Is it time to start dosing?

[Clown2020]

Hi

Am wondering if it is time to start dosing, I have a 32 gallon flex pretty tightly packed with coral, Monti, milli,facial,candy cane lobo,hammer, alveopora, cyphastera, lepastrea,cal ace, acan, scoly, zoa, mushroom, sun coral, BTA News. tank has been up 7 months and been stable so far. have been using Reef crystals since 20 November prior To that regular instant ocean. Reason for switching was alk and ca were testing at the bottom measure of best for corals on aquaforest test kits. After doing my weekly 30 litre water change I tested and got alk 7 ca 445 and mg 1410. Testing the morning after the water change

alk and ca seem too low for this mix so tested some of my salt water mix and that came in at 11.5 alk 460 ca and 1350mg. Oh and salinity at 1.026 in tank and mix

am going to continue to test daily each morning this week to see what the daily usage is.

Based on testing so far is it time to start dosing 2 part?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Hi

Am wondering if it is time to start dosing, I have a 32 gallon flex pretty tightly packed with coral, Monti, milli,facial,candy cane lobo,hammer, alveopora, cyphastera, lepastrea,cal ace, acan, scoly, zoa, mushroom, sun coral, BTA News. tank has been up 7 months and been stable so far. have been using Reef crystals since 20 November prior To that regular instant ocean. Reason for switching was alk and ca were testing at the bottom measure of best for corals on aquaforest test kits. After doing my weekly 30 litre water change I tested and got alk 7 ca 445 and mg 1410. Testing the morning after the water change

alk and ca seem too low for this mix so tested some of my salt water mix and that came in at 11.5 alk 460 ca and 1350mg. Oh and salinity at 1.026 in tank and mix

am going to continue to test daily each morning this week to see what the daily usage is.

Based on testing so far is it time to start dosing 2 part?

Maybe! Based on you numbers from this morning, I wouldn't say your numbers are to low. I like ALK in the 7-8 range. You have a good plan though. If after a few days of testing, if the numbers keep going down, time to start dosing. You could use two part, or Kwalk if you only have to add a little each day. I certainly wouldn't chase that 11.5 dKh unless that is what you were at before and your corals were happy.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You're definitely ready for starting dosing. With all those corals, you are past the time of relying on water changes to keep up with alk and calc. Works initially when you have a few small frags, but eventually the alk swing between water changes will start to become a potential issue. So it's time.

 

[Clown2020]

Maybe! Based on you numbers from this morning, I wouldn't say your numbers are to low. I like ALK in the 7-8 range. You have a good plan though. If after a few days of testing, if the numbers keep going down, time to start dosing. You could use two part, or Kwalk if you only have to add a little each day. I certainly wouldn't chase that 11.5 dKh unless that is what you were at before and your corals were happy.

I have always been between 7 and 8 although for the first 2 months I have no idea cause I didn’t realise I was reading the test kit wrong. But certainly for the last 5 months never got that high.

will definitly keep testing, was just thinking if I assume after rock and sand there is roughly 100 litres of water in the tank at 30% changed weekly that’s roughly 100 to 120% changed over the course of a month so would have assumed alk should be much higher unless there is some serious consumption happening but testing will confirm.

You're definitely ready for starting dosing. With all those corals, you are past the time of relying on water changes to keep up with alk and calc. Works initially when you have a few small frags, but eventually the alk swing between water changes will start to become a potential issue. So it's time.

That was my big concern I’m currently only testing the day after the water change and I’m putting in 11dkh water and only getting 7 so by the end of a week I’m scared to think how low it could be.

sounds very much like it’s either overdue or time to start very soon so will start looking for a dosing pump and two part

 

[Clown2020]

So have been doing some reasearch and noticed most products have more in nem than just alk or ca. As my ca is still ok I’m going o start dosing alk first

What are people thoughts on using sea chem reef buffer to raise alk, as I have a jar to hand (got it to ajust ph while cycling before I knew what was doing) and I see it is an option in the reef chemistry calculated in the sticky’s.

otherwise what product would you recommend?


What product would you recommend for Ca?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Personally, I would look into a balanced 2 part product rather than dosing individual Alk and Ca additives. Those are typically used for manual adjustments, when your balanced dosing has got out of balance.

Another option is something like TM All-For-Reef which provides for balanced Alk and Ca along with traces all in the one product. It gets expensive for higher demand tanks, but does a nice job if your demand is not too high.

Dennis

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

I have a 32 gallon Biocube and switched to dosing (and no water changes) a few months back and I haven’t regretted it. I use BRS 2 part and Red Sea Trace Colors ABCD for dosing with great results. The calculators make it really easy. If you do wanna venture into the world of no water changes like me, I use gfo in a bag for phosphate removal and use my protein skimmer for nitrate removal, but that’s not everyone’s taste, so just food for thought.

 

[Clown2020]

Personally, I would look into a balanced 2 part product rather than dosing individual Alk and Ca additives. Those are typically used for manual adjustments, when your balanced dosing has got out of balance.

Another option is something like TM All-For-Reef which provides for balanced Alk and Ca along with traces all in the one product. It gets expensive for higher demand tanks, but does a nice job if your demand is not too high.

Dennis

So in theory once I confirm my daily usage of alk I could use all for reef to maintain parameters, I suspect demand while higher than my salt can deliver won’t be too high as is 32 gallon flex probably 100 litres of water after rock and sand. is there a calculator for all for reef?Also trying to get my head around what will happen given my salt water mixes higher,

should I just dose to maintain current levels and let water changes raise the parameters to that of the salt mix? That being said I would end up with a 11.5 dkh, however my coral will continue to grow and I plan to make the tank wall to wall coral so higher alk may be handy as i tend to acquire more LPS than any other kind of coral so additions over time and growth and make my life easier

I have a 32 gallon Biocube and switched to dosing (and no water changes) a few months back and I haven’t regretted it. I use BRS 2 part and Red Sea Trace Colors ABCD for dosing with great results. The calculators make it really easy. If you do wanna venture into the world of no water changes like me, I use gfo in a bag for phosphate removal and use my protein skimmer for nitrate removal, but that’s not everyone’s taste, so just food for thought.

Somthing to consider, i Accidentally let my nitrates hit 0 and upset a couple of sps frags so I do like the idea of only topping Off fresh or salt water as required appeals to me. Probably will give it a go once dosing is working for me.



Also what are peoples thoughts on dosing manually once a day does this work well long term (I’m fairly ocd about by tank maintenance feeding testing the same way time of day etc) or is a dosing pump a must have for accuracy

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

So in theory once I confirm my daily usage of alk I could use all for reef to maintain parameters, I suspect demand while higher than my salt can deliver won’t be too high as is 32 gallon flex probably 100 litres of water after rock and sand. is there a calculator for all for reef?Also trying to get my head around what will happen given my salt water mixes higher,

should I just dose to maintain current levels and let water changes raise the parameters to that of the salt mix? That being said I would end up with a 11.5 dkh, however my coral will continue to grow and I plan to make the tank wall to wall coral so higher alk may be handy as i tend to acquire more LPS than any other kind of coral so additions over time and growth and make my life easier


Somthing to consider, i Accidentally let my nitrates hit 0 and upset a couple of sps frags so I do like the idea of only topping Off fresh or salt water as required appeals to me. Probably will give it a go once dosing is working for me.



Also what are peoples thoughts on dosing manually once a day does this work well long term (I’m fairly ocd about by tank maintenance feeding testing the same way time of day etc) or is a dosing pump a must have for accuracy

I don’t use a dosing pump, but I’m probably going to buy one in the future. I dose weekly, but my demand is pretty high especially for Alk. You’re not supposed to increase more than 1 dKH a day and my weekly consumption is .9. A dosing pump is good for accuracy and stability. You may see some better growth and healthier corals if you use a doser (not saying mine aren’t healthy, but stability is key).
And don’t worry, I’m OCD especially about testing. I test at the same time, temp, salinity, and everything has to be spot on or im not testing lol.
Also, side note, something I wish I did, know you’re consumption of Alk and ca several weeks before you start. I went off of one week of seeing a drop before I started dosing then I came to find out I was dosing too little Alk and way too much ca. just make sure you know your consumption after monitoring for a few weeks

 

[Dennis Cartier]

So in theory once I confirm my daily usage of alk I could use all for reef to maintain parameters, I suspect demand while higher than my salt can deliver won’t be too high as is 32 gallon flex probably 100 litres of water after rock and sand. is there a calculator for all for reef?Also trying to get my head around what will happen given my salt water mixes higher,

should I just dose to maintain current levels and let water changes raise the parameters to that of the salt mix? That being said I would end up with a 11.5 dkh, however my coral will continue to grow and I plan to make the tank wall to wall coral so higher alk may be handy as i tend to acquire more LPS than any other kind of coral so additions over time and growth and make my life easier

TM had a calculator online before, but I don't see it know. They do provide some info on dosing on their product page https://www.tropic-marin-smartinfo.com/all-for-reef?lang=en

For the salt, you probably moved to a salt that had super high parameters as you were dependent on it to provide the supplementation. That is no longer the case obce you start dosing. So you can either stick with the same salt or move to a salt with lower parameters that match your desired levels. Running a tank at such a high alkalinity will speed up growth for sure, but can cause issues for SPS with burnt tips if your nutrients are low. It will also require more dosing ($$$) to maintain such a high alkalinity than a lower alkalinity ($$).

Dennis

 

[Clown2020]

TM had a calculator online before, but I don't see it know. They do provide some info on dosing on their product page https://www.tropic-marin-smartinfo.com/all-for-reef?lang=en

For the salt, you probably moved to a salt that had super high parameters as you were dependent on it to provide the supplementation. That is no longer the case obce you start dosing. So you can either stick with the same salt or move to a salt with lower parameters that match your desired levels. Running a tank at such a high alkalinity will speed up growth for sure, but can cause issues for SPS with burnt tips if your nutrients are low. It will also require more dosing ($$$) to maintain such a high alkalinity than a lower alkalinity ($$).

Dennis

Thanks, good points to consider. Looking at the cost of product and amount required my budget should allow for the higher alk I have plenty of coral food to hand to keep the nutrients higher, or could pull the purged from the system and just run phosgaurd.


after testing today I get

drop 0.7 dkh alk
drop 15 ca
drop 60 mg

does this sound right?

I do have a lot of coral and finally after 7 months coralline has started to take off

will keep testing but am concerned I may need to start dosing alk immediately even if just baking Soda as alk is at 6.7 today so in theory will be at 6 tomorrow and so in theory would be at 2.9 dkh by the time of my water change Assuming however I realise coral will get very upset well befor 2.9.

 

[Neon_Devil]

Hi

Am wondering if it is time to start dosing, I have a 32 gallon flex pretty tightly packed with coral, Monti, milli,facial,candy cane lobo,hammer, alveopora, cyphastera, lepastrea,cal ace, acan, scoly, zoa, mushroom, sun coral, BTA News. tank has been up 7 months and been stable so far. have been using Reef crystals since 20 November prior To that regular instant ocean. Reason for switching was alk and ca were testing at the bottom measure of best for corals on aquaforest test kits. After doing my weekly 30 litre water change I tested and got alk 7 ca 445 and mg 1410. Testing the morning after the water change

alk and ca seem too low for this mix so tested some of my salt water mix and that came in at 11.5 alk 460 ca and 1350mg. Oh and salinity at 1.026 in tank and mix

am going to continue to test daily each morning this week to see what the daily usage is.

Based on testing so far is it time to start dosing 2 part?

I would test daily and monitor your numbers and you'll find out how much alk, cal, and mag are being consumed. With your stock list I'm betting you should be dosing something around mid week if not daily. How is your coraline algae growth?

 

[Clown2020]

Coralline has just started to take off about 3 months back when I got my second nem and mushrooms they came with a couple of small pieces of rock about 2x5 cm covered in coralline.

about a couple of weeks ago I noticed coralline spots starting to appear on the dry rock I used to start the tank and on equipment.

First day of back to back testing has revealed a drop 0.7 DKH which means by tomorrow morning I will be at 6 DKH so am doing a bit of research today. Might look to start dosing 0.7 d daily as a starting point just to ensure there is at least 6.7 dkh available at all times

 

[Neon_Devil]

Coralline has just started to take off about 3 months back when I got my second nem and mushrooms they came with a couple of small pieces of rock about 2x5 cm covered in coralline.

about a couple of weeks ago I noticed coralline spots starting to appear on the dry rock I used to start the tank and on equipment.

First day of back to back testing has revealed a drop 0.7 DKH which means by tomorrow morning I will be at 6 DKH so am doing a bit of research today. Might look to start dosing 0.7 d daily as a starting point just to ensure there is at least 6.7 dkh available at all times

With coraline showing on your tank you're keepin your params relativey stable and thats good. Your DHK seems a bit low. Google and other YT reef experts say between 8-12 DKH. My last tank which ended up becoming SPS dominate thrived at 8.4. I probably could have pushed it higher but if the tank is growing why change things.

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

Thanks, good points to consider. Looking at the cost of product and amount required my budget should allow for the higher alk I have plenty of coral food to hand to keep the nutrients higher, or could pull the purged from the system and just run phosgaurd.


after testing today I get

drop 0.7 dkh alk
drop 15 ca
drop 60 mg

does this sound right?

I do have a lot of coral and finally after 7 months coralline has started to take off

will keep testing but am concerned I may need to start dosing alk immediately even if just baking Soda as alk is at 6.7 today so in theory will be at 6 tomorrow and so in theory would be at 2.9 dkh by the time of my water change Assuming however I realise coral will get very upset well befor 2.9.

Are those numbers daily or weekly?Magnesium seems off. I have had previous conversations with Randy, and he said that magnesium only drops a few ppm a week and testing it is unreliable. If I were you, I’d only dose 5-10 ppm a week but let the chemist help you on this.
@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Clown2020]

Are those numbers daily or weekly?Magnesium seems off. I have had previous conversations with Randy, and he said that magnesium only drops a few ppm a week and testing it is unreliable. If I were you, I’d only dose 5-10 ppm a week but let the chemist help you on this.
@Randy Holmes-Farley

Daily results, yeah I think somthing is not right with mg I tested 3 times carefully checking to make sure I was not making any errors while testing, all using aqua forest test kits

below are my results from salt mix, from yesterday and today, good to get more eyes on the numbers and check my math

salt mix:
alk 11.5
ca 460
mg 1350

4 Jan:
alk 7
ca 445
mg 1410

5 Jan:
alk 6.7
ca 430
mg 1350

straight away I see a math error alk is only 0.3 drop daily not 0.7

diffrence between 4 and 5 jan
alk down 0.3
ca down 15
mg 1350


just really concerned that alk will drop below 6 before next water change on Saturday but also don’t want to rush and mess up the tank

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

Daily results, yeah I think somthing is not right with mg I tested 3 times carefully checking to make sure I was not making any errors while testing, all using aqua forest test kits

below are my results from salt mix, from yesterday and today, good to get more eyes on the numbers and check my math

salt mix:
alk 11.5
ca 460
mg 1350

4 Jan:
alk 7
ca 445
mg 1410

5 Jan:
alk 6.7
ca 430
mg 1350

straight away I see a math error alk is only 0.3 drop daily not 0.7

diffrence between 4 and 5 jan
alk down 0.3
ca down 15
mg 1350


just really concerned that alk will drop below 6 before next water change on Saturday but also don’t want to rush and mess up the tank

If your tank has been thriving (nothing terribly wrong) and you have been doing what your doing and your tank has been used to that drop, don’t chase numbers. You’ll be fine if everything has been doing fine.

 

[Clown2020]

If your tank has been thriving (nothing terribly wrong) and you have been doing what your doing and your tank has been used to that drop, don’t chase numbers. You’ll be fine if everything has been doing fine.

Nothing terribly wrong, all the coral look good for the most part, sps could be looking a little better growing a little faster but nothing to sugest they are un healthy.

while I regularly test i Haven’t been keeping records until this week but alk in the past has been steady around 7.5 after a water change.

On one hand I 100% agree that if things are working just leave it be. But at the same time I can’t help but wonder why there is such a difference between my salt mix and my tank given in the course of a month 100% of the water volume gets changed.

will keep researching and watching this thread. at this stage I’m now thinking just watch and wait and don’t do anything until somthing appears off or dkh hits 6 or less that gives a couple more days and worst case can maintain 6 dkh with baking Soda

 

[Clown2020]

i suppose how a tank is doing is fairly subjective and a picture is worth a thousand words so here’s a couple of quick pics also gives an idea of just how much and what size is in the tank.

exuse the excess light someone opened the door right as I was snapping pics

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

i suppose how a tank is doing is fairly subjective and a picture is worth a thousand words so here’s a couple of quick pics also gives an idea of just how much and what size is in the tank.

exuse the excess light someone opened the door right as I was snapping pics

I can’t tell you how happy your tank is and I can’t tell if your corals are more upset than usual because it isn’t mine, but if things looked like that in my tank, I would say keep doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about it. Things are looking great. Once you figure out dosing and get a good understanding, then take a dive into it. Keep it up!