2-Part dosing problems? We have the answer!

randyBRS · Feb 22, 2017

Today we fix your 2-part dosing problems with four simple steps! #52FAQ

Here are some helpful tools and products from today's video!

larryrick1 · Feb 22, 2017

I use BRS 2-part method to manage my alkalinity and calcium demand. I hand dose Mag.
I have a 75 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump. After making water displacement calculations, I have total of 80 gallons of water volume. I'm currently dosing 50 ml/day of the ALK component and 50 ml/day of the Ca++ component.
50 ml/80 gal = 0.62 ml/gal is my ALK /Ca++ demand. My goal is to keep my levels close to natural sea water. DkH of 6.8-7.2 and Ca++ of 400-420. I carbon dose using a modified ZeoVit approach.
Is my calculation for ALK/Ca++ demand correct?? (0.62 ml/gal)

ReefingwithO · Feb 22, 2017

larryrick1 said:
I use BRS 2-part method to manage my alkalinity and calcium demand. I hand dose Mag.
I have a 75 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump. After making water displacement calculations, I have total of 80 gallons of water volume. I'm currently dosing 50 ml/day of the ALK component and 50 ml/day of the Ca++ component.
50 ml/80 gal = 0.62 ml/gal is my ALK /Ca++ demand. My goal is to keep my levels close to natural sea water. DkH of 6.8-7.2 and Ca++ of 400-420. I carbon dose using a modified ZeoVit approach.
Is my calculation for ALK/Ca++ demand correct?? (0.62 ml/gal)

I have a Red Sea Reefer 350 which is about the same size as yours. I dose 51ml a day so I think you are spot on.

randyBRS · Feb 22, 2017

larryrick1 said:
I use BRS 2-part method to manage my alkalinity and calcium demand. I hand dose Mag.
I have a 75 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump. After making water displacement calculations, I have total of 80 gallons of water volume. I'm currently dosing 50 ml/day of the ALK component and 50 ml/day of the Ca++ component.
50 ml/80 gal = 0.62 ml/gal is my ALK /Ca++ demand. My goal is to keep my levels close to natural sea water. DkH of 6.8-7.2 and Ca++ of 400-420. I carbon dose using a modified ZeoVit approach.
Is my calculation for ALK/Ca++ demand correct?? (0.62 ml/gal)

Absolutely sound calculations @larryrick1 and pretty close to what I dose my 93gal cube! I'm at 60mL of each.

Schmitty · Feb 22, 2017

I'm looking into getting a doser. Every time I travel I wish I had one so much

AdamNC · Feb 22, 2017

I feel mine is off. My tank is a 29 gallon standard with about 20 gallons with displacement of rock and sand and no sump. I'm using the BRS 2 part and Mag mix dosed by 2 BRS 1.1ml pumps controlled by my Apex and the Mag is dosed by hand when needed. I have it to auto dose every hour on the hour for Alk and every hour on the half hour for Ca. I try to keep my Alk at 12-12.5dkH, Ca at 460ppm and my Mag between 1300-1400ppm. It is an SPS dominated tank with a few frags.

The issue is I seem to have an uneven dosing amount per day. I've measured the mixes perfectly with measuring cups and scrapers for an even amount. When I got my dosers I calibrated them and they're both at about 1.2ml/min. Daily dosing of Alk is 34ml and Ca is 25ml and slowly increasing of about 1-2ml/day. About once a week I have to add extra to bring it up to the levels I want. On schedule the same time of day (about 6pm), I test Alk on Monday and Thursday and test Ca on Tuesday and Friday, Mg is tested every Saturday. Tests are done with Red Sea Foundation kit (Alk/Ca/Mg). A few months ago I did have a crash and almost all growth stopped so I was dosing 7ml of Alk and 10ml of Ca.

So any input on the uneven dosing amounts along with the constant addition of extra? It just seems like I'm dosing more and more but never leveling out. Nothing in my tank is suffering but it's just weird that the mix could be 10ml difference.

larryrick1 · Feb 22, 2017

@AdamNC I was wondering how steady is your pH? I currently use a CO2 scrubber to keep my pH btw 8.1 - 8.3. Prior to using the CO2 scrubber my ALK/Ca++ demand fluctuated drastically with out changing the demand. The pH would fluctuate btw 7.7 -8.0. My Mag was always greater than 1400, so that wasn't the culprit. If your pH is not stable at a range btw 8.1-8.3, I believe it is very difficult to get a handle on your ALK/Ca dosing. Dose anyone else have an opinion?

AdamNC · Feb 22, 2017

larryrick1 said:
@AdamNC I was wondering how steady is your pH? I currently use a CO2 scrubber to keep my pH btw 8.1 - 8.3. Prior to using the CO2 scrubber my ALK/Ca++ demand fluctuated drastically with out changing the demand. The pH would fluctuate btw 7.7 -8.0. My Mag was always greater than 1400, so that wasn't the culprit. If your pH is not stable at a range btw 8.1-8.3, I believe it is very difficult to get a handle on your ALK/Ca dosing. Dose anyone else have an opinion?

For a while I'd been having day/night swings from 7.7-8.0. Then I started using Aquavitro Balance and it seemed to settle between 8.0-8.3. I've just run out and have to get more but now it's sitting 7.9-8.2. I tried using Kalk in my ATO but it really messed with my levels so I stopped using it about a month ago.

dave57 · Feb 23, 2017

I noticed when I installed my co2 scrubber my alk dropped from 10.5 to 9.5 dkh , ph went up from 7.85 to 8.15. I was dosing 40mL brs two part per day. Had to adjust my doser to 50ml per day and now my alk adjusted to 9.5 dkh.. just going to leave it there and naturally let it drop as the corals start growing.. I don't feel like chasing numbers and increasing my two part any higher to achieve 12 dkh.. I'm wondering why so much of a big drop in alk when installing co2 scrubber? Possibly increased calcification rates!?

gasheldon · Feb 23, 2017

OK, BRS...I am a new reefer. I have a 65 g tank with a small sump because it is all my cabinet will accomodate. That will change when I have time to build a new one. All my numbers are within range, my skimmer and filter are running great. I have a refugium doing its job, but no room for a reactor in the sump. However, my DKH is 19, calcium is 460 ppm. I am not dosing, and have been doing water changes- most recently a week ago (25%). What can I do???

randyBRS · Feb 23, 2017

dave57 said:
I noticed when I installed my co2 scrubber my alk dropped from 10.5 to 9.5 dkh , ph went up from 7.85 to 8.15. I was dosing 40mL brs two part per day. Had to adjust my doser to 50ml per day and now my alk adjusted to 9.5 dkh.. just going to leave it there and naturally let it drop as the corals start growing.. I don't feel like chasing numbers and increasing my two part any higher to achieve 12 dkh.. I'm wondering why so much of a big drop in alk when installing co2 scrubber? Possibly increased calcification rates!?

We noticed the same phenomenon after we started using the CO2 scrubber on the BRS160! Anecdotally, it seems that the corals calcify faster with higher pH but we plan to devise a test to confirm/deny that theory! ;-)

gasheldon said:
OK, BRS...I am a new reefer. I have a 65 g tank with a small sump because it is all my cabinet will accomodate. That will change when I have time to build a new one. All my numbers are within range, my skimmer and filter are running great. I have a refugium doing its job, but no room for a reactor in the sump. However, my DKH is 19, calcium is 460 ppm. I am not dosing, and have been doing water changes- most recently a week ago (25%). What can I do???

Honestly, if you are not actively dosing for Alk and calcium I would suspect that your test kit may be off. That is a very high dKH, so much so that there is not a salt mix on the market, that I'm aware of, that reaches over 13-14dKH.

What test kit are you using?

Djbrandriff150 · Feb 23, 2017

I'm in the process now of getting started with my dosing pump

revhtree · Feb 23, 2017

Nice video!

revhtree · Feb 23, 2017

I learned some new stuff!

aashley · Feb 24, 2017

The video was extremely helpful. I will be starting those 4 steps tonight. I was dosing way too much and can never get my numbers right, always too low. I have been testing daily for about a month and very frustrated. Have a lot of buildup on my equipment and glass, even made my pump and vortechs stop working. I really hope this works because it makes me nervous to completely turn off my dosing for a whole 24 hours.

Jrodinnola · Feb 24, 2017

None of the tanks I've owned followed the 1:1 alk/ca ratio. I figured out after some trial and error that running GFO/rowaphos was the cause of my alk drops. The drops were significantly worse with GFO than with rowa, but I'd rather use GFO since it's less expensive. Do y'all have any fixes for this issue? I'm using BRS 2-part dosers and seachem fusion 1&2, which are kept at a consistent concentration by a magnetic stirrer and dosed at the same time every day.

randyBRS · Feb 27, 2017

Jrodinnola said:
I'm using BRS 2-part dosers and seachem fusion 1&2, which are kept at a consistent concentration by a magnetic stirrer and dosed at the same time every day.

Hmmm... Are you dosing them both at the same time, or each has their own independent dosage time?

Jrodinnola · Feb 27, 2017

randyBRS said:
Hmmm... Are you dosing them both at the same time, or each has their own independent dosage time?

Separate. I dose alk at night (midnight-9am) to help with pH swings and ca during the day/evening (noon-9).

Jeffrey Zornes · Feb 28, 2017

Hello,
Love the series I've been watching since the begining of the 160 and check in on all the FAQ and other vids.
I have an apex DOS but for the life of me I can't seem to get my alk and cal under control. I have a 72 bowfront with a 20 gal fuge and ~ 10 gallons in my sump with the pump running. I have kalk top off at full saturation (2tsp per gal of top off mixed up weekly) which I would expect to be more than capable of keeping my levels up ( I only have 10-15 frags nothing large just a few inches per frag. Is it possible that my top off with kalk is out of balance and over dosing there?
I have been testing daily with my Hanna check and my daily drop in alk is ~1.2-1.5 dkh which seems insanely high to me for the amount of coral I have. Right now per the BRS calculator I'm dosing ~100 ml of soda ash solution to get back to the previously days measurement, and again that seems insanely high to me.
What might you guys suggest as a way to get my situation figured out, should I switch to just rodi water in my top off and see where I fall then? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the great vids.

larryrick1 · Mar 1, 2017

I would first make sure there isn't any physical blockages in the tubing that doses the 2 part (build up of Calcium and alk in the tubing may be restricting flow). Then check to make sure the dosing pump is calibrated properly. Stop dosing kalk in your top off water (to determine your true alk/Cal demand )
Check your Mag. (Low mag causes major fluctuations in cal/alk demand. Check for white build up on your pumps (this will indicate if your alk/cal is precipitating )
Do a 30% water change with a quality salt mix (to stabilize mag/cal/alk levels
-start testing with fresh testing kits
-determine true demand of cal/alk
After all that..... you will have it under control.