Doser for alkalinity

[jayala12]

I need to start dosing for alkalinity but don’t know where to start. What I mean is what equipment do I need? Dosing pump , additive , and container for additive ? It’s for a 29 biocube so it won’t be much. What could I get that could accomplish this. My mag and calcium seem to stay put it’s just alk that drops so I only need a single setup. Thanks in advance

 

[Reeferdood]

If you dose only alkalinity eventually your system will get out of balance.
You really have 2 options to keep it stable.
Water changes or dosing a good 2 part, I use B ionic because it will also keep your Mg where it needs to be.
My .02

 

[iDeath]

The most cost effective way to go is to get a jebao 4 head doser. I have been using one on my office tank for years with no issue. This will let you dose 4 components because at some point you'll need to dose the big 3 and then you have 1 extra for something else.

 

[Reeferdood]

The most cost effective way to go is to get a jebao 4 head doser. I have been using one on my office tank for years with no issue. This will let you dose 4 components because at some point you'll need to dose the big 3 and then you have 1 extra for something else.

Unless you use B ionic!

 

[iDeath]

True you could just measure and add. I forgot that's how I used to do things before dosers came along. So yah that is definitely more cost effective

 

[Oshengems]

You will get things out of whack if those only Alk, cheap way get 2 dosers the BRS ones are good and dose 2 parts mag you can do manually if you need to, currently I dose 2 parts Bionic about 46ml a day, took me a while to dial this in but my numbers have been steady at kh 8.5 and Ca at 450. Another solution is kalkwaser.

Few things to take into account what are you keeping? How much LR you have and how much of it it’s exposed and how old is the tank, when coralline algea took over my tank I noticed a huge difference in my kh and Ca numbers

 

[Reeferdood]

Im not salesperson for ESV but I really like their products. I use transition elements plus also and I couldn't be more pleased with this method. I just elevate the magnesium where I want it first and the 2 part will keep it where I want it from there.

 

[jayala12]

Ok so some sort of 2-part would be my best option. Seems so complicated to me. I don’t want to ruin my tank lol. When I do get dosing going do I just do my normal weekly water changes? Or do I have to recalculate dosing once I change water ?

 

[madweazl]

Early on, the alkalinity may drop at a rate disproportionate to the calcium until the nitrogen cycle has completed. If this is the case, adding an alkalinity supplement (e.g. baking soda) to the ATO water may be all you need for quite some time.

 

[Oshengems]

LOL, I felt the same way you do I was doing Kalk in my ATO for the first 5 months of my tank simply adding a few scoops to my ato but the deman was to much when I switched to 2 parts felt overwhelmed but it’s just at the start because I had never dealt with any of this but once you start you will see it very simple getting the correct number to dose is the hard part because I was testing everyday but now I only test my Kh once a week to adjust the growth I have mostly SPS

 

[jayala12]

So what would be a good dual doser for the 2-part that doesn’t break the bank ?

 

[madweazl]

So what would be a good dual doser for the 2-part that doesn’t break the bank ?

If you already have a controller, the BRS option would likely be the least expensive. If not, a stand alone of some but I'm skeptical of the lower cost options in regard to reliability (especially with alkalinity dosing). Perhaps there is a reliable, programmable timer that could be used with the BRS pumps.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

If you have an ato, just mix kalkwasser in it. That will keep your alk up unless you go sps dominant

 

[izzyishh]

If you have an ato, just mix kalkwasser in it. That will keep your alk up unless you go sps dominant

Wont the Kalk settle on the bottom of the ato container?

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Wont the Kalk settle on the bottom of the ato container?

Negative. Some kalk will though and it will develop a film on top alsoto keep the mixture intact. Read up on it if it interests you. Its really effective for non sps dominant systems.

Im maxing out with it right now with 10 sps frags and some lps. (20 gal, system. So that's quite a load actually)

 

[jayala12]

Yeah I have all lps and an anemone. Well 1 birdsnest. But the rest is lps. So kalk could be an option. I do have an ato system

 

[Super Fly]

I manually dosed in the beginning to save $ until tank grew and it started needing larger dose amount, then I bought a used doser. I hated using Kalk as it would form solid clumps on bottom of ATO, it was a pain whenever I had to refill the ATO. Which is why I switched to 2-part dosing. If u decide to go the Kalk route, I'd highly recommend using it in a separate container

 

[jayala12]

So I could just manually add the 2-part say like half before I go to work then the other half when I get home ?... also that b ionic seems pretty cool

 

[Oshengems]

Negative. Some kalk will though and it will develop a film on top alsoto keep the mixture intact. Read up on it if it interests you. Its really effective for non sps dominant systems.

Im maxing out with it right now with 10 sps frags and some lps. (20 gal, system. So that's quite a load actually)

This is correct it won’t settle and if your demand is low on demand like most LPS tanks ATO can be an easy option for you. once it’s well mixed the water will look murky but no clumps.

I Started mixing 3 table spoons in 5 gallons bucked it used as my ATO container, kept adding half TSpoon or full Tspoon as time progressed I took the SPS way this was a big influence. stir the water and add the powder as you stir to mix it once is mix let it settle and that’s it’s it, I read someone was getting clumps I never did also I used the 2 lil fishies brand. When I got to 1.5 Tspoon per gallon I had To stop and switch to 2 parts.

<warning!!> I feel that Kalk once you start adding close to a Tspoon per gallon should only be used if you have a monitor for your PH, one of the added features it Kalk is that it buffers your PH so on my Apex I had my ATO shut off if PH got above 8.40 so at night was the main time when my ato was on this became a problem since it wasn’t toping off much everything was outta wack but my PH was always high, also I noticed my pump had way more residue so more maintance on that.

Idk if it was my eyes playing tricks on me but I felt my corals looked better when I was doing Kalk compared to 2 parts I saw the change almost immediately but probably just me.

 

[jayala12]

August 26
Alk 6.1
Cal 410
Mag 1440

August 27 after water change
Alk 8.6
Cal 430
Mag 1500

August 29
Alk 6.7
Cal 420
Mag 1450

That’s a little idea what I’m dealing with. Any help as which route I should go is appreciated.