When to start dosing

[Stlrockguy]

I'm having some issues with my ph and alkalinity. My ph swings from about 8.02-8.2(reef keeper ph probe) over a 24 hour period. My alk stays at about 7.2 dkh(Hannah). I do a 25 gallon water change once a week(reef crystals)

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

There's nothing wrong with those numbers. Ph will naturally drop when the lights go off and as long as your able to keep your element levels steady with your wc's there's no need to dose. Generally dosing is only done when you have enough stony corals that your element levels are being depleted faster than you can replenish them through your wc

 

[jeffaquarius]

You can minimize the pH fluctuation by turning on sump/fuge light only at night.

 

[Stlrockguy]

I have my sump light running opposite of my dt lights. I have a lot of sps and lps

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[bribo12]

I have my sump light running opposite of my dt lights. I have a lot of sps and lps

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If all your corals look fine why change anything? If it ain't broke don't fix it

 

[melosu58]

PWC`s Will provide all the replenishment of trace elements needed in most cases. The exception would be calcium in a few cases.

 

[Stlrockguy]

That's a good point bribo.

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[jeffaquarius]

Hint, good Alkalinity will help stabilize pH. If you can raise it with pwc then that's good. The question is, how much and how many times to reach the target level. But bribo has a good point. If nothing looks unpleasant, might as well leave it alone.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

If all your corals look fine why change anything? If it ain't broke don't fix it

I agree with this also. Some times reefing can be complicated but most of the time the KISS method is best.

 

[jeffaquarius]

What does KISS stands for?

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Keep it simple stupid

 

[mrvincent]

It's normal that the PH is higher at the end of the light cycle...

Some tank swings from 8 to 8.4 daily...

 

[Stlrockguy]

Yea I realize all this. Thats one reason I was wanting to dose for alk. Bring it up to about 8.5 then my ph would be where I want it. Im getting a lot of coral growth and more water changes just seem like a hassle to me.

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[mrvincent]

Yea I realize all this. Thats one reason I was wanting to dose for alk. Bring it up to about 8.5 then my ph would be where I want it. Im getting a lot of coral growth and more water changes just seem like a hassle to me.

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I dose alk to keep it between 8 and 9 dKH°

 

[bribo12]

My alk remains at 7 dKh and my corals (mainly sps) grow wonderfully

 

[jeffaquarius]

If you really need to dose and avoid the hustle of too many pwc, baking soda is the answer. As long as you know what you are doing and monitor your parameter it is very effective and won't hurt.

 

[mr_X]

7 is what it is in the ocean. As long as it stays there you are fine. I think it's more of a hassle adding things and constantly testing than just doing the weekly change.

 

[Animal-Chin]

When I upgraded to LED's and added a bunch of SPS they took off growth wise. My alk would drop to 4, my calcium to 280 due to the sps draining it out of the tank. This is when I started dosing both calcium and alk with dosing pumps and a controler. It brought my alk back up to 9 and my calcium to 420 and stays there if I dose daily. If I stop dosing they drop, this i assuming is how you know your system needs dosing.

It took me 3 months of daily water tests to fully understand how much to dose of each (cal/alk) daily to maintain. There's a science to it for sure...

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

When I upgraded to LED's and added a bunch of SPS they took off growth wise. My alk would drop to 4, my calcium to 280 due to the sps draining it out of the tank. This is when I started dosing both calcium and alk with dosing pumps and a controler. It brought my alk back up to 9 and my calcium to 420 and stays there if I dose daily. If I stop dosing they drop, this i assuming is how you know your system needs dosing.

It took me 3 months of daily water tests to fully understand how much to dose of each (cal/alk) daily to maintain. There's a science to it for sure...

That is when you need to dose and how it is done properly, especially the time taken to learn the system

 

[jeffaquarius]

I'm having some issues with my ph and alkalinity. My ph swings from about 8.02-8.2(reef keeper ph probe) over a 24 hour period. My alk stays at about 7.2 dkh(Hannah). I do a 25 gallon water change once a week(reef crystals)

You also need to be aware that the Alk and Calcium have opposite interaction with each other. Having Alk at 7.2 dKH and with high Cal may be at 450 then you should be okay. Now if your Cal is low like below 380 then you really need to dose both or do pwc whichever you feel comfortable with. I would opt to dose since it requires less physical work.