Dosing. Where do I start?

[saullman]

Let me start by saying the only reason that I'm even thinking about dosing my tank is because my Coraline algae is dying and turning white on my rocks. I didn't know what was causing this and someone mentioned about dosing 2 part. My tank is a JBJ 45 AIO. Corals- I've killed most of them because of my inexperience. I have a Pandora paly and a Duncan left. That's it. I will have a ton of questions throughout this thread, but for now I just want a starting point. So for now, let me show you my levels the last time I tested (10 days ago).

I purchased baking soda from Walmart, BRS soda ash, BRS calcium chloride, and 3 x 1 gallon jugs of distilled water from the grocery store. I haven't mixed anything yet. What are the next steps?

 

[Webslinger]

Buy a RODI unit!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I purchased baking soda from Walmart, BRS soda ash, BRS calcium chloride, and 3 x 1 gallon jugs of distilled water from the grocery store.

Sodium carbonate (soda ash) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) both do the same thing, they supplement alkalinity. You only need to use one. You do need a magnesium supplement though.

 

[Bosreef]

To much to explain here.
Check out the BRS YouTube series they are very informative and will cover everything you need to know. Or want to know lol

As long as you are keeping those parmaters stable your fine with the expecting of your mg
Whats your water change schedule you might not need to dose quite yet with your lack of livestock. Waterchanges might be taking care of this for you dependent on your salt brand your depletion rate and your frequency.

Remember we are keeping water not fish you master keeping water and the rest will follow. Your water source is very important

 

[Johniejumbo]

Good question. I’ll follow along because as it stands I ask my magic 8 ball what to dose.

 

[Fishbird]

I’ll second the BRS videos on dosing.

But, you’ll also want to test more than every 10 days. You want your calc, alk, and magnesium to stay stable. The corals and coralline algae use these elements as they grow. So test for those three elements and write down what time of day you tested. Test 3 days later at the same time of day. Have they dropped (keep in mind that hobby grade test kits have some error associated with them if your calc drops from 400 to 397 (for example) I wouldn’t call that a real drop.

If your levels, especially alkalinity, are dropping then you can divide the amount they dropped by 3 (if you tested 3 days apart) and use the BRS dosing calculator to determine how much to dose per day to compensate. Keep testing at the same time of day to see if your dose is a good one or if you should lower it because water changes also help maintain calc and alk etc.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Let me start by saying the only reason that I'm even thinking about dosing my tank is because my Coraline algae is dying and turning white on my rocks. I didn't know what was causing this and someone mentioned about dosing 2 part. My tank is a JBJ 45 AIO. Corals- I've killed most of them because of my inexperience. I have a Pandora paly and a Duncan left. That's it. I will have a ton of questions throughout this thread, but for now I just want a starting point. So for now, let me show you my levels the last time I tested (10 days ago).

I purchased baking soda from Walmart, BRS soda ash, BRS calcium chloride, and 3 x 1 gallon jugs of distilled water from the grocery store. I haven't mixed anything yet. What are the next steps?

Looking at your parameters, my first thought would be your corals (and coralline algae) are starving due to no nutrients (0 nitrates and 0 phosphates). You want to have some detectable nutrients in the water for the corals and coralline algae to use. Typically you want between 0.03 and 0.07 ppm phosphates and 1-5ppm nitrates. Although, you can go a bit higher on nitrates with softies and LPS corals. In addition, your salinity is a bit low. I would slowly try to raise that to 1.025 or 1.026. To increase the nutrients in the water you can increase your feedings or reduce your filtration. What are your primary methods of filtration/nutrient export? I would not worry about dosing yet until you can get some of these others parameters in line.

 

[JCOLE]

I second what others have said. Check out videos online about dosing. You will need to test ALK once or twice everyday around the same times to see how much ALK you are consuming. This will let you know how much to dose. If you dont already have one then I would suggest the Hanna ALK checker as it is very easy to use. Takes about 30 seconds.

And as already stated. Given your livestock, I would just stick with weekly water changes for now until you notice a significant swing daily in ALK.

Also, what lights are you running? This could also cause your coraline to recede as well.

 

[saullman]

Buy a RODI unit!

Can't afford it right now. But I did just buy a TDS meter and I buy my water (RO and Salt) from WWC.

 

[Webslinger]

You can't ,can't afford it . RODI unit $50-75 do the math it will pay for itself. Would NEVER think of running a tank with out it...skip the TDS meter ti'll you can afford it

 

[saullman]

Where can I get one for that price? The cheapest new one that I’ve seen starts at $150 depending on how many stages you buy. You must be talking about a used one at that price.

 

[saullman]

I’ll second the BRS videos on dosing.

But, you’ll also want to test more than every 10 days. You want your calc, alk, and magnesium to stay stable. The corals and coralline algae use these elements as they grow. So test for those three elements and write down what time of day you tested. Test 3 days later at the same time of day. Have they dropped (keep in mind that hobby grade test kits have some error associated with them if your calc drops from 400 to 397 (for example) I wouldn’t call that a real drop.

If your levels, especially alkalinity, are dropping then you can divide the amount they dropped by 3 (if you tested 3 days apart) and use the BRS dosing calculator to determine how much to dose per day to compensate. Keep testing at the same time of day to see if your dose is a good one or if you should lower it because water changes also help maintain calc and alk etc.

Ok. Thank you for the advice. I will watch the BRS videos.

 

[saullman]

Looking at your parameters, my first thought would be your corals (and coralline algae) are starving due to no nutrients (0 nitrates and 0 phosphates). You want to have some detectable nutrients in the water for the corals and coralline algae to use. Typically you want between 0.03 and 0.07 ppm phosphates and 1-5ppm nitrates. Although, you can go a bit higher on nitrates with softies and LPS corals. In addition, your salinity is a bit low. I would slowly try to raise that to 1.025 or 1.026. To increase the nutrients in the water you can increase your feedings or reduce your filtration. What are your primary methods of filtration/nutrient export? I would not worry about dosing yet until you can get some of these others parameters in line.

The reason my nitrates and phosphates are at 0 is because I am currently running rowaphos because I have had an algae issue that I’ve been dealing with for 2.5 yrs. Just before I ran rowaphos my nitrates were 5-10ppm and my phosphates were at .10ppm. I added rowaphos and a cleanup crew for the algae. It’s still in progress. Now I’m trying to get the rest of my parameters in check.

I’m terms of nutrient export I’m running a protein skimmer and using a filter sock.

I have to recheck my salinity. I did a large WC a few days ago. 50% so my salinity May have changed since I last tested.

 

[saullman]

I second what others have said. Check out videos online about dosing. You will need to test ALK once or twice everyday around the same times to see how much ALK you are consuming. This will let you know how much to dose. If you dont already have one then I would suggest the Hanna ALK checker as it is very easy to use. Takes about 30 seconds.

And as already stated. Given your livestock, I would just stick with weekly water changes for now until you notice a significant swing daily in ALK.

Also, what lights are you running? This could also cause your coraline to recede as well.

I am running 1 AI Prime HD. I actually could use a second light for more even coverage.

 

[piranhaman00]

RO Buddie is cheap and works great.

 

[saullman]

To much to explain here.
Check out the BRS YouTube series they are very informative and will cover everything you need to know. Or want to know lol

As long as you are keeping those parmaters stable your fine with the expecting of your mg
Whats your water change schedule you might not need to dose quite yet with your lack of livestock. Waterchanges might be taking care of this for you dependent on your salt brand your depletion rate and your frequency.

Remember we are keeping water not fish you master keeping water and the rest will follow. Your water source is very important

Lately my water change schedule has been once a month. I used to do them more frequently when I lived closer to my lfs. Now I live an hour away and I don’t have an RODI system so I’m buying all my water from WWC in Orlando. For saltwater im using accurasea 1 in the pic. I just did a 50% water change last week. I’m planning on doing one more also next week.