Help with dosing and Alk!

Chiefmaster30 · Feb 28, 2018

So I’ve been dosing 2 part for a while now. Couple months ago I switched to Kalk in my ato. It couldn’t keep up with my tanks demands so I’m running Kalk and dosing brs 2 part. Tanks only been using about 40ml of soda ash daily. I have been using Salifert but last week bought a Hanna checker for alk. I’ve been testing daily for a week and getting 8.7-8.8dkh so I dose to bring it up to my target of 9.0dkh. Tonight I just tested and got 8.5 wanted to be sure so I tested again and got 8.4. What do I need to do? I have a 125 mixed reef 30 gallon sump. Tank is 2 yrs old. What would make alk level drop more today than the previous week?

esolo16 · Mar 1, 2018

What is your magnesium level? How close together are you dosing alk and calc?

Chiefmaster30 · Mar 1, 2018

Mag is 1350. Cal is 450. Right now I’m dosing alk then about 30 mins later I dose cal.

DSC reef · Mar 1, 2018

Sounds like your corals are growing. We test alk daily so I know what amount of alk to dose. The tanks uptake will vary and IME is never the same day to day.

Chiefmaster30 · Mar 1, 2018

My corals are growing! I just worry they arent growing fast enough Or as fast as they should be. I just got an auto doser that I was wanting to hook up that’s the reasoning behind all this! If the uptake isn’t the same day to day, what’s the point in having an auto doser? And how is everyone using these?

DSC reef · Mar 1, 2018

Chiefmaster30 said:
My corals are growing! I just worry they arent growing fast enough Or as fast as they should be. I just got an auto doser that I was wanting to hook up that’s the reasoning behind all this! If the uptake isn’t the same day to day, what’s the point in having an auto doser? And how is everyone using these?

This has always been my worry. I'm sure there's an adjustment you can make day to day but it also breaks up the dosing throughout the day for stability. We still dose morning and night. The alk fluctuates about .5 at the most.