Proper Dosing

[Michael Gentile]

Hello all,

I was thinking of purchasing the reef dose 2. This one has two dosing pumps and I was thinking of dosing Kalkwasser and foundation C Magnesium.

or do you think it would be better to just go all in on the reef dose 4 with 4 dosing pumps. Then I could dose all the foundations individually?

reefing for over 5 years but new to dosing as I never had enough coral to out weigh my water changes and basic elements adjustments manually.

 

[nereefpat]

If you are buying multiple dosing pumps, then I would just dose 2-part for Alk and Ca. For me, Mg corrections need done so infrequently that I wouldn't get an extra pump for it. There are lots of ways to do this, however.

I love kalk, so that's a great option. If you go with the kalk on a doser option, make sure the doser can handle the volume/required running time. Not all dosers are meant to pump Liters per day, for example.

 

[Michael Gentile]

If you are buying multiple dosing pumps, then I would just dose 2-part for Alk and Ca. For me, Mg corrections need done so infrequently that I wouldn't get an extra pump for it. There are lots of ways to do this, however.

I love kalk, so that's a great option. If you go with the kalk on a doser option, make sure the doser can handle the volume/required running time. Not all dosers are meant to pump Liters per day, for example.

So it looks like the reefdose is shown to do 1L per day or 45ml per minute. I know you can do kalk in the ATO but I wanted to avoid this route if possible. I may just have to go for the reefdose 4 and dose the foundations individually. Was seeing if there was a way to save some money with the dose 2

 

[arking_mark]

For kalkwasser, I recommend a kalk reactor with a continuous pump that can be dialed into your need.

I'm dosing:
1. Kalkwasser continuously through a Versa Pump dialed in to part of my Alk/Ca demand
2. All-for-reef auto adjusted through a GHL Pump (similar to Red Sea Reef Doser) to provide an ionically balanced everything
3. DIY NoPox scheduled through a Versa Pump to feed coral and keep nutrients in balance

 

[nereefpat]

I know you can do kalk in the ATO but I wanted to avoid this route if possible.

I agree. It's best on a doser.

So it looks like the reefdose is shown to do 1L per day or 45ml per minute.

How big is the display? 1L of saturated kalk may be enough for a smaller system. Larger systems that evaporate a gallon a day and have lots of corals probably not. Could run 2 pumps, I suppose.

I may just have to go for the reefdose 4 and dose the foundations individually. Was seeing if there was a way to save some money with the dose 2

Dosing other things than Alk, Ca, Mg really aren't my bag. Someone else can give you an opinion there.

 

[Michael Gentile]

How big is the display? 1L of saturated kalk may be enough for a smaller system. Larger systems that evaporate a gallon a day and have lots of corals probably not. Could run 2 pumps, I suppose.

The display is 50 gallons and I have a 20 gallon sump. So you’re looking at probably 65 gallons total. I have a 10 gallon ATO, that I have to fill weekly. I would say I probably evaporate slightly less than a gallon a day because the ATO is never empty when I top it off.

 

[Michael Gentile]

For kalkwasser, I recommend a kalk reactor with a continuous pump that can be dialed into your need.

I'm dosing:
1. Kalkwasser continuously through a Versa Pump dialed in to part of my Alk/Ca demand
2. All-for-reef auto adjusted through a GHL Pump (similar to Red Sea Reef Doser) to provide an ionically balanced everything
3. DIY NoPox scheduled through a Versa Pump to feed coral and keep nutrients in balance

How well is the NoPox working for you, I thought about using it, but I didn’t want my tank to kind of rely on it.

 

[nereefpat]

The display is 50 gallons and I have a 20 gallon sump. So you’re looking at probably 65 gallons total.

In 65 gallons, 1 liter of saturated kalk per day could dose about 0.5 dKH. That is significant, but may or may not be enough.

 

[Michael Gentile]

In 65 gallons, 1 liter of saturated kalk per day could dose about 0.5 dKH. That is significant, but may or may not be enough.

Looks like I’ll be breaking out more money for a 4 pump dower . This information was very useful thank you for all your input!

 

[FishyFishFish]

Are you set on Kalk?

There are other ways to dose Alk that don't require the same volume of fluid. There are benefits to Kalk but it's not the only option. Even if you get the 4 pump doser, you'll still have to dose the same amount of Kalk.

 

[arking_mark]

How well is the NoPox working for you, I thought about using it, but I didn’t want my tank to kind of rely on it.

Still dialing it in...but it's working.

 

[Michael Gentile]

Are you set on Kalk?

There are other ways to dose Alk that don't require the same volume of fluid. There are benefits to Kalk but it's not the only option. Even if you get the 4 pump doser, you'll still have to dose the same amount of Kalk.

Well if I got the 4 pump I would just do Red Sea foundations A, B, C. Which cover alk, cal, and mag. Then the 4th pump would be used for something else!

 

[FishyFishFish]

With the 2 pump you could dose Alk and Ca, and hand dose the Mg.

That said, if you get the 4 pump you will probably easily find other things to use it for.

 

[arking_mark]

Looks like I’ll be breaking out more money for a 4 pump dower . This information was very useful thank you for all your input!

I would not recommend these pumps for Kalkwasser...

 

[jphilip813]

I must be a weird one on this thread.... I have and use Two Neptune DOS and One RedSea 2 Head. I also have a Four Head Kemora and a Single Head one as back-ups. On the Neptune Doser 1 I dose (Tropic Marin All For Reef and Brightwell CoralAmino) Neptune Doser 2 ( Tropic Marin Balling B and KALK). Red Sea Doser Head 1 ( NoPoX), Head two is empty. The other two dosers are sitting there ready to be used.

IM-Fusion 20 Gal All In One
TEMP: 79.4 (Display) / 78 (Sump)
Salinity: 34.8
pH 8.30
ALK 8.13
CAL 452
MAG 1357
PO3: 1.8 ppm (Hanna Checker)
PO4: .02 ppm (Hanna Checker)

 

[Uncle99]

I dose independently, so I can dial in my numbers easily.

 

[arking_mark]

I must be a weird one on this thread.... I have and use Two Neptune DOS and One RedSea 2 Head. I also have a Four Head Kemora and a Single Head one as back-ups. On the Neptune Doser 1 I dose (Tropic Marin All For Reef and Brightwell CoralAmino) Neptune Doser 2 ( Tropic Marin Balling B and KALK). Red Sea Doser Head 1 ( NoPoX), Head two is empty. The other two dosers are sitting there ready to be used.

IM-Fusion 20 Gal All In One
TEMP: 79.4 (Display) / 78 (Sump)
Salinity: 34.8
pH 8.30
ALK 8.13
CAL 452
MAG 1357
PO3: 1.8 ppm (Hanna Checker)
PO4: .02 ppm (Hanna Checker)

The OP stated they were looking to dose Kalkwasser and were looking to use the Red Sea doser.

For Kalkwasser, its optimal to continuously dose at a dialed in rate.

Your Neptune DOS is a variable speed doser (0.1ml/min to 250ml/min) and will work well with Kalkwasser.

The Red Sea doser is a 3-speed doser and can't be dialed in. It will need to be programed for discrete measured doses which can spike pH a little after each dose.

 

[jphilip813]

The OP stated they were looking to dose Kalkwasser and were looking to use the Red Sea doser.

For Kalkwasser, its optimal to continuously dose at a dialed in rate.

Your Neptune DOS is a variable speed doser (0.1ml/min to 250ml/min) and will work well with Kalkwasser.

The Red Sea doser is a 3-speed doser and can't be dialed in. It will need to be programed for discrete measured doses which can spike pH a little after each dose.

I agree with you with the Red Sea Doser and KALK, I actually tried it to dose KALK and it was an epic fail...plus the doser itself is a loud doser, even on whisper mode if an individual is in the same room.

 

[Michael Gentile]

I will be going with the Red Sea dose 4. And dosing foundations A B and C. I will leave the 4th doser open for now until I find a need for it. Thank you for all the replies!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Magnesium dosing is generally so low that a dosing pump is way overkill.