Dosing in a Pico?

[brandon429]

the truth is I was only guessing at all of it. never tested at all, that wc will cause some change but I never found any of it impactful

all I did was dose drops each morning on alt mornings to lessen precip risk, and then work up based on polyp behavior. stopped at quarter cap

 

[VKP01]

Ok! So I’ve got my B-Ionic, didn’t realize I needed a separate magnesium but I had a bottle of Salifert liquid magnesium on hand.
I’ve plugged into this calculator how much I want to raise my levels for the first day, and I had a question about the results. B-Ionic recommends dosing pt 1 and 2 at a 1:1 ratio, but this calculator is suggesting 1.6 ml of pt 1, and 8.6 ml of part two. Can I do this? Would you?

I’m guessing ESV just recommends this to keep the levels in balance, but with mine already out of whack it won’t hurt to dose unevenly until the levels are in place?

 

[Greg P]

Yes, it won't hurt but rather is desirable to dose each independently to get your levels where you want them, then try the recommended ESV dosing.
So, see if you can get your hands on some 2-part Alk and Ca, not pre-mixed but rather 2 separate containers. This is just to balance things out before you continue with the ESV usage.

Start with getting your Mag up over, say, 1260, and retest an hour later to ensure it's there.
Liquid Mag from at least 2 brands I've used is notorious for needing larger than bottle recommended doses to achieve the actual desired levels, so don't be surprised if you need to use much more than expected.
I keep mine around 1350 to allow for swings. Mag doesn't usually swing anywhere near as much as Alk/Ca and won't have as detrimental an affect on your corals vs Alk swings. So it's not terribly important what level you settle on, just as long as it's at least at/above Natural Sea Water levels (1280-1350).

Then dose Alk to your desired level and test 20-30mins later to ensure it's there.
Once Alk is where you want it, dose Cal to your desired level while testing at about 1/2hr intervals.

Now you can test daily for a week or so to monitor/take notes of your usage.
After a week I'd start testing weekly just to keep an eye on things.

Once you get your nutrients up to desired levels, consider using Red Sea Blue Bucket salt when you're ready for WCs. It's not as inexpensive as IO Regular, but is probably what you're looking for in parameters to eliminate swings.

Another Test Post FR

This Tips & Tricks blog will provide you with great practical advice on how to ensure a consistent and perfect mix every time. Advice on how to ensure a consistent and perfect mix every time.

www.redseafish.com

Recommended usage of Red Sea Salt:

Aquarium Type	Salinity	Alkalinity (dKH)	Ca (mg/l)	Mg (mg/l)	K (mg/l)	Dose
SPS Dominant	35 ppt	7.5-8.5	415 – 445	1240 – 1320	375 – 405	38.2 g/l
Ultra Low nutrient SPS	33 ppt	7-8	395 – 425	1180 – 1260	355 – 385	36.0 g/l
Marine Fish	30 ppt	6.5-7.5	355-385	1060 – 1140	320-350	32.8 g/l

 

[VKP01]

Yes, it won't hurt but rather is desirable to dose each independently to get your levels where you want them, then try the recommended ESV dosing.
So, see if you can get your hands on some 2-part Alk and Ca, not pre-mixed but rather 2 separate containers. This is just to balance things out before you continue with the ESV usage.

Start with getting your Mag up over, say, 1260, and retest an hour later to ensure it's there.
Liquid Mag from at least 2 brands I've used is notorious for needing larger than bottle recommended doses to achieve the actual desired levels, so don't be surprised if you need to use much more than expected.
I keep mine around 1350 to allow for swings. Mag doesn't usually swing anywhere near as much as Alk/Ca and won't have as detrimental an affect on your corals vs Alk swings. So it's not terribly important what level you settle on, just as long as it's at least at/above Natural Sea Water levels (1280-1350).

Then dose Alk to your desired level and test 20-30mins later to ensure it's there.
Once Alk is where you want it, dose Cal to your desired level while testing at about 1/2hr intervals.

Now you can test daily for a week or so to monitor/take notes of your usage.
After a week I'd start testing weekly just to keep an eye on things.

Once you get your nutrients up to desired levels, consider using Red Sea Blue Bucket salt when you're ready for WCs. It's not as inexpensive as IO Regular, but is probably what you're looking for in parameters to eliminate swings.

Another Test Post FR

This Tips & Tricks blog will provide you with great practical advice on how to ensure a consistent and perfect mix every time. Advice on how to ensure a consistent and perfect mix every time.

www.redseafish.com

Recommended usage of Red Sea Salt:

​

Aquarium Type	Salinity	Alkalinity (dKH)	Ca (mg/l)	Mg (mg/l)	K (mg/l)	Dose
SPS Dominant	35 ppt	7.5-8.5	415 – 445	1240 – 1320	375 – 405	38.2 g/l
Ultra Low nutrient SPS	33 ppt	7-8	395 – 425	1180 – 1260	355 – 385	36.0 g/l
Marine Fish	30 ppt	6.5-7.5	355-385	1060 – 1140	320-350	32.8 g/l

Thank you so much, super helpful! Answered my next question too, which was what order to add them

 

[Greg P]

Thank you so much, super helpful! Answered my next question too, which was what order to add them

Figured you'd want to know the order

Getting Alk and Ca balanced is nearly impossible if your Mag is too low.
I just assumed what your levels are based on the chart info you linked.

 

[Greg P]

If you decide to use the Blue Bucket I linked, pour the whole works into an old salt bucket with a lid that seals and roll it around on the floor for as long as you can stand to mix it well as many salts will settle during shipping. This in turn would give you crazy different levels during usage throughout the bucket's life.
I mention this because you'll be using so little of it during WCs that you may see significant swings if not well mixed dry.

 

[TJ Merrells]

With a tank that small the simplest and most inexpensive option to keep alk and Ca stable is to forgo an ATO altogether and instead get a cheap dosing pump. Guestimate your average daily evaporation amount as well as DKH draw and dose a small amount of kalkwasser at the necessary saturation with the dosing pump every few hours during lights on. I've had that method work really well even on a 3.7 gal pico and it only required topping off by hand once a week or so once I got the doser dialed in.

What kind of cheap dosing pump do you recommend?

 

[Fishwife]

I have a 5 gallon tank, and I have an ATO to keep salinity stable. I do weekly water changes, about 10%. I use the Kaemor dosers, and they have been working fine. I dose a baked baking soda solution(Randy's receipe) for alkalinity and Reef Fusion 1 for the Calcium. Seems to be working fine. I have Rock Flowers (and they had babies!), Micro Lords, a Ricordia and a Mini Maxi carpet. I also have a Yellowline Goby, 2 Emerald Crabs and various snails.

 

[biophilia]

What kind of cheap dosing pump do you recommend?

I only have experience with the Jebao ones (I've owned two DP-4's and one DP-2), but there are probably lots of others that work as well for a similar price. The Jebao dosers have never failed on me, though all three purchased over the years tend to occasionally back-flow a bit through the lines and back into the dosing containers resulting in inconsistent dosing -- which I think is somewhat common on cheaper peristaltic pumps. These little plastic check valves work great and keep that from happening, though: