Afraid to Start 2 Part Dosing and Kalkwasser

[ReeferRoo]

Here is the gist...

Tank has been running for a year and looks great and loaded with corals, a lot of which are SPS and LPS. 5 fish and plenty of inverts. System is setup with the new APEX and running a DOS doing a 2 GPD water change on the 125 dt, filter socks, refugium with mangroves, and a nyos 160 skimmer running wet.

I have 3 ea 3.5L Trigger Dosing Containers and 2 New in box DOS and bulk reagents from BRS for 2 part dosing ready to go and I have also recently ordered some Kalwasser for the ATO.

My issue is I haven't tested parameters in months due to circumstances beyond my control significantly limiting my time but everything new and old thrives short of some muted coloration on a couple of LPS and SPS corals which could be more a lighting/burn issue. The past 6 months things have just been growing well with just the AWC but I feel I can get much better growth and possibly some better coloration if I take the next step...but may only have 1-2 times per week where I can actually give the tank attention when I clean it.

So it comes down to personal fear of chasing parameters when I already know my PH swings .4 throughout the day cycle and adding a CO2 scrubber didnt make a change just increased the overall PH by .04 and yet my gut tells me I should be taking the next step.

I am just flat out afraid to do anything other than leave it be or increase the rate of the AWC...

I am over thinking this? I know there are pro's and cons to everything and I can just as easily nuke my tank by not doing something as doing something so the start of this really should be...TEST MY PARAMETERS morning and night for a couple of days...

But the old adage..."If it Ain't Broke Don't Fix It" keeps echoing in my head every time I start to build motivation on 2 part dosing and I lose steam.

I'm looking for thoughts, lessons, learned, warnings, Do's and don't and maybe a cattle prod to get my rear in gear...feel free to yell at me for not checking parameters since....I think last Sept.

For more info on the tank, my build thread is noted in my signature.

Looking forward to some feedback. And I will try to start testing parameters so this can hopefully be productive.

Voting...Your allowed 2 votes.
First - to take a shot at me
Second - to share your honest opinion
You should also be allowed to chance your vote after I provide parameters.

Hopefully I can make a decision on what my next step should be as this gets vetted out or you all just call me crazy and we move on!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hay man, stuff beyond our control happens. Don't beat yourself up about it What I would do personally is test your alk and calcium every 24 hours for three days. See if your consumption is consistent and significant enough to justify dosing. If it is, I would strongly recommend dosing 2 part. It seems very overwhelming but as someone who just started dosing 2 part himself, its not as bad as you think

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, test the alkalinity and see where it stands. We'd use that to determine what, if anything should be dosed.

 

[Greybeard]

TEST. Dosing without some reason to, or even knowing what it is that you're trying to accomplish, is pointless, and as you said, quite possible for it to have negative effects.

Alkalinity at a bare minimum, but I'd test Calcium and Magnesium as well.

 

[TonapahNorth]

Man, this Original post is precisely how I feel. Thanks. i am going to be following along here and may ask questions too, if you don't mind.

 

[ReeferRoo]

Man, this Original post is precisely how I feel. Thanks. i am going to be following along here and may ask questions too, if you don't mind.

I don’t mind questions at all! And glad my position is the same as other reefers. Hopefully tonight I will be able to get some tests in!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is appropriate in a way, but in truth you don't know if anything is "broke." It's possible everything is surviving because carbonate alkalinity, calcium and magnesium are all in check. It's also possible one (or more) of those is way off, and your tank is surviving despite the problem. Without regular testing, you can't say for sure.

If you can't commit to regular testing to get a really good understanding of what you're tank's doing, I wouldn't dose anything. A solid understanding of your water chemistry needs to come before any attempt to change it.

 

[lbacha]

Coral will live in low Alk and cal but they don't grow much. Your daily water changes are adding some Alk and cal so that is probably helping but a med to high bioload tank with lps and sps will need more than what is provided via water changes. Again as the saying goes if it isn't broke don't fix it may apply for you, a lot of tank in the early days of reefing didn't add much in the way of Alk and cal and did fine