Dosing has me scratching my head...

[Korkuc36]

Ive went through about 100 posts so far and just can't seem to wrap my head around it. Is dosing really that tricky or am I just a newb and overthinking it? I am going to have to start dosing soon as water changes are no longer cutting it. Like right now, my alk is 10 dkh. And calcium is 400 ect... Say for example, if tomorrow my alk drops to 9 how do you figure out how much to add with a doser and how fast? Or do you just do it little by little until you find the magic number? I feel like I'm in high school again and can't figure out how to find an answer while the rest of the class can do it sleeping...

 

[gbroadbridge]

Ive went through about 100 posts so far and just can't seem to wrap my head around it. Is dosing really that tricky or am I just a newb and overthinking it? I am going to have to start dosing soon as water changes are no longer cutting it. Like right now, my alk is 10 dkh. And calcium is 400 ect... Say for example, if tomorrow my alk drops to 9 how do you figure out how much to add with a doser and how fast? Or do you just do it little by little until you find the magic number? I feel like I'm in high school again and can't figure out how to find an answer while the rest of the class can do it sleeping...

There are calculators that can do it for you online for example

Reef Chemistry Calculator

If you alk drops by 1dkH in 7 days, enter the before and after into the calc and dose the amount shown over 7 days.

There are also phone apps, such as Aquacalculator that can do the math for you.

 

[redfishbluefish]

It's not rocket science, and once you have a grasp on it, fairly easy. You need to know your appromate total volume and then determine how much your numbers drop over time (a day or a couple days). Using one of the reef calculators, determine how much you need to add to get back up to your desired levels. Start daily dosing and do fine adjustments over the following days. Easy Peasy. THIS ARTICLE might help.

 

[olonmv]

What I did was decide where I wanted my parameters based on my needs. Ie….I like alk at about 8.5 but am good with it between 8-10. Got that number to 8.5 on day one, tested every day at the same time for about a week and figured my daily consumption. Went to the calculator mentioned above, so if my alk went from 8.5 to 8.2 to 8.0 etc etc etc that told me that my daily consumption was about .2 kh per day. I then in turn dozed to get back to 8.5 and dosed the amount recommended by the calculator and tested daily again for a few days. I’ve tweaked and then zeroed in my daily dosing. Did the same for all my parameters. Now I test weekly or so to see what, if any, adjustments need to be made.

 

[Korkuc36]

Thanks for the info everyone. It really does help. Now do I have to dose only alk,cal, and mag? Or will I need to dose trace colors as well

 

[olonmv]

I use all for reef for alk mag n cal. So easy. I dose for alk consumption and the rest kinda falls into place. I use a kamoer x1 pro and have it programmed to dose 2ml daily. I have it dose 2 drops every 2 hrs (I have a small aquarium).

 

[gbroadbridge]

Thanks for the info everyone. It really does help. Now do I have to dose only alk,cal, and mag? Or will I need to dose trace colors as well

Best to start with only Macro Elements, and use water changes for traces.

Look up Balling Method which is one way to start. You can also choose Two part dosing,

It is best to stick with whatever Alk your salt mix gives you. If it is Alk 8.5 it is easier to maintain that then to dose to bring it up. That avoids spikes or drops with each water change.

 

[Korkuc36]

So now my question is if my alkalinity is 10 and I plan to keep it there, how do I raise my calcium from 390 to 420 without my alk dropping? Based off what I've read you shouldn't dose both at the same time. Do I dose calcium, let my alk drop then raise it back up? Or is that so miniscule it won't affect my alk

 

[aSaltyKlown]

Not at the same time means together at the same time. If you do the calcium could precipitate. I generally wait a few hours to dose the other.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So now my question is if my alkalinity is 10 and I plan to keep it there, how do I raise my calcium from 390 to 420 without my alk dropping? Based off what I've read you shouldn't dose both at the same time. Do I dose calcium, let my alk drop then raise it back up? Or is that so miniscule it won't affect my alk

Dosing calcium from 390 to 420 ppm does not cause any significant change to alkalinity. Just dose the extra calcium.

 

[gbroadbridge]

So now my question is if my alkalinity is 10 and I plan to keep it there, how do I raise my calcium from 390 to 420 without my alk dropping? Based off what I've read you shouldn't dose both at the same time. Do I dose calcium, let my alk drop then raise it back up? Or is that so miniscule it won't affect my alk

Hi, If you're dosing a two part or three part, you would normally dose the Alk and Ca parts separated by 15-30 minutes or so.

I have a doser running and it doses the Alk component at the top of the hour i.e. 0900, 1000, etc. The Ca part is dosed at 0915, 1015 etc. My third part (using 3 part) is 0930, 1030, etc.

When initially dosing if you wish to adjust only the Ca, use the calculator and dissolve the appropriate amount in RODI or tank water, and add to a high flow area such as the sump slowly but not at the same time as Alk.

When adding Ca to water it may get quite warm depending on what form of Ca it is, so go slowly.

 

[jsker]

My thought is: running a alk at 10 is pretty acidic/high. Most have a goal of maintaining an alk at 8.5 Ca 400, Mg no lower than 1350.

I would suggest the balling Method for dosing, and even then you will find yourself doing a little dosing of the elements.

I would also suggest using a dosing pump for consistent dosing and timed dosing.

 

[Korkuc36]

My thought is: running a alk at 10 is pretty acidic/high. Most have a goal of maintaining an alk at 8.5 Ca 400, Mg no lower than 1350.

I would suggest the balling Method for dosing, and even then you will find yourself doing a little dosing of the elements.

I would also suggest using a dosing pump for consistent dosing and timed dosing.

My salt mix has high alkalinity. I try to keep it matched up just Incase I have to do a big water change and dont accidentally spike the alk. I've always read that the higher the better up to 11dkh, unless it's an ultra low nutrient system. My nutrients certainly aren't ultra low lol

 

[gbroadbridge]

My salt mix has high alkalinity. I try to keep it matched up just Incase I have to do a big water change and dont accidentally spike the alk. I've always read that the higher the better up to 11dkh, unless it's an ultra low nutrient system. My nutrients certainly aren't ultra low lol

Yes, running a higher Alk means that you need to keep Nitrates and Phosphates a little higher - not too much though.
I believe that with higher Alk the coral can grow skeleton faster than it can flesh so you end up with thin flesh and white tips.

You may also need to supplement Amino Acids, but I don't know if there are any published papers in support of that.

 

[Korkuc36]

Yes, running a higher Alk means that you need to keep Nitrates and Phosphates a little higher - not too much though.
I believe that with higher Alk the coral can grow skeleton faster than it can flesh so you end up with thin flesh and white tips.

You may also need to supplement Amino Acids, but I don't know if there are any published papers in support of that.

Should I let my alk dwindle down a little bit and then hold it steady around 8? Would that be better long run?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Should I let my alk dwindle down a little bit and then hold it steady around 8? Would that be better long run?

Thats pretty much what I've done in the past. If your salt is high Alk just expect little upward blips when you do water changes. With a 10% WC it's only be 10% of the difference between the two Alk's.

i.e if your tank Alk is 8 and the new saltwater is 10, you'll see a 0.2dkh upward twitch when you do a 10% WC,

 

[jsker]

My salt mix has high alkalinity. I try to keep it matched up just Incase I have to do a big water change and dont accidentally spike the alk. I've always read that the higher the better up to 11dkh, unless it's an ultra low nutrient system. My nutrients certainly aren't ultra low lol

I used to think that running a high alk was a must, now that I am running a much lower alk 7.6, my corals look better than they ever had.

 

[chegz]

Thanks for the info everyone. It really does help. Now do I have to dose only alk,cal, and mag? Or will I need to dose trace colors as well

Trace colours is good. I use red seas products and they have a ya day online tool to tell you what you need how much etc. I dose calcium magnesium and alk but only alk if needed. I also dose abcd in trace colours. It definitely helps.

 

[chegz]

Trace colours is good. I use red seas products and they have a ya day online tool to tell you what you need how much etc. I dose calcium magnesium and alk but only alk if needed. I also dose abcd in trace colours. It definitely helps.

It did say to dose nopox as well but I don’t. It lowers the oxygen and messes with stuff to much. I use copepods rotifers and phyto as well as a good clean up crew for algae instead

 

[Korkuc36]

Okay so, I have been slowly dosing and noticed calcium is dropping more than alk? Yesterday my alk was 10.2 and calcium was 425. Today alk is 11.9 calcium is at 410. I have only dosed calcium as I am trying to let my alk dwindle down a little bit. Any reason why why alk rised like that and my calcium was consumed? I do have a decent amount of Coraline. I use IO salt mix and I have cheato in my sump. Could the cheato be taking up nitrates causing my alk to spike like that?