Should I start dosing?

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I

I’ve been doing water changes every fortnight, so maybe I need so start doing them weekly instead?

I do around 10% every two weeks.

would you recommend I do 10% every week instead?

What are you wanting to accomplish with more water changes?
 
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Hannahmunt

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What are you wanting to accomplish with more water changes?
Reduce nitrates and just general tank maintenance.

I was told I had to either to weekly of fortnightly water changes as part of the maintenance.

I also have a lot of diatoms on the sand, this could be due to the ugly stage thou.
sorry I’m still new and learning what I need to be doing correctly.
 
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EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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Reduce nitrates and just general tank maintenance.

I was told I had to either to weekly of fortnightly water changes as part of the maintenance.

I also have a lot of diatoms on the sand, this could be due to the ugly stage thou.
sorry I’m still new and learning what I need to be doing correctly.
Your nitrates are fine. 10 is not anywhere near high.
 
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Hannahmunt

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Every tank is different, but 5 is not high at all. I would actually call that on the low end of the scale.

I run mine between 10 and 20. Anywhere in those numbers is fine for me and my corals.
Oh really. That’s good then. I’m dosing nopox so will carry on until it is stable.
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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I recommend 2-10 ppm nitrate. :)
And there is nothing wrong with that range; I was trying to point out to the OP that their current level isn't "really high" and that some tanks do very well at higher levels than they currently have.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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And there is nothing wrong with that range; I was trying to point out to the OP that their current level isn't "really high" and that some tanks do very well at higher levels than they currently have.

I wasn't disputing your suggestion. I was just mostly noting that her current value is within my suggested range.
 

LeftyReefer

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All my LPS are happy and my nitrates are always low, sub 1ppm, which is why I need to dose nitrates.
LPS are still happy though.

I don't think a tank needs to run 20+ nitrates to have happy LPS.
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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All my LPS are happy and my nitrates are always low, sub 1ppm, which is why I need to dose nitrates.
LPS are still happy though.

I don't think a tank needs to run 20+ nitrates to have happy LPS.
No, there's not a specific "need" to run high nitrates (although I would argue that your need to dose nitrates speaks to the idea that LPS does better with highER nutrients), but for someone new who is learning and trying to find a balance, it's helpful to know that some tanks do fine with higher nutrients.

OP, I guess the best advice I can give regarding this issue is, don't chase specific numbers. As you continue on your journey, monitor your tank/parameters, but if things look good otherwise (i.e. coral health), don't panic if things are somewhat outside the "ideal" values. A trend of ongoing rising or falling numbers can be a reason to take specific action to correct, but let your tank tell you what it needs.

I look forward to seeing how your tank progresses! :)
 

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I used to use rodi water and the reading was way off.
I got told not to use rodi water but only demineralized water.
Either you have to be way to accurate with those tests or something is wrong with the rodi water.
I gave up on it and switched to titration and i get the same result when double checking.
The Hanna Calcium test when ordered with the Reef Pro Checker Kit comes with a small bottle of De-Ionized water. If you're having issues with using your own RODI (the DI = De-Ionized) then your filters aren't doing their job well enough. You want to use water with 0 calcium. If you're doing your tests, and then rinsing the cuvettes with tap water, you may also be throwing off your tests when the tap water evaporates and leaves behind traces of calcium deposits. Those deposits can then taint your next test.
 

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