How exactly does dosing work?

Bars · Nov 23, 2019

Hi guys, new here.

I'm still fairly new to reefkeeping (started a little less than a year now) and have a nice 50g tank with 20g sump. Been doing weekly or bi-weekly waterchanges since I started, but I'd like to switch to no (or rarely) waterchanges and start dosing. I can't make my own ro water due to lack of space, so I've been going to my LFS every week to get fresh salt water. You can imagine how much of a hassle that is without your own car

However, and I can imagine this might sound lazy or stupid, I simply don't know where to start and what I need if I want to start dosing. Lots of different methods, lots of different terms and I have absolutely no clue what everyone's talking about.

I'm just looking for a very noob friendly guide on dosing that explains everything from the start. Preferably something that also mentions and/or explains all the different methods/most popular ones. Does anyone know a guide that'll help me to get on my way? Would be greatly appreciated

SteveEreef · Nov 23, 2019

Do you test your parameters weekly? How much do they drop? BRS has some good videos on dosing.

Bbfishb81 · Nov 23, 2019

I have magnesium, calcium and alkalinity test kits and test every two weeks and then dose accordingly. I use the reef chemistry calculator to figure out how much to dose and follow guidelines that are on the site on how much to dose.

Bars · Nov 23, 2019

SteveEreef said:
Do you test your parameters weekly? How much do they drop? BRS has some good videos on dosing.

Honestly I never really paid close attention to small fluctuations, only watched for any unusual or dangerous swings. I used to test weekly and all parameters were pretty much stable, so I can't say how much they drop every week (or day). Nowadays I test every 3 to 4 weeks, always around the time I'm doing a waterchange. Sometimes there's a small increase or decrease compared to the previous test.

Bbfishb81 said:
I have magnesium, calcium and alkalinity test kits and test every two weeks and then dose accordingly. I use the reef chemistry calculator to figure out how much to dose and follow guidelines that are on the site on how much to dose.

Is that all you gotta dose to keep everything healthy long term? What about trace elements?

AdamB · Nov 23, 2019

At first I checked my cal,mag,alk. parameters every 2 weeks on my new tank .Now that the tank has been up and running for a year now I only check my alk every couple or longer of weeks as that what I check for my indicator if something is amiss. I will check magnesium once a month or longer...
I dose using a ghl doser to dose 2 part b-ionic and acro power for trace elements.
Also If i add 2 or 3 pieces of sps to my tank I will check my alk. every 2 days for a week to see if I need to adjust dosage.

JCOLE · Nov 23, 2019

What are you currently keeping and what do you plan on keeping? Also, what is your current bio load? If your bio load is small then your consumption will be small. A good indication would be to test at a time one day then test again at the same time the next day to see where your levels are at. One of the most important parameter is Alkalinity and I test that everyday. I have a Trident so it tests Alk, Cal, and Mag everyday for me. However, before the Trident I was testing Alk twice a day with my Hanna tester to get the levels right then once a day afterwards.

Currently my tank consumes 2DKH a day. I dose Kalk in my top off and run a calcium reactor which keeps my levels very consistent. I keep an SPS dominate tank so I cant have my parameters fluctuating all over the place.

AcanthurusRex · Nov 23, 2019

Not doing any water changes is more challenging than one might think.
This graph is presented around the 36-minute mark.

Dr. Craig Bingman (2019 MASNA Award Winner): Some stuff about corals, coral research and his history in the hobby | MACNA 2019

A little bit of reefing chemistry, little bit of coral calcification research and a LOT of experience in the saltwater aquarium hobby! Dr. Craig Bingman shares his thoughts on this and other "stuff" he wanted to talk about. :P

www.reef2reef.com

Bbfishb81 · Nov 23, 2019

I test and dose that often because I have a very heavily loaded coral tank. Lots of sps, as well as very large colonies of lps, so I need to dose more often. I also add iodine and iron twice a month. And I under dose that to be safe

Bars · Nov 24, 2019

h2oh2o said:
What are you currently keeping and what do you plan on keeping? Also, what is your current bio load? If your bio load is small then your consumption will be small. A good indication would be to test at a time one day then test again at the same time the next day to see where your levels are at. One of the most important parameter is Alkalinity and I test that everyday. I have a Trident so it tests Alk, Cal, and Mag everyday for me. However, before the Trident I was testing Alk twice a day with my Hanna tester to get the levels right then once a day afterwards.

Currently my tank consumes 2DKH a day. I dose Kalk in my top off and run a calcium reactor which keeps my levels very consistent. I keep an SPS dominate tank so I cant have my parameters fluctuating all over the place.

I've currrently got a bunch of Euphyllia, Goniopora, Blastomussa, Caulastrea, Ricordea, Elegance, pretty big colony of toadstools, plating Monti, pavona cactus and a piece of Caliendrum. Probably about 30 - 35 frags in total. Most of them are still very small, frag size, except for the elegance and most of the Euphyllia.

If the Caliendrum stays nice and happy I want to add a couple more easy to care for sps. Space is limited because of the enormous toadstools, so it'll probably be 1 or 2 extra frags.

I'll start doing some daily tests

Water Dog · Nov 24, 2019

What parameters are you testing?

Bars · Nov 24, 2019

Water Dog said:
What parameters are you testing?

Calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, phosphates and nitrates.

lapin · Nov 24, 2019

Bars said:
Hi guys, new here.

I'm still fairly new to reefkeeping (started a little less than a year now) and have a nice 50g tank with 20g sump. Been doing weekly or bi-weekly waterchanges since I started, but I'd like to switch to no (or rarely) waterchanges and start dosing. I can't make my own ro water due to lack of space, so I've been going to my LFS every week to get fresh salt water. You can imagine how much of a hassle that is without your own car

However, and I can imagine this might sound lazy or stupid, I simply don't know where to start and what I need if I want to start dosing. Lots of different methods, lots of different terms and I have absolutely no clue what everyone's talking about.

I'm just looking for a very noob friendly guide on dosing that explains everything from the start. Preferably something that also mentions and/or explains all the different methods/most popular ones. Does anyone know a guide that'll help me to get on my way? Would be greatly appreciated

Search Youtube for more guides on dosing.

While dosing sounds good and can be beneficial in some cases, there are other things to think about. Water changes replace a lot of elements that are normally not tested for or dosed. Without testing them you really dont want to dose them. Water changes also remove unwanted things in the our closed ecosystem tanks.
Manual dosing has one issue that bothers some people. If you dose 1 time a day (a bigger dose) it is not as stable as dosing small amounts over the whole day. People buy dosers to do just that.
In your case dosing might cut down on water changes and something as simple as dosing kalk might work.
You will only know by doing some research and then trying what you thing is best for you and your tank.

Water Dog · Nov 24, 2019

Bars said:
Calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, phosphates and nitrates.

I would suggest that you test for Alk, Ca & Mg about an hour after your next water change. Then, right before you perform your next water change, test for the big three again. For more accurac, tpry to perform the water changes at the same time of day. Then divide the drop in your parameters by the days between the water changes. That will give you your tank’s consumption of the big three per day.

The parameter you want to key in on is your Alk consumption per day. That will basically determine how much of a balanced 2 part you will dose per day. BRS has a nice calculator to help you determine how much to dose of their various 2 part systems based on your Alk consumption.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

This calculator has various other commercial 2 part systems beyond what BRS offers.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

VA5 · Nov 24, 2019

lapin said:
Search Youtube for more guides on dosing.

While dosing sounds good and can be beneficial in some cases, there are other things to think about. Water changes replace a lot of elements that are normally not tested for or dosed. Without testing them you really dont want to dose them. Water changes also remove unwanted things in the our closed ecosystem tanks.
Manual dosing has one issue that bothers some people. If you dose 1 time a day (a bigger dose) it is not as stable as dosing small amounts over the whole day. People buy dosers to do just that.
In your case dosing might cut down on water changes and something as simple as dosing kalk might work.
You will only know by doing some research and then trying what you thing is best for you and your tank.

Can’t agree more. Unless you run an acro grow out tank water changes are more about removing bad stuff than adding elements

Bars · Nov 25, 2019

As for waterchanges, would a monthly 20% change be enough? In addition to dosing if necessary. At least that'd be a bit less annoying than having to borrow a car every week or every 2 weeks

Water Dog said:
I would suggest that you test for Alk, Ca & Mg about an hour after your next water change. Then, right before you perform your next water change, test for the big three again. For more accurac, tpry to perform the water changes at the same time of day. Then divide the drop in your parameters by the days between the water changes. That will give you your tank’s consumption of the big three per day.

The parameter you want to key in on is your Alk consumption per day. That will basically determine how much of a balanced 2 part you will dose per day. BRS has a nice calculator to help you determine how much to dose of their various 2 part systems based on your Alk consumption.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

This calculator has various other commercial 2 part systems beyond what BRS offers.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

Thanks, will do!

Water Dog · Nov 25, 2019

Instead of getting water from your LFS, I would suggest using distilled water from the grocery store and make your own water. Or better yet, get yourself at least cheap RO buddy unit on Amazon for $60 that won’t take up much space.

For a no water change 2 part system, you can look into ATI Essentials Pro. That’s what I’m currently using on my tank until it’s mature enough to hook up my calcium reactor. However, with any of the no water change systems out there, like ATI Essentials or Triton, you must have a very effienct and effective nutrient export system in place. As an example, I’m using both a skimmer in conjunction with an algae scrubber for nutrient export. Even with these nutrient transport methods, I’m still doing a good sized water change every month.

Bars · Dec 12, 2019

Alright, finally got my new tests today. Previous testkit was all over the place and since my LFS uses the exact same one, I decided to buy my own. Read a bunch of threads on here and I think I have some decently accurate testkits now.

Today's readings:
KH: 8.3
Calc: 490
Mg: 1410
I'll test them again next thursday and divide the difference with 7.

Also ordered a 5 channel dosing pump which should be delivered next week

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 12, 2019

Bars said:
Alright, finally got my new tests today. Previous testkit was all over the place and since my LFS uses the exact same one, I decided to buy my own. Read a bunch of threads on here and I think I have some decently accurate testkits now.

Today's readings:
KH: 8.3
Calc: 490
Mg: 1410
I'll test them again next thursday and divide the difference with 7.

Also ordered a 5 channel dosing pump which should be delivered next week

If those values are correct, only alkalinity will need dosing any time soon. A week is not going to be long enough to determine magnesium consumption and may nit give an accurate calcium rate either. I’d make dosing decisions for all of them based on alk changes, then tweak the dosing of calcium as needed long term.

Bars · Dec 18, 2019

Did some tests again. Kh is at 8.0, so went down by 0.3, calcium went down from 490 to 450. Pretty sure I made some mistakes with the magnesium test last time, because I got a 1270 reading this time.