how do you dose

[arnaldolex]

decided to start a thread to try to learn alittle how do ya dose how did you determine how much to dose. Hopefully this will help me out and alot of other people out with the same problem ive been doing this for 14 years but never dosed on a day by day bases i do fix my levels with home products when it gets low using a app on google that you find in by typing reef calculator on google then go onto traditional mode very simple you type in your water volume then where your levels at and what you use to bring it up. I use pedalow for calcium, baking soda for alk and epsom salt for magnesium. but now i wanna dose the right way got me a 3 part dosing pump wanna learn from ya pros how much do you think i should start at is there a proper way to get the right level maybe you can explain your experience i have a 180 and a 40 gallon sump alittle over 200lbs of live rock and my tank is full of corals you can c a video on youtube if you type in luis santiago 180 then go to black friday update thats my last video i got alot of coral. lets here how much you dose how many gallons you have is it a softy or sps dominated tank or somewhere in the middle

 

[TommyP]

following for sure I want to start dosing as well but i don't know where to start. I want to make sure my levels are always on point.

I wish I could get a 2 part doser for.... $35 Bucks lol

 

[piranhapat]

First you need to test your Alk,Ca,Mag, see what your levels are. Than do same thing again the next day and try to do it at same time. See how much your levels drop. Do this for a few days and go to calculator on BRS which help you figure what to add. Than kept checking your levels. You can buy single doser pumps or three bubble magus doser. Since you have A big tank. I think you should go to Calcium Reactor route. In long run less money and less maintance. For dosing stuff you are saving money with baking soda. But you can buy soda ash and calcium from BRS. But if I was you I would focus on Calium Reactor do to size your tank. But dosing is good but better for tanks under 100 gal.

 

[lnevo]

You already have the concept by manually dosing. I have a thread in the chemistry forum that documented my journey and johhnyj has a good sticky on how to get started also. Basically you need to measure your weekly consumption and then setup your dosing routine to dose the correct amount to account for that consumption.

One thing to keep in mind is that its much easier to read your alk consumption than calcium. The standard error from test kits and how much alk is reduced compared to calcium will make you think you are consuming much more alk. You want to dose alk and calcium though in even amounts as that is the ratio its utilized in coral growth.

 

[arnaldolex]

i thought i had to wait a week with out dosing and then maybe divide by 7 then by 24 then by 60 and that would be how much ml i would do per minute. or break down the amount to a few doses per day

 

[arnaldolex]

is there a differance you think from me using home ways to make alk and cal to buying it from brs will theres bring extra stuff cuz i already dose essential elements am gonna look for the link that a reefer her send to me i saved it over 5 years ago

 

[lnevo]

If you already know how much you are dosing per day to keep everything constant then you are already 90% there. Just divide that by the number of doses (ie. 24 if once per hour) you will break it up...

No difference i think from what you are doing than getting from BRS.

 

[MikeC]

look for the link that a reefer her send to me i saved it over 5 years ago

Is it this one http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

 

[Tonyscoots84]

with a bubble magus triple doser and brs alk, cal, mag

 

[arnaldolex]

mike thats the one lol

 

[annanymous]

Following

 

[arnaldolex]

bump gonna make me the home brew from the link from pedalow and baking soda test my levels and start today on recommended dose of. 5 ml per gallon

 

[MikeC]

Do you have a Neptune Apex controller on your tank?

 

[lnevo]

bump gonna make me the home brew from the link from pedalow and baking soda test my levels and start today on recommended dose of. 5 ml per gallon

I dose 20ml calcium and 20 soda ash solution on my 65g...

5ml/gallon sounds like a lot..

I would not calculate based on size of tank but on actual consumption...if you are dosing manually right now, how much? How often?

 

[Geraud]

If you are going to dose, remember that you will need to test as well. Otherwise... it can lead to disasters.

If I were you, as it was mentioned before, for a big tank, I would go the calcium reactor route.

During his talk at the swap, Craig Bingman was mentioning that for a 180, calcification for a year is around 10-20 pounds depending on conditions (and this calcium comes from you!). You want to add that the cheapest way when you have a big tank... and that's clearly not 2-part dosing.

 

[arnaldolex]

no controllers on my tank but am looking to go that route i mixed everything up yesterday the way the online link showed but when i tested my waters my alk was at ten and calcium at 440 mag at 1240. so i decided to follow the instructions and not do the heavy stock but mixed at .5 ml per gallon. I estamated my tank volume to be at 200 gallons i have a 180 with a 40 gallon sump and alittle over 200 pounds of live rock so i dosed 100 ml of the calcium mix yesterday gonna read my levels when i come home from work and c how much it went up kinda like alittle test dont know if to dose alk cuz its already at ten

 

[arnaldolex]

levels yesterday were
cal 440
alk 10
mag 1240
salt .025
temp 79
ph 8.2
phost .25
ammo 0
nit 0

i think i might bring up my mag alittle today i wonder if i dose cal but not alk will the alk go down i wanna bring it down alittle to start dosing it i know those two got some kind of a relationship lol

 

[arnaldolex]

inevo is your tank heavily stocked

 

[TRDfan]

Tagging along

Just got a reefkeeper and 2 brs 1.1ml dosing pumps )

 

[lnevo]

I wouldn't consider it heavily stocked with coral but I do have 11 fish in a 65g. Coral wide I guess it would be moderately stocked...

Here's an FTS

Tank's been running since 7/13/12.

Had a mini crash and lost most sps in dec/jan last year. Took corrective actions in feb and rescaped in July. That's when things started growing like mad. Everything still mini colonies but growing nice and steady. Looking forward to getting rid of the extra nem's and some frags that have been accumulating. Need to prone the sps now too the birdsnest and green acro are too close i moved the rock in the back as the gsp was affecting the acro.

Anyway..you can dose individually to correct the levels but if your tank settles somewhere don't chase it. Dose evenly after that. I'm in the same boat concerning mag. Mines not low yet but want some feedback on that as most mag conversations tend to discuss gha or briopsys (sp?)