My doser

Duffer · Jan 16, 2020

So I have a bubble magnus doser for my alk, dosing brs soda ash. I had it dialed in dosing 26 mls four times a day which was working and keeping my alk around 8. Last week after testing my alk keep testing lower than what I want. I keep bumping my doser mil up and my alk keeps going lower..right now testing at 7.2. What am I doing wrong?

WVNed · Jan 16, 2020

Once I started dosing it seemed like after a while the tank started using more and then a lot more.

My tank never used calcium or magnesium either but it does now.

Scrubber_steve · Jan 16, 2020

Do you have much coralline growing? Has it increased?

lilgrounchuck · Jan 16, 2020

Is your test kit ok? If you’re adding drastically more alk with zero change maybe it’s an error?

Duffer · Jan 16, 2020

Scrubber_steve said:
Do you have much coralline growing? Has it increased?

No increase

lilgrounchuck said:
Is your test kit ok? If you’re adding drastically more alk with zero change maybe it’s an error?

Testing with Hanna

Beardo · Jan 16, 2020

Have you verified that the doser is actually pumping? Not sure how old your doser is but I have had to replace the heads on mine a few times.

Duffer · Jan 16, 2020

Beardo said:
Have you verified that the doser is actually pumping? Not sure how old your doser is but I have had to replace the heads on mine a few times.

Brand new, there is a manual button I push on and fluid goes thru the lines. , I also mark my jug and each day the the fluid is below the mark

WVNed · Jan 16, 2020

It doesn't sound like you have it dialed in yet. It doesnt sound like anything is wrong.

Beardo · Jan 16, 2020

duffer said:
Brand new, there is a manual button I push on and fluid goes thru the lines. , I also mark my jug and each day the the fluid is below the mark

Was just checking the easy stuff first. Can't tell you how many times I have jumped off the deep end troubleshooting an issue to have it be something simple I skipped right over.

Is Alk the only thing you are dosing?
Are you seeing any precipitaion? Increasing doasge multiple times in a short period after a period of steady levels leads me to believe it is not an actual change in demand. How long were your levels steady before you had to make multiple adjustments?
How much are you dosing now after the increases?
What are your calcium and magnesium levels?

Duffer · Jan 16, 2020

Beardo said:
Was just checking the easy stuff first. Can't tell you how many times I have jumped off the deep end troubleshooting an issue to have it be something simple I skipped right over.

Is Alk the only thing you are dosing?
Are you seeing any precipitaion? Increasing doasge multiple times in a short period after a period of steady levels leads me to believe it is not an actual change in demand. How long were your levels steady before you had to make multiple adjustments?
How much are you dosing now after the increases?
What are your calcium and magnesium levels?

Whew a lot of questions,,,lol..
No precipitation,that’s one of the things I thought of first
Levels were steady for about 3 weeks
Dosing now 40 mil split up 6 times
Calcium is 430 mag at 1350

Beardo · Jan 16, 2020

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to understand.
How much does you alk drop each day at the current dosing levels?

Duffer · Jan 17, 2020

Beardo said:
Sorry for all the questions, just trying to understand.
How much does you alk drop each day at the current dosing levels?

All
Good with the questions it’s helping me

dropping between .2 to .4 daily

Beardo · Jan 17, 2020

I would use the BRS calculator and do a manual addition to raise your alk to where you want it. Within reason though as you don't want to increase too quickly. Test after to ensure you got the appropriate bump. That should also tell you how much to increase your doser setting.
Also, I don't believe the bubble magnus doser can be calibrated and it isn't necessarily accurate. Having it set for 40ml doesn't mean that is what it is actually adding. The only way to know is to measure the amount that is being dosed.
I personally never worried about that step and just adjust to keep my levels stable with small changes over time.

Out of curiosity, how big is your display/system and what are the stocking levels (corals and clams)?

arafas · Jan 21, 2020

Are you dosing equal amounts?. I had similar issue i kept adding extra 1mil a day for the 4 times as well and kept going lower. Try adding both alk and calcium equal amount increas by 2-3mil extra on each dosing time, thats what helped me. Start with 2 mil first. Also see if you can do calibration. Maybe the lines are more softer now and hasnt broke in yet.