Coral recommendations

dreamcatcherr9 · Feb 12, 2020

If you use All Reef, and have to adjust just one element, do you use a specific brand / product? And besides testing Alk, you do still check Calc periodically (Hanna tester)?

dreamcatcherr9 · Feb 12, 2020

Also (sorry and thank you):

If using a 2 part product I would need 2 dosing pumps (lines).

If using 1 product like All Reef I should only need 1 dosing pump (other elements needing adjustment could be done by hand).

If using a liquid and note a dry mix, I could use the container itself (All Reef) for the dosing container?

btmedic04 · Feb 12, 2020

It's all good! That's what R2R if about! Yes, 2 part would require 2 separate pumps, containers and you would have to alternate hours in which they are dosed as calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate will interact with one another and precipitate out of solution if dosed at the same time. And you most certainly can use the premixed all for reef container as a dosing container. You'll have to drill a hole in the lid and put in the proper connection to attach your line, but it would be a lot less cost than buying a premade dosing container

btmedic04 · Feb 12, 2020

When I had my nuvo 20 running as a mixed reef, I think I was dosing 6-8 ml of all for reef per day, so a 1000ml container would last you a long time

dreamcatcherr9 · Feb 12, 2020

btmedic04 said:
When I had my nuvo 20 running as a mixed reef, I think I was dosing 6-8 ml of all for reef per day, so a 1000ml container would last you a long time
[/QUOTE

Using All For Reef;

Did you only test Alk for initial dosing regiment. Later test for Alk and Calc to adjust accordingly? And what other specific product did you use you adjust individual elements? Does brand matter?

btmedic04 · Feb 12, 2020

When I first started dosing, I tested alk and cal daily until I found the dose of AFR required to keep my alk stable. Once I found that out, I backed my alk testing to weekly and moved calcium to monthly as it wasnt changing much if at all with a red sea calcium test kit. As for what additives to use to make adjustments, I used the BRS 2 part kit which included soda ash, calcium chloride, magnesium, 2 pumps and 3x 1 gallon jugs. That kit was around $50 and is what I initially started hand dosing with daily until I switched to AFR

dreamcatcherr9 · Feb 12, 2020

Thank you. You helped a lot.

btmedic04 · Feb 12, 2020

You're welcome! If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to hit me up!

dreamcatcherr9 · Feb 14, 2020

btmedic04 said:
You're welcome! If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to hit me up!

Thanks again, if I can share my final thoughts, and if you have any final advice or opinions.

Starting from FOWLR base (Nuvo 20, two AI Prime’s, etc). 10% weekly water changes (consistency is key), leaves water parameters fairy stable (and trace elements added back).

As I begin to add corals, Alk and Calc (etc) will be consumed. I begin to test for Alk (and Calc). Using All For Reef and a Kamoer X1 to auto dose (testing and adjusting from Alk reading) I begin to dose as needed to re establish parameters. I continue to test Alk (and Calc?) and adjust from Alk readings as needed. But should find a stable perimeter (dosing amount) to auto dose.

If / when individual Alk or Calc needs adjusting, I can dose by hand as needed (hopefully not

If / when I add new corals (or existing corals begin to consume and grow), more dosing will be needed to be added and dosing amount adjusted accordingly.

So in the beginning (no coral) almost no dosing will be required. As corals are slowly added, dosing will begin and increase. The more corals, the larger the dose.

Let me know if I am completely off or if I am on the right path. Truly appreciate yours (and anyones) advise and opinions

btmedic04 · Feb 14, 2020

dreamcatcherr9 said:
Thanks again, if I can share my final thoughts, and if you have any final advice or opinions.

Starting from FOWLR base (Nuvo 20, two AI Prime’s, etc). 10% weekly water changes (consistency is key), leaves water parameters fairy stable (and trace elements added back).

As I begin to add corals, Alk and Calc (etc) will be consumed. I begin to test for Alk (and Calc). Using All For Reef and a Kamoer X1 to auto dose (testing and adjusting from Alk reading) I begin to dose as needed to re establish parameters. I continue to test Alk (and Calc?) and adjust from Alk readings as needed. But should find a stable perimeter (dosing amount) to auto dose.

If / when individual Alk or Calc needs adjusting, I can dose by hand as needed (hopefully not

If / when I add new corals (or existing corals begin to consume and grow), more dosing will be needed to be added and dosing amount adjusted accordingly.

So in the beginning (no coral) almost no dosing will be required. As corals are slowly added, dosing will begin and increase. The more corals, the larger the dose.

Let me know if I am completely off or if I am on the right path. Truly appreciate yours (and anyones) advise and opinions

You're on the right path bud! When you first start dosing all for reef, you may need to test your alk daily until you get your dose dialed in. Once you get it, then you can switch back to weekly alk testing and monthly cal/mag testing. If you notice a drop week to week, slightly increase your dosing and test your alk daily for a couple of days after to confirm it was enough or to adjust as needed.

When making dosing adjustments, small is best. I think when I was adjusting for my nuvo 20, I was doing 0.1 to 0.5ml adjustments at a time, then retest the next day and adjust if necessary. Currently with my 40b, I do 1ml adjustments so you don't need a lot. Eventually, you'll get to a point where you can kind of guess the ballpark on how much you need to increase or decrease your dose based off of the difference in your day to day alk testing.

You probably already know this but its always good to be reminded to make sure that you test at the same time every time as there are natural ebbs and flows to your parameters throughout the day. For me, I test after lights out at 9pm since I'm the kind of person that does best with visual reminders.

Also here is the website to calculate an initial dose