Need for dosers with frequent water changes?

[AC1211]

Could I get away with a few lps or sps corals and maybe even a tridacna clam in a 60 gallon tank assuming a do my water changes as needed without dosing assuming I do my water changes monthly?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Could I get away with a few lps or sps corals and maybe even a tridacna clam in a 60 gallon tank assuming a do my water changes as needed without dosing assuming I do my water changes monthly?

Depends. Dosing is only required if there is a need beyond your ability to keep up dosing as needed.

I only hand dose as needed.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Monthly water changes wouldn't suffice for keeping Alk stable for SPS. Weekly would probably work for sps frags for awhile anyways.

Once clams start growing they really do suck down Alk and Calcium. I'd imagine it being hard to keep up with that with even weekly changes.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Monthly water changes wouldn't suffice for keeping Alk stable for SPS. Weekly would probably work for sps frags for awhile anyways.

Once clams start growing they really do suck down Alk and Calcium. I'd imagine it being hard to keep up with that with even weekly changes.

It really would depend on the amount of corals per water volume. Dosing kalkwasser as a top off may help.

Kinda where I'm at. I only dose alkalinity for adjustments. Kalkwasser handles the heavy lifting in my system for calcium and alkalinity.

Every system is different and it's needs reflect that. What works for me, may not work for you and that's completely understandable.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

It really would depend on the amount of corals per water volume. Dosing kalkwasser as a top off may help.

Kinda where I'm at. I only dose alkalinity for adjustments. Kalkwasser handles the heavy lifting in my system for calcium and alkalinity.

Every system is different and it's needs reflect that. What works for me, may not work for you and that's completely understandable.

100% agreed. Kalk is good stuff and worked in my tank for a solid 8 or so months before I had to dose on a regular basis.

Edit: and I still use kalk with dosing because its cheap and so easy to use.

 

[adtravels]

Kalk and low maintenance reef tanks are a match made in heaven! Just don't get too greedy with your reef building/hard corals

 

[AC1211]

Kalk and low maintenance reef tanks are a match made in heaven! Just don't get too greedy with your reef building/hard corals

I will dose by hand but only keep a few corals and I will introduce them slowly I guess to take it slow.

 

[PatW]

I have an SPS dominant tank. I dose BRS two part.

I measure ALK daily and dose according to need. I will switch to doses when the daily ALK consumption hits about .5 to .75 DKH. Calcium is less of a concern because seawater holds much more Ca than ALK. Water changes have handled Mg so far.

 

[Flippers4pups]

My reef seems to run on autopilot for the most part:

 

[Katrina71]

Just had this discussion last night myself.

 

[TX_Punisher]

Once a tank natures it’s nit uncommon for alk to drop .5-1.5dkh per day due to demand. It would be hard to maiantaon that with water changes alone.

Semi weekly dosing could possibly keep up with your needs in the future but remember Stability Promotes Success. A doser keeps things stable and saves you from hand dosing continually.

 

[AC1211]

Once a tank natures it’s nit uncommon for alk to drop .5-1.5dkh per day due to demand. It would be hard to maiantaon that with water changes alone.

Semi weekly dosing could possibly keep up with your needs in the future but remember Stability Promotes Success. A doser keeps things stable and saves you from hand dosing continually.

I will dose once a week possibly once every two weeks depending on how it is used up the tank is not set up yet but is perfect for lps sps and tridacna clams except no dosers so I will do it by hand and keep mostly soft corals with a few lps 2 or 3 sps and maybe a tridacna. So could I dose just kalkwasser or what else do I have to dose?

 

[Water Dog]

What you should do when you’re up and running is test your alkalinity everyday, preferably at the same time each day so you can monitor and understand your tank’s consumption of Alk. If you plan on keeping SPS and clams, stable Alkalinity is a must. If you’re against using a doser, then at least maintain your parameters through mixing saturated Kalkwasser in your ATO reservoir. However, as your tank matures and kalk can no longer keep up you will have to dose. Stability is key for your tanks inhabitants and water changes and weekly or biweekly manual dosing won’t cut it IMO if you plan on adding SPS and Tridacna clams.