Dosing "Issues"

Mr.Rocc · Jun 12, 2016

Hello Everybody,
So my tank is doing really good right now however I want to start dosing my tank to help improve my tanks coral growth.
Parameters:
40 gallons
Alk 9.5
Calc 425ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
PO4, Nitrites, and Ammonia are all - 0 ppm

Livestock:
1 ocellaris clown
10 snails
8 scarlet, blue legged crabs
3 SPS Acropora (about 1.5 inches)
1 Monti cap
1 chalice
20+ polyps of zoas
1 branching hammer
1 acan
All corals are frags
All sps corals are about 2 months old, LPS and zoas are 2.5 months

So my question is can i get away with dosing a little every weekend instead of every day?
I check my water parameters every weekend for ALk and Calc and to correct them it only needs about 5ml of 2 part. Is this normal with a tank with that many frags of that size?

BigJohnny · Jun 12, 2016

Tail2112 said:
Hello Everybody,
So my tank is doing really good right now however I want to start dosing my tank to help improve my tanks coral growth.
Parameters:
40 gallons
Alk 9.5
Calc 425ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
PO4, Nitrites, and Ammonia are all - 0 ppm

Livestock:
1 ocellaris clown
10 snails
8 scarlet, blue legged crabs
3 SPS Acropora (about 1.5 inches)
1 Monti cap
1 chalice
20+ polyps of zoas
1 branching hammer
1 acan
All corals are frags
All sps corals are about 2 months old, LPS and zoas are 2.5 months

So my question is can i get away with dosing a little every weekend instead of every day?
I check my water parameters every weekend for ALk and Calc and to correct them it only needs about 5ml of 2 part. Is this normal with a tank with that many frags of that size?

Unfortunately there is no such thing as normal consumption in a tank because there are too many variables between everyone's tanks, even of the same size.
If your tanks doing well don't worry about how much it consumes, just worry about replenishing it and keeping everything stable. I recommend daily alk testing when dialing in a dosing solution and Calc every few days (can do more initially to make sure your levels are balanced). Also make sure your mag is in check before you adjust alk/calc.

You can dose weekly, but with more sensitive corals and your sps I wouldn't if your alk drops more than .5 dkh per week. It's not about how much you dose it's about how much your tanks levels drop. Thats from personal experience, I try not to let my tank move outside of a .5 dkh range. It's definitely better to keep levels constant by dosing daily or ideally spreading out your doses throughout the day/night.

Have you considered using a dosing pump? The BRS ones are nice and inexpensive. Could also try kalkwasser to simplify further (only need 1 dosing pump or can use in your ATO).

I personally dose kalk at night (to help stabilize ph) with a BRS dosing pump controlled by my reefkeeper. I dose in 42 even doses throughout the night. My reservoir only needs to be refilled once a month, and I test alk every few days to make sure everything's stable. Really simple and effective. I prefer this over kalk in the ATO method because I can dose the same amount every day regardless of my evaporation rate.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 13, 2016

I can't see a need to dose any calcium or alkalinity with the current values you have (9.5 dKH and 425 ppm).

A trace element additive might possibly be useful, but I'd guess not if the corals are not growing enough to deplete alkalinity much.

Mr.Rocc · Jun 13, 2016

Ok perfect! For some reason in my head I felt that I have to dose no matter what but that solves it.
Onto the Trace Elements part. I have a brand new container of the Red Sea coral colors. I was just super stumped on how to dose it since I dont dose every day. But i just recently got the scoop from one of red seas youtube videos on how to dose

BigJohnny · Jun 13, 2016

Tail2112 said:
Ok perfect! For some reason in my head I felt that I have to dose no matter what but that solves it.
Onto the Trace Elements part. I have a brand new container of the Red Sea coral colors. I was just super stumped on how to dose it since I dont dose every day. But i just recently got the scoop from one of red seas youtube videos on how to dose

If your not consuming alk/calc on a consistent basis AND you do consistent water changes, you should not need to supplement trace elements. Unless you are able to test what you are dosing for, I find the best way to replenish anything is through water changes (assuming your salt mix contains everything you want at the right levels). Safest/easiest way to maintain trace elements and keep your tank balanced.