Bolus - KH before or after dosing?

[randalli]

Yes I know the mega-thread. I have skimmed through it but didn't find my answer. And no offense but I think mega-threads defeat the purpose of trying to get useful info if you haven't been part of it from the beginning. So I gave that up after like 40-ish pages.

That being said I recently switched to Bolus as well. I have around 80/20 SPS/LPS and they all seem to like it so far. And even though I didn't have many issues before that I am seeing way more polyp extension with bolus compared to before. The only question that I am having is which KH is the one to keep an eye on?

My tank uses up around 2.2-2.4dKH per 24h. So I would hardly be able to keep KH between 7-9 at all. In the morning I currently measure between 6.2-6.8 dKH and then I dose the amount to get it up to like 8.5-9 (round about that). So I am wondering which KH value should be the one I use for a baseline to calculate the bolus?

Should KH stay above 7 and I dose the amount to have a minimum of 7 before dosing in the morning and ignore whatever high my KH will be after the bolus dose? At least that would be my first guess. Or should it always be below 9 and then I dose the amount to make that happen but ignore the morning KH?

Thanks for your help

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Kind of a drawback of all at once dosing when the dose is large.

If you really want to try all at once dosing, I’d target it so the average alk is your target, recognizing it will be higher and lower for parts of the day.

 

[lombeard]

I wouldn't worry about the low end being 6. I've run my tanks around that number for years (not on Bolus). But you could just dose later in the day/evening to add a little more if you want to knock it up to 7 in the morning.

 

[randalli]

Back in the day before dosing pumps when everything was bolus basically I only worried about the KH being some value at a fixed time during the day. So I never worried about it being too low or too high before or after dosing. Maybe I am overcomplicating things. But currently I am having my KH lab measure 15 mins before the dose and 12h later. The value taken 15 mins before being that low got me wondering. Maybe I will only take it for reference and only worry about the 12h mark which is the half-time. And the 12h mark being like right after lights out the main show is over for the day anyway. Having the Bolus doc and also the other discussions talk about Ph only I was wondering what the baseline should be KH wise and whether there is one even.

 

[lombeard]

I would go off the pre dose number (the lower one). If you were dosing 24 times a day you would consider that your base, so I see no reason you'd do it differently with bolus.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I would go off the pre dose number (the lower one). If you were dosing 24 times a day you would consider that your base, so I see no reason you'd do it differently with bolus.

I’m not sure I agree with the premise. If you dose 24 x per day, the alk will not get as low as with once a day dosing of the same total alk.

 

[lombeard]

I’m not sure I agree with the premise. If you dose 24 x per day, the alk will not get as low as with once a day dosing of the same total alk.

What I mean is that I'd only care about how low the alk is getting. If at it's lowest point it's 6+, and around the same number each day I would just go off that and not overthink it if corals are happy.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I don’t understand. You are measuring a dose from some level to some level. So if you are at 6 and go to 12 and things look great then fine. If they don’t drop back to 6 in 24 hours then you dosed too much.

Likewise, if you are at 6 and go to 8 and things look great, then fine. If they drop to 5.8 after 24 hours, then you dosed too little.

I am sure there is some acceptable band of equilibrium that you will find.

But how do you know at what level you will consume as much in precipitate as you do in coral growth and magic crystals? I don’t. Therefore that “band” of equilibrium may be misleading. If corals stay happy, does it matter, other than cost of consumption?

I bet The dynamic duo have a very detailed biochemical explanation regarding magic crystals and ionic wavefront inertial quantum pH memory (homeopathic pH training), proven by looking at millions of ICP tests and soon to be detailed in an upcoming reef chemistry book….

If it were me. I would simply pick a daily time to measure and dose, starting LOW and work toward the point of equilibrium -- the same as you always would. I would not push past that amount unless i wanted to try to measure increased growth somehow, as increased consumption may not equate to increased growth.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What I mean is that I'd only care about how low the alk is getting. If at it's lowest point it's 6+, and around the same number each day I would just go off that and not overthink it if corals are happy.

That seems fine to me. :)

 

[Oldreefer44]

My experience with the method so far is that my Alk gets as low as 6.4 a half hour before dosing 160 ml of KH solution and peaks at 7.6 when measured about an hour after the dose. I have been using the method for close to 11 months with these types of numbers and everything looks great.

 

[Superlightman]

Yes I know the mega-thread. I have skimmed through it but didn't find my answer. And no offense but I think mega-threads defeat the purpose of trying to get useful info if you haven't been part of it from the beginning. So I gave that up after like 40-ish pages.

That being said I recently switched to Bolus as well. I have around 80/20 SPS/LPS and they all seem to like it so far. And even though I didn't have many issues before that I am seeing way more polyp extension with bolus compared to before. The only question that I am having is which KH is the one to keep an eye on?

My tank uses up around 2.2-2.4dKH per 24h. So I would hardly be able to keep KH between 7-9 at all. In the morning I currently measure between 6.2-6.8 dKH and then I dose the amount to get it up to like 8.5-9 (round about that). So I am wondering which KH value should be the one I use for a baseline to calculate the bolus?

Should KH stay above 7 and I dose the amount to have a minimum of 7 before dosing in the morning and ignore whatever high my KH will be after the bolus dose? At least that would be my first guess. Or should it always be below 9 and then I dose the amount to make that happen but ignore the morning KH?

Thanks for your help

you have to dose it so that kh is end of the day were you want it to stay, test same time