Dosing question

[HCIM]

Just hoping to clarify I’ve been reading different answers. My tanks a year old I recently started dosing Red Sea foundation A/B/C. I have been consistently increasing in smaller increments and believe to have hit my target goal. Now my question is how long do you guys wait to re test I am seeing do it the next day without adding any chemicals and re test to see the drop. Others suggest 3-4 days.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hit what goal?

It may be fine to go weeks between tests if all is going well.

I’d focus primarily on testing alkalinity.

 

[commod0re]

depends on how close I am to achieving the levels of whatever I'm trying to get to. also, be mindful that dosing once and then testing 24 hours later may not actually give you your true daily consumption in all cases: if your daily capacity for consumption exceeds the sum of production + dose then you may only learn that daily consumption is actually just higher than whatever amount you dosed

for example I am currently dosing phsophate to avoid bottoming out. at first I tested phosphate daily, and consumption exceeded production + dosing for several days. once I got above that and closer to reaching a dose that sustains the tank within my target range I started testing every 2-3 days and as I gained confidence that things were staying relatively stable, then eased back to my original baseline "schedule" of approximately weekly testing


for alk specifically that's not necessarily something to worry about though lol, the same process of backing off as you gain confidence that your dose is what you need works well imo

 

[HCIM]

Hit what goal?

It may be fine to go weeks between tests if all is going well.

I’d focus primarily on testing alkalinity.

My alk was at 6.7, calcium 370, mag around 1110. I had been neglecting the tank for sometime. Did a nice water change and slowly started raising my levels. Now there sitting 9.1, 430, 1340. I want to maintain those levels that was the goal.

Fair enough I know every tanks different just don’t want to over do it, will have to just keep an eye on things

 

[HCIM]

depends on how close I am to achieving the levels of whatever I'm trying to get to. also, be mindful that dosing once and then testing 24 hours later may not actually give you your true daily consumption in all cases: if your daily capacity for consumption exceeds the sum of production + dose then you may only learn that daily consumption is actually just higher than whatever amount you dosed

for example I am currently dosing phsophate to avoid bottoming out. at first I tested phosphate daily, and consumption exceeded production + dosing for several days. once I got above that and closer to reaching a dose that sustains the tank within my target range I started testing every 2-3 days and as I gained confidence that things were staying relatively stable, then eased back to my original baseline "schedule" of approximately weekly testing


for alk specifically that's not necessarily something to worry about though lol, the same process of backing off as you gain confidence that your dose is what you need works well imo

Thank you haha I honestly think I was over complicating it. Prior to “dosing” I never wanted to do it cause I was afraid to mess up but can always do water changes

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’d stop measuring magnesium. Testing is not accurate enough to guide dosing, IMO. Dose it in proportion to calcium dosed.

what is in the tank that uses alkalinity?

 

[HCIM]

I’d stop measuring magnesium. Testing is not accurate enough to guide dosing, IMO. Dose it in proportion to calcium dosed.

what is in the tank that uses alkalinity?

Haha I’ve had to retype this like several times it won’t let me post with photos. There’s 5 corals I do not know the name of ones a big meaty fella, some sort of encrusting coral, 2 stonies, and this almost like a sand dollar with short tentacles super cool.

There is 3 torches, 1 frogspawn, 2 toadstools, bubble tip, rhodactis mushroom, random leather that was in my rock work. 1 candy cane trumpet and another morph of candy cane.

 

[HCIM]

I’d stop measuring magnesium. Testing is not accurate enough to guide dosing, IMO. Dose it in proportion to calcium dosed.

what is in the tank that uses alkalinity?

Haha I’ve had to retype this like several times it won’t let me post with photos. There’s 5 corals I do not know the name of ones a big meaty fella, some sort of encrusting coral, 2 stonies, and this almost like a sand dollar with short tentacles super cool.

There is 3 torches, 1 frogspawn, 2 toadstools, bubble tip, rhodactis mushroom, random leather that was in my rock work. 1 candy cane trumpet and another morph of candy cane.

The meaty one is a cynaria LPS, plate coral and pretty certain other 2 are SPS. These are the the culprits haha