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

cooltowncorals · Oct 18, 2018

I use the jebeo it works well for me there are lots of YouTube videos that explain setup ect.

Personally I would suggest to pick a salt mix that is as close to the parameters you want to keep in your tank.

Right now your alk drops through the week and then you spike it up on water change day and then it slowly depletes. These swings are hard on coral and invertebrates. It doesn’t have to be exact just close enough not to swing alk ect.

To maximize stability your best bet is to dose 2 part daily then when you do water changes to clean your tank/supply trace elements the mix you put in matches your water chemistry so everything stays stable.

Figure out your weekly demand for alk then devide it by 7 to get your daily need just match calcium to that and dose an hour apart or at midnight for alk and noon for calcium. Test the alk after a couple days see if it’s stable if not adjust up or down slightly then when your close test once a week.

I like aqua forests abc to dose for alk calcium and mag and trace element then I just vacuum and do a small water change every couple of weeks super easy.

Brittany Marie · Oct 18, 2018

lion king said:
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 definitely agree with less water changes. My 60 gal has been up just shy of 7 months, I only did water changes when my nitrates and phosphates spiked, and haven’t since. My alk is at 10 and calcium 490. And I don’t dose for either. But I do use boxed water, from the start, so that could be the difference maybe?