SHOULD I START DOSING?? 20G LONG

PeterB113 · Aug 10, 2021

Hey guys so I have my 20g long that's been setup for almost 8months now and I'm wondering if I should start dosing my tank? As of now I do 3gallon water changes every Saturday. Things are looking great and all my parameters are stable "or so it seems". I use my own RODI water and mix red sea coral pro to 35ppt for 1hr and change the water in my tank. Will dosing stop the need for such frequent water changes? I'm scared that I will overdose something and cause a problem. Please let me know what you guys think. Also if you suggest I dose, should I get a.dosing pump?

MarshallB · Aug 10, 2021

It depends. Whats your alk/calcium consumption? Are those water changes replacing it sufficiently already? Are the water changes a big part of your nutrient export?

If you take your daily consumption you can find out how much you would need to dose a day. Then you will be able to compare the cost of dosing solution vs water changes.

I only does because its actaully cheaper to dose vs doing big enough water changes to make a difference.

PeterB113 · Aug 10, 2021

MarshallB said:
It depends. Whats your alk/calcium consumption? Are those water changes replacing it sufficiently already? Are the water changes a big part of your nutrient export?

If you take your daily consumption you can find out how much you would need to dose a day. Then you will be able to compare the cost of dosing solution vs water changes.

I only does because its actaully cheaper to dose vs doing big enough water changes to make a difference.

My dkh and ca don't get used up as much as I thought it would. And right after a water change it's back to normal. For example when I do a water change my CA is at 450ppm and after a week right before its at 400. And dkh barely moves at all. After a WC its at 9.5 dkh and after 1 week it's at 9 dkh

DirkCourage · Aug 10, 2021

My tank and timeline are very similar, and I just got into dosing All For Reef. Before that I was manually adding soda ash to bump Alk up at WCs. There were a couple factors: 1) there was steady Alk consumption of at least 1ppm per week. 2) an ICP test showed I was lacking in a number of trace elements, including important ones like iodine that weren’t getting added with the soda ash 3) my nitrates had actually gotten low and stayed there, so with my nutrients already low I had to rethink my WCs. My WCs were same as yours.

So, as your tank is pretty stable at this point I think you can take a close look at your parameters and make an assessment. I recommend an ICP test. It’s a great way to confirm or spot things you’re not testing for. I got an X1 WiFi dosing pump and it’s been a breeze. I never minded WCs, but it’s a blunt tool compared to a fine-tuned dosing schedule.

Your tank looks awesome btw!!!

Pkunk35 · Aug 10, 2021

PeterB113 said:
My dkh and ca don't get used up as much as I thought it would. And right after a water change it's back to normal. For example when I do a water change my CA is at 450ppm and after a week right before its at 400. And dkh barely moves at all. After a WC its at 9.5 dkh and after 1 week it's at 9 dkh

beautiful tank! I love the 20g long dimensions for a nano.

to me it sounds like your tank’s alk/calc requirements are currently able to be satisfied with just WC. The corals look super happy, personally I would wait and just continue to test as you have been and begin dosing when the WC isn’t replenishing used up calc or the alk begins to shift more through consumption.

Cell · Aug 10, 2021

When water changes are no longer sufficient to keep your parameters stable is when you can start thinking about dosing.

PeterB113 · Aug 10, 2021

Pkunk35 said:
beautiful tank! I love the 20g long dimensions for a nano.

to me it sounds like your tank’s alk/calc requirements are currently able to be satisfied with just WC. The corals look super happy, personally I would wait and just continue to test as you have been and begin dosing when the WC isn’t replenishing used up calc or the alk begins to shift more through consumption.

Thank you! And is there a certain amount to dose? I bought all for reef, CA from red sea and Magnesium from red sea (all are brand new unopened). Do you dose manually with a syringe or use pumps?

Pkunk35 · Aug 10, 2021

PeterB113 said:
Thank you! And is there a certain amount to dose? I bought all for reef, CA from red sea and Magnesium from red sea (all are brand new unopened). Do you dose manually with a syringe or use pumps?

you have to find your tanks consumption and replenish that (slowly!). I think there are many many posts/vids on how to do that which can explain way better then me.

I use this reef calculator to find exactly how much of a specific supplement I have to add in order to achieve the number or range I want

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

if I can help it I will throw any dosing on a Kamoer pump just to make sure it gets done exactly the same each day. Usually if left up to manual dosing by me then you will get a week of very good upkeep but then by week three it is fluctuating wildly.

PeterB113 · Aug 10, 2021

Pkunk35 said:
you have to find your tanks consumption and replenish that (slowly!). I think there are many many posts/vids on how to do that which can explain way better then me.

I use this reef calculator to find exactly how much of a specific supplement I have to add in order to achieve the number or range I want

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

if I can help it I will throw any dosing on a Kamoer pump just to make sure it gets done exactly the same each day. Usually if left up to manual dosing by me then you will get a week of very good upkeep but then by week three it is fluctuating wildly.

Also is it Is inevitable that I will have to dose or is it possible to maintain the tank with water changes alone longterm?

Pkunk35 · Aug 10, 2021

PeterB113 said:
Also is it Is inevitable that I will have to dose or is it possible to maintain the tank with water changes alone longterm?

you have a good amount of stony in there so I wouldn’t be surprised if dosing was inevitable, it def was in mine when everything got huge and I was changing 20% weekly at least.
Still tho, test kits will let you know, just get in a weekly rhythm and watch the coral both will tell you when to start looking into dosing.

Gedxin · Aug 10, 2021

Your salt (red sea pro) mixes at 11dKh I believe, so the fact that you're measuring around 9ish means that you're basically dosing each time you do a water change. Your tank looks amazing, especially considering you are doing zero manual dosing!

I've read around the year mark is when you need to start managing trace elements.

PeterB113 · Aug 10, 2021

Gedxin said:
Your salt (red sea pro) mixes at 11dKh I believe, so the fact that you're measuring around 9ish means that you're basically dosing each time you do a water change. Your tank looks amazing, especially considering you are doing zero manual dosing!

I've read around the year mark is when you need to start managing trace elements.

I forgot to say it but everytime I do a water change I add in 3 drops of trace elements. It's a blue liquid not sure which company. Some weeks I forget to drop it in

PeterB113 · Aug 10, 2021

Gedxin said:
Your salt (red sea pro) mixes at 11dKh I believe, so the fact that you're measuring around 9ish means that you're basically dosing each time you do a water change. Your tank looks amazing, especially considering you are doing zero manual dosing!

I've read around the year mark is when you need to start managing trace elements.

The name of the company for trace elements I use is called brightwell aquatics I just looked it up

DirkCourage · Aug 10, 2021

PeterB113 said:
The name of the company for trace elements I use is called brightwell aquatics I just looked it up

Y’know… the proof is in the pudding. The tank looks great doing what you’re doing, so I’d say keep doing it for now! I feel like you COULD maybe do less WC if you wanted to and dosing would probably be a part of that, but if you’re cool doing weekly WC (I enjoy them too actually) then stay the course. I look at it like a “level-up” thing for you right now. It’s not necessary, but if you can automate some stability and save some work… then that’s just another challenge in your reefing career.

Pistondog · Aug 10, 2021

PeterB113 said:
Also is it Is inevitable that I will have to dose or is it possible to maintain the tank with water changes alone longterm?

Measure alk and calcium, when wcs can't keep up, start to dose. B ionic is easy because equal parts of 2. Measure alk at same time each day, say 2 pm. If it drops increase each part. Start with 1 ml per 4 g total tank volume, manually dose after test.

PeterB113 · Aug 11, 2021

Pistondog said:
Measure alk and calcium, when wcs can't keep up, start to dose. B ionic is easy because equal parts of 2. Measure alk at same time each day, say 2 pm. If it drops increase each part. Start with 1 ml per 4 g total tank volume, manually dose after test.

I have all for reef by tropic Marin. Is that a good 2part to dose?