Dosing Alk and Calcium

[Masgatigata]

I'm hoping someone can give me some advise with dosing. I figured out that I need to dose 12 ml of alk and 30 ml of calcium a day to keep my numbers balanced. My question is how should I set the automatic doser? Sould I dose half of my amounts at two different points in the day (6 ml of alk at 10 pm and them 6 ml at 10 am) or should I dose a smaller amount during different times of the day ( 1 ml at 10pm, 1 ml at 1 ml at 12 am, 1 ml at 2 am...etc)?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Dan1789]

I break mine up over an 8 hour period. Calcium during the day and Alk during the night.

 

[Dan1789]

If you want I can post my apex codes.

 

[Masgatigata]

That's very nice of you, but I don't have an apex. I'm using a BRS doser. I'm just finding that when I dose Alk at night, it usually drops a lot during the day and by the time I dose again, there is a huge swing. I'd like to keep it as stable as possible. For instance, my alk will start at 9 but will drop down to about 8, then when I dose it goes back to 9 again. Is it okay to swing that much?

 

[Downbeach]

[FONT=&quot]The uptake of Ca and Alk, by “stony†type coral, coralline algae, etc. in a reef system is 20 ppm Ca to 50 ppm(2.8dKH) Alk(CaCO3), which is a ratio of 2 pts Ca to 5 pts Alk (2:5). Equal doses of any two part supplements are designed to provide the same ratio's. I would get your numbers where you want them, i.e. Ca @ 420ppm , Alk @ 8dKH, Mg @ 1350ppm, etc., using your two part solutions. Once you have the numbers you want, start testing daily for a few days to determine your load, then calculate your dosing schedule. [/FONT]

 

[Masgatigata]

I have my numbers where I want them. 450 ca, 9 alk, 1500 mag. To keep these stable I need to dose daily. My question is how to break up the dose. Should I do half the required dose at two different times or a little bit of the dose throughout the day/night?

 

[Genesis Corals]

I dose once every hour, separating the cal and alk dosing so they aren't going in at the same time. This provides stable levels throughout the day and night. I would break up the dosing into as many parts as possible. The more you dose at one time the more swings you will have.

 

[Chaetomorpha]

I dose once every hour, separating the cal and alk dosing so they aren't going in at the same time. This provides stable levels throughout the day and night. I would break up the dosing into as many parts as possible. The more you dose at one time the more swings you will have.

Can you share your apex language with us I want to set up a similar program.

 

[Masgatigata]

I dose once every hour, separating the cal and alk dosing so they aren't going in at the same time. This provides stable levels throughout the day and night. I would break up the dosing into as many parts as possible. The more you dose at one time the more swings you will have.

Thank you. I've split up the dose for every two hours over the 24hour period.

 

[bct15]

Make sure they are not at the same time, alk and cal need to be dosed at different times. Separate them by an hour.

 

[Mrfresh]

I would break it up over a few points during the day and make sure the cal and alk done run at the same time.
I always give it about 30 mins in between doses

 

[KoleTang]

Just to clarify, he meant "don't" not "done". ^^^

I dose my Ca once a day and my Alk several times throughout the night to buffer pH.