affordable, effective dosing?

[andiesreef]

hi everyone. I'm looking to start dosing my 3 month old lps and soft coral tank, as the levels are slowly creeping down despite bi-weekly water changes and they were low to begin with. my target for a new baseline is to raise my alk from 7 to 9 dKH, my calcium from 330 to 420 ppm, and my magnesium from 1150 to 1300 ppm. I'm new to dosing and the hobby in general, so what would be the best way to do this? I assume slowly adding more dosing solution over time and frequent testing? and what is an easy to use, affordable dosing setup for beginners that could be purchased on big sites like petco or amazon?

 

[Pistondog]

You can start by dosing manually. I used b ionic 2 part.
Equal parts, started with 20 ml each daily for 100 g total water volume.

 

[andiesreef]

ok thanks. will it affect my ph? it's at 8.2 at the moment.

You can start by dosing manually. I used b ionic 2 part.
Equal parts, started with 20 ml each daily for 100 g total water volume.

 

[Pistondog]

ok thanks. will it affect my ph? it's at 8.2 at the moment.

Not that much. Tiny spike, if at all, and temporary.

 

[Dilan Patel]

I would say go with the BRS 2 part which is alk calc and mag supplements. This will be one of the lowest if not lowest cost options. These do not contain trace elements but since you do waterchanges it won't be too big of a concern....Been using BRS for YEARS and don't per-from waterchanges at all and no manual dosing of trace elements.

 

[andiesreef]

I would say go with the BRS 2 part which is alk calc and mag supplements. This will be one of the lowest if not lowest cost options. These do not contain trace elements but since you do waterchanges it won't be too big of a concern....Been using BRS for YEARS and don't per-from waterchanges at all and no manual dosing of trace elements.

I looked at the BRS 2 part and have heard great things about it. However, the mixing and measuring process seems a little intimidating for me. I think I'm going to go with Brightwell's dosing system for now, as they seem to have similar price points and positive reviews.