to worry about your water changes throwing off your balance.

I keep my tank at 8...i use the Red Sea Blue Bucket. Tadow! Course, once ATI essentials is running, as long as Nitrates/PO4 stay within reason, no water changes will be occurring.