Dosing refresher

[GarrettT]

Long time reefer who has been away for awhile. I’m in need of a refresher. In the past, I have always used IO regular and dosed Muratic Acid, Ca, and Mg.

I use to dose in this order - MA -> Mg -> Ca.

Can any of these be dosed together? If not, how long between each dose?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Long time reefer who has been away for awhile. I’m in need of a refresher. In the past, I have always used IO regular and dosed Muratic Acid, Ca, and Mg.

I use to dose in this order - MA -> Mg -> Ca.

Can any of these be dosed together? If not, how long between each dose?

Are you talking to the new IO? Or the tank?

IO has levels of Ca and Mg that are higher than in the past.
Alk is still high and lowering it is a fine plan.

The order you note is good, but the latter two order won't matter much. Once you drop alk with muriatic acid, the pH is so low that no additional precipitation will likely be observed.

 

[GarrettT]

Both new IO and tank.

How long should I wait to dose the Mg/Ca after MA has been added? 24 hours?

The new IO salt has been rather finicky with the numbers, at least from the last two 50lb bags that I received. One batch is showing 1200 in Mg and 380 Ca, while the Mg on the other batch is read 1440 in Mg . Probably not a bad idea to go ahead and mix a few batches together.

 

[homer1475]

I've used IO for the better part of 20 years(200G boxes). Always mixes up to whats expected(with slight variations obviously).

New IO?

Calcium is pretty much on point at right around 400 to 450, ALk is always high(lower with acid) 12DKH, and mag is always in the 1300 to 1500 range. Nothing of major concern other then lowering ALK.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Both new IO and tank.

How long should I wait to dose the Mg/Ca after MA has been added? 24 hours?

The new IO salt has been rather finicky with the numbers, at least from the last two 50lb bags that I received. One batch is showing 1200 in Mg and 380 Ca, while the Mg on the other batch is read 1440 in Mg . Probably not a bad idea to go ahead and mix a few batches together.

I'd be VERY careful about adding muriatic acid to the tank due to the pH drop.

 

[GarrettT]

It would be in the mixing container 24 hrs before adding to the display. I like to keep my water changes similar to the DT's parameters.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It would be in the mixing container 24 hrs before adding to the display. I like to keep my water changes similar to the DT's parameters.

In the salt mix before adding to the tank, that's fine.

 

[dhnguyen]

Why not use citric acid instead. Muriatic acid is very strong and it's very easy to overdose.

 

[GarrettT]

Why not use citric acid instead. Muriatic acid is very strong and it's very easy to overdose.

Honestly, I've never heard of the stuff. I wouldn't even know where to start. Care to provide more details surrounding the process?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Citric Acid is not a suitable way to reduce alkalinity. It all comes back as the citrate is metabolized by bacteria and other organisms. Same is true for vinegar and all metabolizable organic acids.

Sodium bisulfate is a suitable way:

Sodium Bisulfate to Reduce Alkalinity in New Salt Water or in Display Tanks

I just want to record these calculations in their own thread to refer back to in other threads. When alkalinity is too high in new salt water or in a display tank, acid can be used to lower the alkalinity. You can easily use muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid), or sodium bifulfate (e.g...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[blasterman]

Maybe switch to a pro salt with a more desireable alk? IO mixes around 9.5 for me, which I don't find high at all.

There are a few brands that mix closer to 7.

 

[dhnguyen]

Citric Acid is not a suitable way to reduce alkalinity. It all comes back as the citrate is metabolized by bacteria and other organisms. Same is true for vinegar and all metabolizable organic acids.

Sodium bisulfate is a suitable way:

Sodium Bisulfate to Reduce Alkalinity in New Salt Water or in Display Tanks

I just want to record these calculations in their own thread to refer back to in other threads. When alkalinity is too high in new salt water or in a display tank, acid can be used to lower the alkalinity. You can easily use muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid), or sodium bifulfate (e.g...

www.reef2reef.com

Would that matter if this was done outside of the DT? I mentioned Citric Acid because is a much safer acid to use than Muriatic.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Would that matter if this was done outside of the DT? I mentioned Citric Acid because is a much safer acid to use than Muriatic.

No, it isn't suitable anywhere, if you want the alkalinity to stay down.

If the safety of the liquid acid is a concern, as it well might be, solid sodium bisulfate is the answer.