Help with Red Sea Color dosing

[jsker]

My reef colors dosing question;

1. Do I have to add all 4 (a, b, c, and d) at the same time or just dose the elements I need?

2. There is no test for d so when dose do a dose the same amount as the other elements?

3. If all of my elements are in line do, I still dose D?

Parameters all test taken with Red Sea tests

Mg 1398

Ca 465

Alk 8.9

Po4 .08

No3 .05

Fe .0

Iodine .06

K 368

Salinity .25

I am dosing Kalwasser and reef energy A B and Randy’s two-part mg recipe. I am also setting up an auto dosing pumps.

 

[zzzdiver]

You should only add what you need it not a one needs the other. As far as 'd' goes I add it at 1ml per 20 ppm ca added ( I also use Randy's rec)

 

[FL_Reefer]

1. I used the tests to determine my levels.
2. dosed to get get my levels where they need to be.
3. Then I now dose 1/10 of my calcium uptake per week to maintain them.

Hope that is not confused you more, lol

 

[jsker]

You should only add what you need it not a one needs the other. As far as 'd' goes I add it at 1ml per 20 ppm ca added ( I also use Randy's rec)

Thank you

1. I used the tests to determine my levels.
2. dosed to get get my levels where they need to be.
3. Then I now dose 1/10 of my calcium uptake per week to maintain them.

Hope that is not confused you more, lol

I was born confused both post put me in the right direction

I think I have it now, get all of my elements were they need to be and they dose per my ca consumption per week.

Thank you again @zzzdiver @FL_Reefer

 

[Triggreef]

Highly suggest triton products for what your trying to do. It takes the guess work out of it. Much easier and no more expensive. Maybe even cheaper after the initial cost of dosing pumps. I used to play with those red sea additives, probably partially responsible for my tank crash and lost a lot of acro.

That said I do dose the red sea vitamins and amino.

 

[Triggreef]

Also consumption changes, just wait until you have a big acro colony decide it's ready to take off.

 

[zzzdiver]

Highly suggest triton products for what your trying to do. It takes the guess work out of it. Much easier and no more expensive. Maybe even cheaper after the initial cost of dosing pumps. I used to play with those red sea additives, probably partially responsible for my tank crash and lost a lot of acro.

That said I do dose the red sea vitamins and amino.

Imo and from most tanks I've seen "crash" come from one of two things miss guided information and some one using it or poor maintenance not from replenishing elements, No Matter what company makes it. Triton has the same products just different packaging

 

[jsker]

Highly suggest triton products for what your trying to do. It takes the guess work out of it. Much easier and no more expensive. Maybe even cheaper after the initial cost of dosing pumps. I used to play with those red sea additives, probably partially responsible for my tank crash and lost a lot of acro.

That said I do dose the red sea vitamins and amino.

Thank you for your replays, I have read a small amount about Trition products, looks like I am going to have to do more research. For the time being I am going to mess with the Red Sea that I have. I have been having pretty good results with dosing by hand. That is why I am asking questions before I start auto dosing

 

[jsker]

Imo and from most tanks I've seen "crash" come from one of two things miss guided information and some one using it or poor maintenance not from replenishing elements, No Matter what company makes it. Triton has the same products just different packaging

Good thought, That why they say take is slow and keep it simple. With my schedule to maintain my slice of the ocean I need to automate a couple of things.

 

[zzzdiver]

You can use a dosing pump for the NOPOX but it need to be sealed up it will evaporate quickly. As far as the energy A &B you can't then need to be refrigerated- 2 part is best server by the use of dosing pumps it will definitely help stability.

 

[jsker]

You can use a dosing pump for the NOPOX but it need to be sealed up it will evaporate quickly. As far as the energy A &B you can't then need to be refrigerated- 2 part is best server by the use of dosing pumps it will definitely help stability.

I am going to start with the 2 part and NOPOx first, and wait another two weeks before I start dosing the colors. I am just getting my elements up to were they need to be. and I will check my color test to see how much the tank is consuming before auto dosing the colors.

thank you for the advice @zzzdiver

 

[Triggreef]

Imo and from most tanks I've seen "crash" come from one of two things miss guided information and some one using it or poor maintenance not from replenishing elements, No Matter what company makes it. Triton has the same products just different packaging

Misguided info certainly played a part in my crash I believe as well as some elements that made it into my tank that should not have. It was actually stable as could be at the time which made it hard to figure out and led me to begin triton testing and then triton products.

Triton is different than 2 part dosing. I'm not suggesting the entire "method" but the testing imo is well worth it as it can absolutely open your mind to other things going on in your system that you may never know otherwise. And the dosing system takes the guess work out and is certainly not the same as other 2 parts etc. Also if you buy it on black Friday like I did, then it's not even more expensive than the other products.

 

[biom]

From my experience I would suggest another safer approach for dosing RS A,B,C and D Colors . Don't try to bring levels of Iodine and Iron "where need to be" . It is very hard to determine levels of iodine and iron in a reef tank using hobbyists test kits from one side and Iodine and Iron depleted in reef tank very fast from the other, so there is a big chance of overdosing. I'd recommend dosing A- Iodine, C- Iron and D- minerals only according calcium consumption. Trickiest part here is to calculate calcium uptake precisely enough. The Red Sea instructions are very confusing if you are not using their calcium supplements...

Easiest way to calculate dosage of Red Sea Coral Colors A,C,D if using Randy's Two part is to multiply amount of solution of Part 1 (Calcium Part) used by 0.0242 which will result ml of Color A,C and D to be dosed, i.e. if you are using 40 ml of Randy's calcium solution then 40ml x 0.0242= 0.968 ml, roughly 1 ml of Color A,C,D to be added.

Potassium (Color B) is different story - there is a need Potassium to be dosed according ITS depletion/consumption. Potassium could be measured precisely enough with available tests, so it should be checked regularly (let say 1-3 times in month) and IF there is depletion, then corresponding amount of Color C (which is about 34% potassium chloride + some borax) to be added to reach target concentration of 400mg/l potassium. There is no need potassium to be dosed daily, once or twice monthly is ok.

 

[jsker]

From my experience I would suggest another safer approach for dosing RS A,B,C and D Colors . Don't try to bring levels of Iodine and Iron "where need to be" . It is very hard to determine levels of iodine and iron in a reef tank using hobbyists test kits from one side and Iodine and Iron depleted in reef tank very fast from the other, so there is a big chance of overdosing. I'd recommend dosing A- Iodine, C- Iron and D- minerals only according calcium consumption. Trickiest part here is to calculate calcium uptake precisely enough. The Red Sea instructions are very confusing if you are not using their calcium supplements...

Easiest way to calculate dosage of Red Sea Coral Colors A,C,D if using Randy's Two part is to multiply amount of solution of Part 1 (Calcium Part) used by 0.0242 which will result ml of Color A,C and D to be dosed, i.e. if you are using 40 ml of Randy's calcium solution then 40ml x 0.0242= 0.968 ml, roughly 1 ml of Color A,C,D to be added.

Potassium (Color B) is different story - there is a need Potassium to be dosed according ITS depletion/consumption. Potassium could be measured precisely enough with available tests, so it should be checked regularly (let say 1-3 times in month) and IF there is depletion, then corresponding amount of Color C (which is about 34% potassium chloride + some borax) to be added to reach target concentration of 400mg/l potassium. There is no need potassium to be dosed daily, once or twice monthly is ok.

First Thank you, I am using Randy's two part mg, not ca. I just started using the RS foundation A (ca+strontium) I am using about 40ppm of ca a week. I was going to dose 18 grams of ca and 1ml of ACD twice a week to start. What is your thought on this please?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, I do not agree with the Red Sea Colors iron recommendation being so high, and no kit can detect the levels I recommend, which are far higher than surface seawater levels already.

 

[zzzdiver]

Misguided info certainly played a part in my crash I believe as well as some elements that made it into my tank that should not have. It was actually stable as could be at the time which made it hard to figure out and led me to begin triton testing and then triton products.

Triton is different than 2 part dosing. I'm not suggesting the entire "method" but the testing imo is well worth it as it can absolutely open your mind to other things going on in your system that you may never know otherwise. And the dosing system takes the guess work out and is certainly not the same as other 2 parts etc. Also if you buy it on black Friday like I did, then it's not even more expensive than the other products.

I was speaking to the use of their elements more or less their full system system I like their concept on their 2 part over the BRS I'm using , after reading a lot ( too much) about the testing I love all the info they send back but I'm a little puzzled by what may be happening to the water samples that travel for a week. Is the bacteria dead over that time what affect does it have? Temperatures? Lots of questions that are beyond me.

 

[biom]

First Thank you, I am using Randy's two part mg, not ca. I just started using the RS foundation A (ca+strontium) I am using about 40ppm of ca a week. I was going to dose 18 grams of ca and 1ml of ACD twice a week to start. What is your thought on this please?

I'm sorry jsker I'm really little slow today , did't notice that you are using mg part only. Of course if you are using Red Sea foundation powder you should follow their recommendations - 3.6 ml per 20 grams Reef Foundation A added. What is your tank water volume?

 

[jsker]

I'm sorry jsker I'm really little slow today , did't notice that you are using mg part only. Of course if you are using Red Sea foundation powder you should follow their recommendations - 3.6 ml per 20 grams Reef Foundation A added. What is your tank water volume?

Not a problem, you are in Europe and I did not expect and answer till tomorrow, so you are a head of the game 61 gal volume or 231 liters

 

[biom]

Not a problem, you are in Europe and I did not expect and answer till tomorrow, so you are a head of the game 61 gal volume or 231 liters

lol, Yes it almost morning here. Just wanted to check if your calculations of calcium uptake are correct, because RS guidance is far from perfection . But it seems OK to me. I would suggest to spread dosage of Colors ACD daily if possible, in your case 0.7 ml per day or 1.3ml every other day.

 

[Triggreef]

I was speaking to the use of their elements more or less their full system system I like their concept on their 2 part over the BRS I'm using , after reading a lot ( too much) about the testing I love all the info they send back but I'm a little puzzled by what may be happening to the water samples that travel for a week. Is the bacteria dead over that time what affect does it have? Temperatures? Lots of questions that are beyond me.

A lot of people bring that up as the it's beyond me however I believe they, triton, would know if there was any difference due to bacteria. If you think about it all they need to do to figure it out is take a sample from a tank and test it immediately then take another sample from the same tank at the same time, test it 3 weeks later and compare results.