Dosing and Water Changes, how do you balance?

[Jeremy Luke]

I'm currently maintaining my new tank at a 8-9 alk level. My calcium is high and I'm trying to let it gradually come down on its own before I start dosing calc. That's what I did for the alk. My reef crystals salt mixes at 11.5 alk and 500 calc. When I do a water change it obviously raises my alk. I change about 15% which raises the alk about .5. I'd like to start using my doser to maintain my alk. For anyone who deals with the same type of situation... How do you do it? I've been thinking about programming my doser to not dose on Sundays and doing a water change every Sunday evening. Thoughts?

 

[Sabellafella]

I'm currently maintaining my new tank at a 8-9 alk level. My calcium is high and I'm trying to let it gradually come down on its own before I start dosing calc. That's what I did for the alk. My reef crystals salt mixes at 11.5 alk and 500 calc. When I do a water change it obviously raises my alk. I change about 15% which raises the alk about .5. I'd like to start using my doser to maintain my alk. For anyone who deals with the same type of situation... How do you do it? I've been thinking about programming my doser to not dose on Sundays and doing a water change every Sunday evening. Thoughts?

Could do that, what ive done and usually tell everyone to do, is to undershoot dosing for the week leading to my water change. For instance, i do 20% water changes once a week. The alk in fresh sw is 2.5 dkh higher then my tank. So i know to expect a .5 dkh swing nearly every water change. So i have my dosing pumps run shy of .5 dkh throught the week

 

[donnievaz]

You're best bet is to find the salt mix that's closest to your target parameters and switch. I'll be doing just that when my bucket of IO runs out.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

Thanks folks. For the immediate, I'll go with the under dose and change method. The lazy in me likes that I can grab reef crystals for cheap and easy off of Amazon prime.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

And with that Sabellafella I really like the under dose as that's easier than what I was thinking... Just dosing the same amount every day.

 

[Sabellafella]

Thanks folks. For the immediate, I'll go with the under dose and change method. The lazy in me likes that I can grab reef crystals for cheap and easy off of Amazon prime.

Lol same here

 

[BoomCorals]

Thanks folks. For the immediate, I'll go with the under dose and change method. The lazy in me likes that I can grab reef crystals for cheap and easy off of Amazon prime.

Yet you spend twice as much time dealing with fluctuations in WC parameters via dosing etc.

Get a different and more consistent salt and you'll spend less time in the long run.

 

[1stNoel]

I did my first water change in over a year, and now I remember why I had stopped. It wasn't the swing during the initial change, as I measured the Alk afterwards (next day) and it only increased by 0.2 DKH (7.6 before; 7.8 after). The issue was that I continued dosing Alk at the same rate I had previously been, thinking it shouldn't be any different (if anything, the water change might make the corals intake more).

After about 5 days, I notice my SPS corals are bleaching. I check the Alk and it reads 9.0 DKH.

I've stopped dosing but have already lost a few nice corals, and a few others have turned a dark color.

I guess in the future I'll check the Alk every two days after a water change. In the meantime, this is frustrating as hell.

So the initial post was about dosing leading up to a water change, I'd like to add: how do you balance dosing after a water change? Especially if you plan on doing them weekly.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Alkalinity in newly made saltwater is the only thing I adjust. Match DT dkh. That's it.

 

[CindyKz]

I got sick of dealing with this issue and switched salts. I am halfway through the new box and the problem seems to be solved.

 

[Deiblerj]

I did my first water change in over a year, and now I remember why I had stopped. It wasn't the swing during the initial change, as I measured the Alk afterwards (next day) and it only increased by 0.2 DKH (7.6 before; 7.8 after). The issue was that I continued dosing Alk at the same rate I had previously been, thinking it shouldn't be any different (if anything, the water change might make the corals intake more).

After about 5 days, I notice my SPS corals are bleaching. I check the Alk and it reads 9.0 DKH.

I've stopped dosing but have already lost a few nice corals, and a few others have turned a dark color.

I guess in the future I'll check the Alk every two days after a water change. In the meantime, this is frustrating as hell.

So the initial post was about dosing leading up to a water change, I'd like to add: how do you balance dosing after a water change? Especially if you plan on doing them weekly.

You ever figure this out? I’m trying to figure out how to balance water changes and dosing...do most people just dose and do top offs with fresh? Or do water changes and no dosing? Or both and somehow balance it?

 

[Fiesty]

Match your salt mix to your tank or your tank to your salt mix. The second option the best if u choose a good slat mix to begin with. Otherwise u just fighting yourself with the up n down swings.

 

[1stNoel]

You ever figure this out? I’m trying to figure out how to balance water changes and dosing...do most people just dose and do top offs with fresh? Or do water changes and no dosing? Or both and somehow balance it?

Hey D,

A few things I've incorporated:

1. I've switched to the Triton method. I also wet skim and replace with fresh saltwater (when I see a salinity decrease...equates to maybe a 5% water change monthly, but spread over the entire month).
2. I started using Kalk.
3. I bought a Hannah Checker and monitor KH 2 to 3 times a week. I still have issues dialing in the correct dosage, as my tank is growing and the uptake of nutrients is constantly adjusting.

So to answer your question: I still don't have it dialed in to a "set it and forget it" mode, but I'm diligent about testing to make sure the KH stays in line (or doesn't stray too far). PO4, Mg and Ca are tested weekly, but KH is the main one to keep in line for keeping SPS.

 

[ReeferNtraining]

The easiest way to match the new saltwater to the display tank (if the new salt alk is too high) is to use muriatic acid to bring the alk down. I do 16g WC’s. I keep my display tank at about 8.8 and my LA salt has been mixing to 11 dKh lately. I use 3mL muriatic acid to bring the alk down to about 9 dKh so that my dosing does not need to be messed with. I will say, that MA drastically drops your pH so you have to run an air stone in the new saltwater for an hour or two to bring it back up. I know it sounds scary but, like anything, the more you do it the easier it gets. Just the easiest way I’ve found to match them up.

 

[Tastee]

You're best bet is to find the salt mix that's closest to your target parameters and switch. I'll be doing just that when my bucket of IO runs out.

That’s my approach. I use Aquaforest Reef salt with 3 part dosing and target the RS parameters. My Mg runs high which is the only difference and after a fair bit of research I am now ignoring that. It may gradually drift down to their quoted levels or it may not, either way everything I have read tells me that is the least of my worries.

 

[intricate_reefer]

You ever figure this out? I’m trying to figure out how to balance water changes and dosing...do most people just dose and do top offs with fresh? Or do water changes and no dosing? Or both and somehow balance it?

Most people do both and balance it. This is achieved by matching your water change parameters to your desired tank parameters. Easiest way is to pick a salt with the levels you want to achieve. By doing this it makes dosing so much easier as you can dose the same amount every day. You don’t have to worry about your levels going up or down every time you do a water change. It is also a good idea to have your parameters match in case you ever have to do big emergency water changes as it won’t shock your livestock.