Might need to start dosing...questions galore!

onetootreefor · Mar 14, 2016

so, as the title states I think I might need to start dosing.

About 4-6 months ago I switched from a Kessil to a radeon light for my 35 gallon nano and I have seen the biggest growth improvement out of the 2-3 years I have owned the tank. Everything is growing and healthy and all the colors look good.

About 3 months ago I decided to start adding some SPS as those are my favorite and I wanted to make sure my growth and tank was consistent before starting down that path. My SPS have all been growing healthy and maintaining color for over 3 months now.

So, I decided to start doing some water testing again as I know SPS suck up all the Calcium and Alk in the tank as they are growing. I did a 3 week test before and after every water change. My calcium was definitely low, and is reducing by about the same amount each week in between water changes. Usually I do a 5 gallon water change every week like clock work, but last week I did a 10 gallon change to help increase salinity and stabilize parameters. I will list my test results below for you to view, but it does seem like my calcium and alkalinity are reducing at the same pace roughly.

So, my question lies, do I need to dose? If so what? and how often? and how much? I hope my tests save me some research time, and hopefully help determine where I need to go next.....

Also, I use Instant Ocean water mix that is pre-mixed from my LFS to help keep things consistent. I use the Red Sea test kit for alk, Mg, Ca.

Test Results:

2/29 (before 5 gallon water change):
Ca -- 380
Alk -- ~7.4 dKH
Mg -- 1330 (It always stays around there so I stopped testing after this test)

3/1 (24 hours after water change):
Ca -- 380
Alk -- ~9.1 dKH

3/3:
Ca -- 360
Alk -- ~9.1 dKH

3/7 (before 10 gallon water change):
Ca -- 350
Alk -- ~8.6 dKH

⅜ (24 hours after water change):
Cal -- 470
Alk -- ~9.6 dKH

3/14 (before 10 gallon water change):
Cal -- 365-370
Alk -- ~8.1 dKH

3/15 (24 hours after water change):
TBD

CodyRVA · Mar 14, 2016

The most broad answer I can give you is, this depends on your system as it sits now and how it will sit in the future. If you continue to add more and more coral and grow out what you have, you will naturally have a higher demand for these elements. You could invest in a doser, or just stick with your water changes. Right now, you might be able to just go with a different salt like Red Sea Coral Pro, the levels are elevated and in turn replaces them much faster during water changes. I would start there, see what happens. As your demand increases you will likely need to dose.

onetootreefor · Mar 14, 2016

CodyRVA said:
The most broad answer I can give you is, this depends on your system as it sits now and how it will sit in the future. If you continue to add more and more coral and grow out what you have, you will naturally have a higher demand for these elements. You could invest in a doser, or just stick with your water changes. Right now, you might be able to just go with a different salt like Red Sea Coral Pro, the levels are elevated and in turn replaces them much faster during water changes. I would start there, see what happens. As your demand increases you will likely need to dose.

Awesome...My LFS mixes Red Sea as well...I can start utilizing that in the future. The only reason I currently use Instant Ocean is because Red Sea was what I used when I started 2-3 years ago, and I felt like it was too much water for what I had. No SPS just softies and some small LPS frags, and I was testing water too much and changing too much stuff back then. So now with my cooler calmer head I think I can switch back and monitor it and be ok.

CodyRVA · Mar 14, 2016

Yea you really only need the Coral Pro if you have an abundance of stony corals. Thats probably going to be the cheapest start. If that doesnt work then i'd consider a doser. You can buy a 3 to 4 head dosing pump which are slightly expensive, or individual dosers which are cheaper up front, but cost more in the long haul vs the 3 to 4 head dosers.

powers2001 · Mar 14, 2016

What kind of bio-load do you have? Can you post a FTS?

onetootreefor · Mar 14, 2016

powers2001 said:
What kind of bio-load do you have? Can you post a FTS?

I have a 1.5 year old Royal gramma and roughly same age black ice clown and I have about a 6-8 month old orchid dotty back.

My leds make it hard to take a good FTS with my camera phone but I'll try to take a good one when the lights are back on.

powers2001 · Mar 15, 2016

No corals? You might want to try kalkwasser.

onetootreefor · Mar 17, 2016

Hey sorry i def have corals....lots to list...about 6-8 different acros and sticks...a couple acan colonies...6-7 large zoa colonies and about 6 chalices ...a couple frog spawn and 1 rock flower nem

OregonReefer · Mar 25, 2016

I do a continuous water change with Instant Ocean on my 20 gallon. I change out about 2.6 gallons per week. I have mostly SPS. I had a hard time keeping alkalinity stable. Calcium was not as bad, but still a problem. I started dosing BRS 2 part daily. Got tired of that rapidly and bought a second DOS. Started with BRS 2 part and switched to ESV. Since I've been dosing daily, there is noticeable growth and everything just looks better. Dosing felt like a hassle and expense, but now that I'm all set up I can't imagine not doing it.