hey all, i have decided to start two-part dosing my tank. My calc is always low, ~300 ppm or so and I cannot grow coraline to save my life. I have SPS doing well in the tank but their growth rate is hindered by the low calc i feel.
Is there any place to buy supplies locally? Any tips/advice for first time doser? I’m going to dose calc in the morning, alk at night. How often do you add mag?
I read the article on reefkeeping.com about 2-part dosing. I want to automate it, but i have 0 room in my stand to put the solutions. Anyone manually dosing?
I used the BRS calculator, it says i would need (from 300ppm to 400 ppm):
716.4 ml
24.2 fl oz
143.2 tsp
Is that how much I add to a gallon of water? Will my alk drop alot? I have a problem with Ca more than alk. My tank usually sits around 8 dkh.
What I don’t get is, how much of this stuff do I put in my top off water? I make the 1 gallon solution but then how do I add it to the tank safely?
Is there anything else I’m missing? Sorry for so many questions and thank you in advance for the help, i’m scared to dose my tank.
I would get some calcium chloride (BRS), for your Ca, you can use simple baking soda (Arm & Hammer) for your alk, if you do regular WC’s, you’ll probably never need to dose Mg. Once you have your chemicals, and make up your solutions, you will want to get your parameters where you want them, i.e. Ca @ 420, Alk @ 8, etc. Then start to monitor your usage to determine your tanks uptake, and how much you will have to add each day. I would use kalk in your top off, but not your Ca, and Alk supplements, you could just pour those into your DT each day, as I do.
Which salt mix are you using? IO reef crystals starts out pretty high in alk and calc. keeping calcium up is easy, as hudz says. i use calcium chloride i buy in 50 pond bags as snow melt. you have to get the right, particular brands though, that have good purity. I use C-FORCE or Prestone Driveway Heat. i have a bunch of tanks. but for one tank, BRS is a good deal . good quality stuff for their Calcium Chloride. you can just dose it right up in a couple days if you like. i just dump mine all the time past 12 years. no problem with the calcium for me. a bit higher, like 420-450 PPM would be a good range to target. keeps the tank happy.
@Ken: I am using instant ocean at the moment, usually reef crystals though. I am not diligent at maintaining water changes.
I have a bunch of monti cap/digi but not alot of SPS otherwise.
What test kit do you guys use to test Ca/Alk/Mg? I’m using API reef master but it’s a PITA. Is it worth it to buy the saliferts or is red sea good? Just looking for a suggestion.
Oh Yeah. Monti caps suck up a lot of calcium and carbonate. they grow fast. dose away!
I use the little API test kits for Ca and DKH. and a SeaChem test kit for Mg that also does alk and borate if i want to. pretty happy with all of them .
Ok I got the redsea test kit because it was an all-in-one package and it came with a titrater. I just did all 3 tests and it was super easy compared to the API stuff.
Thanks reefman. I’m going to dose my ca to 425ish and get my dkh to 8 because my monti caps, although still very healthy looking, have lost the white rim around it and seem to not be growing anymore.
[quote=“jtnova13, post:9, topic:6322”]
Thanks reefman. I’m going to dose my ca to 425ish and get my dkh to 8 because my monti caps, although still very healthy looking, have lost the white rim around it and seem to not be growing anymore.
Is there any other reason?[/quote]
PO4, best to use a Hanna meter for this one. Beside providing a food source for nuisance algae, it can inhibit the growth of corals and coraline algae.
[quote=“jtnova13, post:9, topic:6322”]
Thanks reefman. I’m going to dose my ca to 425ish and get my dkh to 8 because my monti caps, although still very healthy looking, have lost the white rim around it and seem to not be growing anymore.
Is there any other reason?[/quote]
PO4, best to use a Hanna meter for this one. Beside providing a food source for nuisance algae, it can inhibit the growth of corals and coraline algae.
also, i noticed my monti caps…when they were growing strong would seem to do a flip flop monthly… they would grow a white rim for a couple weeks, then that would color in the next few weeks … then it would repeat… i dunno if its normal, or it was my w/c schedule but thats when it was growing out of control ???
[quote=“jtnova13, post:12, topic:6322”]
I test po4. I don’t have a Hanna meter though.
There is almost no nuisance algae in my tank though, but that could be because my nitrates are low too.
I am converting my bp reactor back to a phosban reactor that should help.[/quote]
Your BP’s have more of an effect on NO3, than PO4 and if your tank is looking good, I probably wouldn’t remove it. I would get a Hanna meter, or have someone with one, to check the PO4, and if it too high, add a GFO reactor.
@downbeach, my bp reactor hasn’t been running since it leaked. I got new o rings and was gonna turn it on again, but if my tank is running with no algae and 0 nitrates id rather run it as a phosban reactor.
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