Question about starting to dose tank.

[EpisodeMnH]

So lately I’ve been adding a lot more SPS to my tank and it got me thinking, obviously dosing is necessary once you have a high demand well grown tank that’s using up Ca, Mag, and Alk, but since the overall goal and point of dosing is constant stability of levels, is it not optimal to dose from day one? Water changes could technically be enough, but levels would still not be as stable and would not be replenished til the end of the week after a water change. Dosing keeps everything stable daily and prevents fluctuations, so technically, even if your tank didn’t NEED dosing yet, it would still be the most optimal and beneficial way to run the tank, no? I’m not at a point where anything is being rapidly depleted, but I’m thinking of starting to autodose just to get in the habit and get the hang of everything before it’s at the point where it’s necessary, and in theory my tank would be all the more stable during that time.

 

[BaliReefBox]

imo get good test kits and test daily to detect trends of consumption...then you can assess if dosing is necessary and how much to dose

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So lately I’ve been adding a lot more SPS to my tank and it got me thinking, obviously dosing is necessary once you have a high demand well grown tank that’s using up Ca, Mag, and Alk, but since the overall goal and point of dosing is constant stability of levels, is it not optimal to dose from day one? Water changes could technically be enough, but levels would still not be as stable and would not be replenished til the end of the week after a water change. Dosing keeps everything stable daily and prevents fluctuations, so technically, even if your tank didn’t NEED dosing yet, it would still be the most optimal and beneficial way to run the tank, no? I’m not at a point where anything is being rapidly depleted, but I’m thinking of starting to autodose just to get in the habit and get the hang of everything before it’s at the point where it’s necessary, and in theory my tank would be all the more stable during that time.

It is certainly optimal to monitor alk in a new tank, and when it begins to drop below your target, that's the time to look to dose alk and calcium. If alk is not dropping (and you are not boosting it somehow), calcium and magneisum need not be monitored or dosed.