Dosing???

[Jtisle506]

Im going to add a reef octopus very soon as I got it in the mail today.....the bio pellets will make the nitrate and phospate lower and hover around very low levels b/c its a recirculating skimmer. I plan on droping my WC from once a week/every other week...to once every 1 1/5 to 2 months....my major issue is since i have a reef and obviously corals need calcium alk etc.....will only doing WC every 2 months should i dose to compensate the lost calcium etc due to WC Being done less frequent? Also i am new to this hobby (tank is 9 months old) and very confuzed with how dosing works, whats kalkwasser? How do I dose, do I need those dosing pumps or can i just put directly into the aquarium? Whats a buffer? Somebody please give me a easy rundown of dosing how it works and how you do it...in beginners terms?

 

[Jtisle506]

I meant i reef dynamics bio pellets reactor btw^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Dav3]

Tank size and coral stock list?

 

[Jtisle506]

75 gallons which is a mixed reef

As of right now

Coral:

Soft = many zoas, mushrooms, althenia, leathers etc....

LPS = hammers, frogspawn, torch,

SPS = 3 different montis, misc acros millipora etc

The reason im asking this is b/c I want to add way more SPS so the bio pellets would help but the dosing I had no clue about.....


In the future I plan to add more SPS for the shelves and LPS for the floor....some more softies also

 

[Dav3]

Dosing for a balanced system usually involves an auto top off system. Test your water parameters daily to determine how much calcium is being consumed and then you can formulate a plan on how much you can dose over a given time.

Others on here can probably help you out with the formulas as I'm lazy and haven't looked that far into it.

 

[MikeYQM]

The three major elements of dosing are Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium. Some people also dose Potassium, Iodine, Strontium etc. The rule of thumb is that you should only dose what you're testing for as excess could cause harm.

I recommend, 24 hours after your water change, measure your Ca, Mg & Alk. Add nothing at this point. Immediately before your next water change, measure again then divide the difference by the number of days between tests to get your daily drop. This will help zero in on your maintenance dose for each item.

An automated Doser is the best, but more expensive way to dose. It allows you to make large solutions once in a while and dose small amounts through the day, resulting in greater stability. Manual dosing works fine too but it's more work. I guess you can still make large stock solutions but then you hand dose X amount. Due to the high factor of annoyance, you are more likely to miss dosings and they will be less frequent, resulting in a less stable system.

 

[Spicemonkey]

I was off the opinion that the pwc should take care if the majority of needed elements and that is why regulatlu scheduled pwc are ao necessary.

with that being said; i am using a substandard salt mix and have to suppliment with extra Calcium and at times Dkh interim.

 

[Jtisle506]

How do you dose manually??? And what the heck is kalkwasser???

 

[Lady_Glock9]

Hi i looked at your pics and you have a nice tank. But could you take another pic a little further bck to show the whole tank and clear. Thanks.. Just day dreamin and wishing i had thel know how and money to have that kind of tank too

 

[Jtisle506]

Here ya go

 

[Ingy]

If you don't know what klakwasser is, don't even consider it. AKA limewater or Green liquor in certain industries, calcium hydroxide is a less expensive way to dose your water. It provides calcium as well as Hydrogen (to form carbonates and bicarbonates). But you would need an expensive doser to control the flow and a pH monitor to manage it. Overdosing can lead to high pH destroying your tank life.

A much simpler method for the new aquarist is a 2 part dosing system available at your LFS. 1 part adds calcium and the other alkalinity.
I add the alkalinity part to my ATO at a rate of 45ml every 5 days (that's how often I top off my ATO reservoir) and the calcium part to my return section of my sump twice in the same period. That is 9ml per day for both parts for a 120 gal system. Simple and safe. I track my levels and adjust the rate as required. I also dose mag at a similar rate into the return.

 

[Liberty]

I use the reef keeper for the controller for the tank. Got two dosing pumps from Bulk and the 2 part Alk and cal with meg. Mix it your self, makes a gal each, 20 oz of meg. Set the Multi timer so Alk is 12 times a day starts at 12am and every 2 hr. cal 11 times and starts at 1am. Small doses all day, I do the meg 3 times a week, need to get another pump. I still do a WC every week 25 gals for the other stuff. I have a 310 gal two sumps,total water is about 350 with 280 lbs of live rock. Trying SPS tank
The reef keeper will pay for its self.
ATO
Lights
Moonlights
Temp controller
And more

 

[Jtisle506]

I have a apex lite btw....would it help?

 

[Liberty]

I have a apex lite btw....would it help?

If it has a Multi time function I don't see why not.

 

[Jtisle506]

So if i bought 2 bulk reef supply 1.1ml pumps and plugged them into my apex they could replenish the alk and calc?

 

[Liberty]

So if i bought 2 bulk reef supply 1.1ml pumps and plugged them into my apex they could replenish the alk and calc?

Yes But you have to set the on and off time for the proper amount, can be tricky . Test.i use redsea and the Hanna