Got a doser. Dosing amount and interval suggestion

b4tn · Jul 12, 2016

I have been daily dosing BRS two part for almost a year now. It really isnt that bad I just do it durring feeding time. The only issue is when I am out of town and it doesn't get done or I have to trust my kids to do it. I have determined that I need 20ml of alk and 20ml of calc a day to maintain levels where I want them. Rather than dosing all at once I was going to spread it out a bit maybe 5 ml 4 times a day. When is the best time to dose? Lights on off? is 5 ml 4 times a day sound good or should I break it up more? How would you set it up?

twilliard · Jul 12, 2016

Are you able to set it up to dose over a 24 hour period?

M3ace9 · Jul 12, 2016

Personally I would look at when your ph starts to drop after your lights go out. Then begin the first of the 4 times at that point through the rest of the night. 4 times is fine IMO

b4tn · Jul 12, 2016

@twilliard yes, I can set it over a 24 hour period. @M3ace9 I was thinking the same thing. Doesing alk raises the PH so was thinking to set it to dose 4 times spread out after lights out.

twilliard · Jul 12, 2016

Dosing for 24 hours adds the best stability as PH will swing naturally by a small margin.
Now if the dosing pump won't allow under 1ml per hour you can dilute 1 and 2 50% to increase the dosing rate from the pump.

p7willm · Jul 12, 2016

If possible do not dose them together. Dose them out of phase. If you dose once an hour dose the alk on the hour and the cal on the half hour.

twilliard · Jul 12, 2016

I dilute mine 2 to 1 to maintain a constant drip of 2ml an hour.

M3ace9 · Jul 12, 2016

twilliard said:
Dosing for 24 hours adds the best stability as PH will swing naturally by a small margin.
Now if the dosing pump won't allow under 1ml per hour you can dilute 1 and 2 50% to increase the dosing rate from the pump.

Interesting, before switching over to a calcium reactor I had always dose alk at night while mag and cal was dosed during the day. This would keep my ph from dropping a keep it stable. Not sure how dosing 24 hours a day would prevent the ph swing that our light sources create. From my experience the higher ph at a continuous level will promote best growth. Chasing ph pays off

twilliard · Jul 12, 2016

M3ace9 said:
Interesting, before switching over to a calcium reactor I had always dose alk at night while mag and cal was dosed during the day. This would keep my ph from dropping a keep it stable. Not sure how dosing 24 hours a day would prevent the ph swing that our light sources create. From my experience the higher ph at a continuous level will promote best growth. Chasing ph pays off

I did not say it would prevent the swing but that is a natural part of our systems.
Unless your talking about 7 to 8.5 swing?

M3ace9 · Jul 12, 2016

twilliard said:
I did not say it would prevent the swing but that is a natural part of our systems.
Unless your talking about 7 to 8.5 swing?

Yes the swing is natural part of our system. Fortunately dosing alk raised ph and as a result we can utilize this result to give our tanks more stability that mimics the oceans natural state. I feel that most peoples tank get to 7.9-8 on the low end of the evening ph drop. This is counter productive since studies show that ph below 7.8 decalcification begins to occur. I never really knew what it was like to see my tank grow out until I stumbled upon this

AdamNC · Jul 12, 2016

I've got 2 BRS 1.1 ml pumps that are running through an apex. I found a good dosing schedule of every 2 hours with the Ca on an offset by 30 mins 12 times per day. Seems to keep my levels pretty stable. Before the apex I was using 2 digital timers. You will still have the natural ph swings day to night. Mine averages 7.7-8.1 throughout the day/night cycle.

pga7602 · Jul 13, 2016

twilliard said:
I dilute mine 2 to 1 to maintain a constant drip of 2ml an hour.

That is one cool looking doser. Reminds me of the ones used at hospitals.

morpheas · Jul 13, 2016

pga7602 said:
That is one cool looking doser. Reminds me of the ones used at hospitals.

Those were exactly my thoughts... And yes, I looked this sexy thing up and surely enough it's an infusion pump! @twilliard is that on your 46g? That's a serious pump my friend!

twilliard · Jul 13, 2016

morpheas said:
Those were exactly my thoughts... And yes, I looked this sexy thing up and surely enough it's an infusion pump! @twilliard is that on your 46g? That's a serious pump my friend!

Yes indeed it is on my 46g
I was introduced to this method several years ago.
Nothing compared to a peristaltic pump.
No rotating parts to worry about and no loss of prime.
And control to the tenth of a ml is awesome

morpheas · Jul 13, 2016

Did you pay $1K for this or you found it on a deal?

donnievaz · Jul 13, 2016

morpheas said:
Did you pay $1K for this or you found it on a deal?

You got me curious so I went to eBay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hospira-Plu...483550?hash=item3d15d8049e:g:mrIAAOSwdU1W-sxG

morpheas · Jul 13, 2016

Hah! I didn't do my due diligence! This is what I found on the quick first search!

http://www.willowmedical.com/iv-pum...AiouEQAiU16y_dQtYoT4CyfkpmlMf3LmmEaAk_28P8HAQ

Then I was like wow! @twilliard is serious about his dosing!! hahaha

donnievaz · Jul 13, 2016

morpheas said:
Hah! I didn't do my due diligence! This is what I found on the quick first search!

http://www.willowmedical.com/iv-pum...AiouEQAiU16y_dQtYoT4CyfkpmlMf3LmmEaAk_28P8HAQ

Then I was like wow! @twilliard is serious about his dosing!! hahaha

I take great pride in my ability to find stuff CHEAP! lol

Goby-won · Jul 16, 2016

question about pH swings - for those of us that run a refugium - I run my refugium lights at night and don't see the swings. Am I doing something wrong.