Should I be dosing?

[huso]

I have a 40G with lps and softies. Besides the pom pom xenia all my coral are slowly growing but very slowly.

I am currently doing a 5G waterchange every 2 weeks. I dont know my exact parameters and I am using instant ocean reef crystals, the orange bag.
Tank stays about 1ppm nitrates.

Would you guys recommend I start dosing all for reef and start checking parameters and depending on the parameters stop waterchanges, Both water change and dose, or just water change?

 

[Evil1]

You should be checking your parameters with a good test kit. I recommend Salifert KH, Calcium, Magnesium and PH to start. You can purchase on Amazon. Then get back to us once you do the tests.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’d start with an alkalinity test. If it’s ok, then you likely do not need to dose anything.

 

[get-salty]

Hey no offense but im not sure how to answer your questions but first off.. i really think you should do more homework on fish/coral keeping.

Okay so, you def need to test your water parameters if you're going to keep corals. no way around it.
then.. based on your test results, you adjust by dosing what is missing.
lastly, as a newly setup tank, dont stop with the water changes. tbh you can almost get away with dosing in general if you just do the weekly water change.

good luck and happy reefing

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

As everyone else said, you need to test to know if you need to dose. If you notice your alkalinity/calcium dropping in between water changes, then you need to dose. How much it drops will tell you how much you need to dose.

 

[huso]

Hey no offense but im not sure how to answer your questions but first off.. i really think you should do more homework on fish/coral keeping.

Okay so, you def need to test your water parameters if you're going to keep corals. no way around it.
then.. based on your test results, you adjust by dosing what is missing.
lastly, as a newly setup tank, dont stop with the water changes. tbh you can almost get away with dosing in general if you just do the weekly water change.

good luck and happy reefing

Sorry for not being more specific.
I didnt know the exact parameters right that second since I wasnt home and was in a rush.
Ph about a 8.2
about 10dkh alk
.001 phosphate
and 390-400 calcium
These were about 2 weeks ago a week after a water change.

The reason why I wanted to stop waterchanges is because its a huge hassle to carry 5 Gallon buckets one inch at a time with my bad knee, and would be so much easier to be able to lay off the waterchanges a little like how I do to my freshwater tanks. I still test my water just not super often because I ran out of the testers I got from a buddy and didnt but new ones yet.

 

[Lavey29]

So you have bottomed out nutrients and elevated alk which is a recipe for coral demise.

 

[BeanAnimal]

So you have bottomed out nutrients and elevated alk which is a recipe for coral demise.

That is broad statement that is not wholly accurate without further context. OP indicated that corals are growing. There are fish, and that means food and nutrient waste.

 

[huso]

So you have bottomed out nutrients and elevated alk which is a recipe for coral demise.

That is broad statement that is not wholly accurate without further context. OP indicated that corals are growing. There are fish, and that means food and nutrient waste.

I dont know if it matters but I have a couple feather dusters and pinapple sponges. Not outrun by them but I see a couple of them if I look close that werent there before. I dont know if the testers my buddy gave me were old or wrong, but I need to buy my own soon.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

if your alk is 10 2 weeks ago then test today and see how much it has changed.

I don't think I would stop the water changes at this point with that much algae, its on the borderline of getting out of control. Do you have a skimmer on the tank?

What kind of light do you have and what intensity?

 

[huso]

if your alk is 10 2 weeks ago then test today and see how much it has changed.

I don't think I would stop the water changes at this point with that much algae, its on the borderline of getting out of control. Do you have a skimmer on the tank?

What kind of light do you have and what intensity?

The bloom was much worse so I added a skimmer I did some manual removal and where I cleaned the algea did not grow back. This was about 4 weeks ago and I empty the skimmer cup about every 4 days. The light is the viparspectra 240w 1 white 35 blues. About 17 inches up 7.30 hours a day.