Dosing help

[leepink23]

I currently am dosing a total of 1 gallon per day of kalkwasser mixed at 2 tsp per gallon, my alkalinity has dropped to 6.8 and over the last 3-4 weeks with all of my sps growing fast. I ordered the DOS to do 2 part, what is recommended for me to dose per day? Also should I cut back on the kalkwasser once I start? My goal is 7.2-7.4 alkalinity.my tank is 150 gallons.

 

[leepink23]

I plan to start the DOS Saturday, BRS reef calculator recommended 42 ml of the pharma grade liquid ash to raise it fro
6.8 to 7.2, so should I dose 21 ml per day to go slow? Any recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[Joe Grubbs]

If it is possible for you to measure your ALK at about the same time every day for a couple weeks and keep a log (Apex is good for that since you are getting the DOS)...very quickly you can observe whether you need to dos more or less. Starting slow is always good...

 

[leepink23]

Thanks, I have been checking daily, it has slowly dropped from 7.4 to 6.8 so I have been increasing my kalkwasser but it hasn’t helped. I will definitely start slow with the DOS. I use the Hannah checker for alkalinity.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I personally wouldn't stop dosing limewater. Not unless you had a compelling reason. Plenty of people dose both limewater and two-part (or calcium reactor). Calcium hydroxide has the added benefit of increasing pH, which is something that almost all reefers struggle to do.

 

[leepink23]

I personally wouldn't stop dosing limewater. Not unless you had a compelling reason. Plenty of people dose both limewater and two-part (or calcium reactor). Calcium hydroxide has the added benefit of increasing pH, which is something that almost all reefers struggle to do.

I prefer to keep dosing kalkwasser but cut it back to 1/4 gallon per day, this allows refills to be every 2weeks and kept a good ph. Then use DOS 2 part to maintain alkalinity.

 

[cjd]

Thanks, I have been checking daily, it has slowly dropped from 7.4 to 6.8 so I have been increasing my kalkwasser but it hasn’t helped. I will definitely start slow with the DOS. I use the Hannah checker for alkalinity.

When you say increasing your kalk dosing , how are you doing that ? Are you matching it through evaporation ? If you dosing a gallon a day of kalk , are we to assume that your tank evaporates more than a gallon a day? Keep an eye on your salinity , if that drops your levels will too.

 

[leepink23]

When you say increasing your kalk dosing , how are you doing that ? Are you matching it through evaporation ? If you dosing a gallon a day of kalk , are we to assume that your tank evaporates more than a gallon a day? Keep an eye on your salinity , if that drops your levels will too.

I have it on a separate 5 gallon ato container using a Toms Aqualifter connected to my apex to dose every 30 minutes. I previously dosed about a 1/4 gallon per day but have been slowly increasing it.

 

[leepink23]

I personally wouldn't stop dosing limewater. Not unless you had a compelling reason. Plenty of people dose both limewater and two-part (or calcium reactor). Calcium hydroxide has the added benefit of increasing pH, which is something that almost all reefers struggle to do.

Any suggestions on how much 2 part I should start dosing with the apex dos?

 

[cjd]

........but how much does your tank evaporate in a 24 hr. period . More than a gallon ?
I would start with half of what the calculator say it requires to-do and test after 2 days to see if im going up , staying the same or going down . Adjust as necessary until desired levels are reached .

 

[leepink23]

........but how much does your tank evaporate in a 24 hr. period . More than a gallon ?
I would start with half of what the calculator say it requires to-do and test after 2 days to see if im going up , staying the same or going down . Adjust as necessary until desired levels are reached .

It evaporates different each day which is why I separated my kalkwasser from my ato and put it on it’s on pump with scheduled dosing. I will start with half and increase the 2 part slowly while decreasing my kalkwasser dosing. I am checking daily until I get it to a happy medium.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You can take a look at THIS ARTICLE, but here it is in a nutshell:

1. Use a dose calculator to bring you Alk (and Calc) up to where you want them. Add this amount.

2. The following day, at about the same time, measure alk again, and us the dose calculator to determine what is needed to bring Alk back to the target dose.

3. Use this amount as your daily dose.

4. Continue measuring alk and calc daily and adjust dosing volume as needed.

Hope this helps.

 

[Oshengems]

You could cut back on the Kalk but keep potent enough dosage for the PH boost but not too heavy that kills your line or cloge it up, note down the exact dosage so it’s repeated when ever you refilnyour Kalk and start dosing 2 parts start with 42ml test everyday for 1-2 weeks try to test at the same time to get consistent number, daily adjust the 2 parts depending how bad is the drop, when I started my 2 parts I started at 30ml and my tank was dropping about 1.8 almost 2 points per day and quickly upped to 38ml and from there I was getting less than a point drop Per day, I repeated this until I got it down to 42ml that was my sweet number I saw my Kh stable at 8.5 for days, started testing every 2-3 days after that to keep an eye, once I Got it stable for a few weeks I started testing every 3-6 days weekly to adjust it, I’m at 49ml I have to up the dosage about 1 point every 1.5-2 weeks to adjust for growth.

Note: that when I was adjusting I had a batch of arm and hammer baking soda with RO water mix to boost my Kh and to continue a similar dosage of Kh and Ca and adjust my Kh without dosing seperate amounts of 2 parts. I also did this because I wanted to boost from 7.5 to 9 Kh

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Any suggestions on how much 2 part I should start dosing with the apex dos?

It depends which two part you use. Many people do one-time doses to get them to a certain point, say 8 dKh/430 ppm calcium, then see how much their calcium and alkalinity drop in a few days to a week. They calculate how much their tank should need per day based on how much the values dropped in that time period.

You'll likely need to play around with the values until you get where you want to be.

I personally wouldn't try to dose less limewater. I would first try to get a big enough reservoir that will last you as long as you want. If the pH is too high with limewater (which is very unusual) or you can't fit a bigger reservoir, then you might need to cut back the dose. But I would try to keep dosing as much limewater as I could, personally.

 

[leepink23]

It depends which two part you use. Many people do one-time doses to get them to a certain point, say 8 dKh/430 ppm calcium, then see how much their calcium and alkalinity drop in a few days to a week. They calculate how much their tank should need per day based on how much the values dropped in that time period.

You'll likely need to play around with the values until you get where you want to be.

I personally wouldn't try to dose less limewater. I would first try to get a big enough reservoir that will last you as long as you want. If the pH is too high with limewater (which is very unusual) or you can't fit a bigger reservoir, then you might need to cut back the dose. But I would try to keep dosing as much limewater as I could, personally.

Unfortunately I can’t fit a bigger reservoir so I will need to decrease it some. That’s a great suggestion on seeing how much it consumes! Thank you.

 

[leepink23]

You can take a look at THIS ARTICLE, but here it is in a nutshell:

1. Use a dose calculator to bring you Alk (and Calc) up to where you want them. Add this amount.

2. The following day, at about the same time, measure alk again, and us the dose calculator to determine what is needed to bring Alk back to the target dose.

3. Use this amount as your daily dose.

4. Continue measuring alk and calc daily and adjust dosing volume as needed.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, it does!

 

[leepink23]

It depends which two part you use. Many people do one-time doses to get them to a certain point, say 8 dKh/430 ppm calcium, then see how much their calcium and alkalinity drop in a few days to a week. They calculate how much their tank should need per day based on how much the values dropped in that time period.

You'll likely need to play around with the values until you get where you want to be.

I personally wouldn't try to dose less limewater. I would first try to get a big enough reservoir that will last you as long as you want. If the pH is too high with limewater (which is very unusual) or you can't fit a bigger reservoir, then you might need to cut back the dose. But I would try to keep dosing as much limewater as I could, personally.

I am using BRS 2 part pharma grade.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

1 gallon of saturated limewater is equivalent to 82 mL of each part of my DIY two part using sodium carbonate or baked baking soda (such as from BRS).

For a complete swap, I would start at 82 mL of each part each day and then adjust both together to get to the alk you want.

Then very slowly over many days, adjust the calcium a bit if needed if it is trending up or down too much.

 

[leepink23]

1 gallon of saturated limewater is equivalent to 82 mL of each part of my DIY two part using sodium carbonate or baked baking soda (such as from BRS).

For a complete swap, I would start at 82 mL of each part each day and then adjust both together to get to the alk you want.

Then very slowly over many days, adjust the calcium a bit if needed if it is trending up or down too much.

Awesome! That’s exactly what i needed to know!!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You’re welcome.

Happy Reefing!