Dosing ... where do I start?

[salty_dawg]

Looking to start dosing as I have quite a few sps in my tank .

I just placed a order for a Hannah alkalinity dkh , Red Sea calcium and Aquaforest magnesium tests

I’m planing on buying a 4 Chanel jaebao Doser From amazon what’s the best bang for the buck additive wise? And what should I dose on the fourth Chanel? nopox or trace elements ?

Thanks In advance

 

[daybreaksky]

Driveway heat, baking soda and ebsom salt are the best bang for the buck

Or is that too old school?

 

[salty_dawg]

Driveway heat, baking soda and ebsom salt are the best bang for the buck

Or is that too old school?

Driveway heat huh?

 

[X-37B]

How big is your tank?
Is this your first time dosing?

 

[salty_dawg]

How big is your tank?
Is this your first time dosing?

Yessir . It’s 65 g reefer 250

 

[SliceGolfer]

You could start here:

https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=dosing+two+part

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

I would start at the test kits, they will point you in the right direction. Test weekly to find your weekly consumption rate, once you find it you can divide your difference by 7 to get your daily consumption rate. Split your daily consumption rate up into at least 4 doses (every 6 hours). You should test daily after the doser is setup to confirm correct dosing amount.

 

[cshouston]

Don’t dose anything
unless you know you need it.

 

[Mono]

Yessir . It’s 65 g reefer 250

Salty Dawg, get your paws over to BRS and search for dosing. Watch their latest videos. Go to sleep. Watch them again.

Test your Alk every other day to get a sense of your Alk consumption.

IF you need to dose, dose BRS Two Part but wait for the Black Friday Sale to buy your additives.

In the beginning water changes might be enough.

I wouldn't plan on dosing anything else until you figure out what's going on.

I have 3 Jebao's. Some people pan them but I've found them pretty reliable.

Sometimes when they're new you might have problems with a dosing head.

Usually, you can fiddle with it and get it to work. They come with one extra head.

Once you get them working they seem to work fine, at least for me.

Hey, listen, they are super cheap so it's hard to complain too much.

Also, make sure you don't place your dosing containers higher than your tank.

Otherwise, there is a possibility they will continue to siphon into your tank after the pumping stops.

 

[X-37B]

Yessir . It’s 65 g reefer 250

I use esv on my frag tank and a carx on my 120.
I would suggest testing alk in the morning. Then retest same time 24 hrs later.
This will give you your daily useage.
I would then dose alk and ca once a day.
If your ca is where you want it then retest alk next day same time.
I still dose my 45 frag tank by hand and its been running for 10 months.
Dosed my 120 for 6 months, once a day, then setup carx.
I was up to 50ml of 1&2 and still dosed once a day in the am.
Dosing by hand will give you a good feel for whats going on in your tank.
I would not recommend dosing anything else.
Mag will be kept stable if you do the tradional once a week WC.
Ca does not change much either if you dose equal amounts of alk and ca.
For what its worth I have a doser sitting in a drawer and have never needed to set it up.

 

[salty_dawg]

I use esv on my frag tank and a carx on my 120.
I would suggest testing alk in the morning. Then retest same time 24 hrs later.
This will give you your daily useage.
I would then dose alk and ca once a day.
If your ca is where you want it then retest alk next day same time.
I still dose my 45 frag tank by hand and its been running for 10 months.
Dosed my 120 for 6 months, once a day, then setup carx.
I was up to 50ml of 1&2 and still dosed once a day in the am.
Dosimg by hand will give you a good feel for whats going on in your tank.
I would not recommend dosing anything else.
Mag will be kept stable if you do the tradional once a week WC.
Ca does not change much either if you dose equal amounts of alk and ca.
For what its worth I have a doser sitting in a drawer and have never needed to set it up.

It’s hard for me to test daily I’m gonna have to test next weekend when I get my tests I work away from home during the week and the wife maintains the tank while I’m gone . What if I were to test then dose by hand to the amount I want it and checked it the next day to see what the consumption Is ? I do 6 gallons once a week wc that’s sufficient for mag ?

 

[salty_dawg]

Salty Dawg, get your paws over to BRS and search for dosing. Watch their latest videos. Go to sleep. Watch them again.

Test your Alk every other day to get a sense of your Alk consumption.

IF you need to dose, dose BRS Two Part but wait for the Black Friday Sale to buy your additives.

In the beginning water changes might be enough.

I wouldn't plan on dosing anything else until you figure out what's going on.

I have 3 Jebao's. Some people pan them but I've found them pretty reliable.

Sometimes when they're new you might have problems with a dosing head.

Usually, you can fiddle with it and get it to work. They come with one extra head.

Once you get them working they seem to work fine, at least for me.

Hey, listen, they are super cheap so it's hard to complain too much.

Also, make sure you don't place your dosing containers higher than your tank.

Otherwise, there is a possibility they will continue to siphon into your tank after the pumping stops.

+1 on siphon had no idea. Yeah I was told that by my lfs and in the past wc was enough but I’m running a heavy sps mixed reef and I was thinking it may not be this time around. I’m running rs blue bucket salt . And I’ve heard good things about the dosers too bad there’s nothing else in that price range would pay a little more for a better Doser but I don’t want to get too crazy. Had my eye on brs stuff but wasn’t sure on it .

 

[salty_dawg]

Don’t dose anything
unless you know you need it.

Hence the testing equipment before the Doser or additives

 

[vetteguy53081]

I let my fish and coral talk to me. If theyre happy- No need for anything. If not, test and determine what your needs are (water change, addition of mag or CA, or adjustment with light, etc)

 

[Mono]

When you start testing, you will begin to see your consumption.

Than you can make a plan.

Remember, it takes a little while to get confident with testing, at least for me.

BRS does having a good video on using the Hanna Alk test. It's worth watching.

There will be some random testing variation which might interfere with determining your true consumption especially if the consumption is small.

You can test Mg to get a baseline or practice using the kit.

However, your Alk is the guide.

Everyone has a different style and lifestyle. I would prefer a doser but there are definitely people who prefer to dose by hand. I have used 3 Jebows for several years and they have served me well.

 

[X-37B]

It’s hard for me to test daily I’m gonna have to test next weekend when I get my tests I work away from home during the week and the wife maintains the tank while I’m gone . What if I were to test then dose by hand to the amount I want it and checked it the next day to see what the consumption Is ? I do 6 gallons once a week wc that’s sufficient for mag ?

Test day one then test day two to get your consumption.
Do not dose between day 1 and 2. Once dose is determined then dose and retest next day.
Do this for a few days and you are set.
I test alk every day when manual dosing.
I still test everyday on my carx and log. Test mag once a week to start.
I test mag every 2 months or so.
10% WC may do it but testing is the only way to tell.

 

[salty_dawg]

Ok so I ordered brs 2 part kit it includes ca,alk,mg

my plan is to test mg correct it to desired level ,
Then correct my ca and alk to desired levels and test 48 hrs later to see what the uptake was.

brs is saying mg only needs to be dosed once a month or after 1 gallon of 2 part has been consumed ? And they said to correct alk it’s better to use sodium bicarbonate but I didn’t catch that before my order . sodium bicarbonate is just baking soda correct?