Dosing Ca/Mg/Alk what brand to use?

[mike550]

I’m realizing that I’ll need to start dosing to maintain my desired Ca, Mg, and Alk levels. So far I’ve been adding BRS Soda Ash to my ATO to manage alkalinity but realizing I probably need to step up to a doser (likely GHL or Kamoer)

My question is what would you suggest for Ca, Mg, and Alk dosing? I’m intrigued by the Red Sea Reef Foundation package (liquid or powder) but really looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance!

 

[jeffww]

I use b-ionic on my nano. I dilute it 10 fold with DI water so that my dosing pump can dose 30-40mL throughout the day rather than 3-4mL.

 

[SPR1968]

I’ve used the separate Red Sea foundation elements since setting up my tank and its much cheaper if you buy the 1kg powder and mix it yourself

I have the Kamoer doser which is about 4 years old now, simple to program and has been faultless

 

[chris k.]

I use red sea , i have 2 brs dosers controlled by my apex. I dose mg manually.

 

[Elliott Comans]

I use b-ionic on my nano. I dilute it 10 fold with DI water so that my dosing pump can dose 30-40mL throughout the day rather than 3-4mL.

Can I ask why?
Is it to make up for evaporation loss?
Wouldn't 10x dilution = 10× pump use which will have a dramatic change on the wear of the parts
Thanks

 

[Billdogg]

I use BRS bulk additives and BRS 1.1ml dosing pumps controlled by individual digital timers ($15ea at HD/Lowes) I mix up 10g at a time and store it in potable water containers. My actual dosing containers are plastic cereal containers from WallyWorld.

I find this to be the most economical method, and pretty easy as well.

 

[SMSREEF]

I also use BRS bulk and mix up a gallon. I dose with the BRS doser on a timer.
I dose kalk at night.
Mag I dose by hand once a week.
A GHL doser sure would look better than my mess, lol. But I keep it hid behind a curtain.

 

[SteveEreef]

BRS as it’s cheap. Even cheaper in the bigger sizes

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

Most 2-part products are pretty similar. I used seachem before, but decided to switch to BRS products because of the price point.

 

[jeffww]

Can I ask why?
Is it to make up for evaporation loss?
Wouldn't 10x dilution = 10× pump use which will have a dramatic change on the wear of the parts
Thanks

I do it because my tank is only about 6g of effective water. Dosing 1mL raises my alk by almost 1dkH. My daily consumption is about 3dkH by virtue of having a lot of SPS and as a result, if I told my pump to dose 1mL every say, 8hrs I'd have 1dkH spikes 3 times a day.

So in short, it's mostly for stability and for improved accuracy at low dosage rates.