Dosing Question (30-50 Gal)

[ThatGuy]

Trying to see how much people with SPS heavy tanks are dosing daily.

I can't seem to keep up with it. I'm doing 5-10 ml a day alk and same for cal. Problem is my alk is always 6. I can't seem to keep it up. Cal is fine, always between 440 and 480. I don't want to OD the tank so I'm trying to see what other people with roughly the same stocking as me are at.

Thanks in advance.

 

[saltkreep88]

Where is your mag? If that is low the others won't stay in range.

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[ThatGuy]

Where is your mag? If that is low the others won't stay in range.

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I donno. Never tested it.

If you go by the BRS dosing instructions you just add 20 oz once you use up all the alk and cal.

I also should mention I do weekly 5 gal WC using ReefCrystals. That should keep the mag in range.

 

[saltkreep88]

Yea that should keep it in range. If it helps my tank uses 15 ml of alk and saturated kalk in the top off to keep it stable. Some tanks use a lot

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[ThatGuy]

Yea that should keep it in range. If it helps my tank uses 15 ml of alk and saturated kalk in the top off to keep it stable. Some tanks use a lot

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Its just weird to me that if I don't dose cal it only drops down to 420 but if I don't dose alk things start looking funny. I also do put 1 TBS Kalk per gal of TO. Should I up it?

 

[saltkreep88]

That's because coral are much less sensitive to calcium fluctuations then alk. Our tanks can run calc from 360 to over 500 and be fine. Once alk is in the lower range 4ish corals can no longer grow/survive

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[saltkreep88]

More kalk will def help. And if dosed slowly there is very little risk. Up your alk and stop dosing. Then measure your daily drop if anything to calculate how much alk u still need

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[redfishbluefish]

I have a 90 gallon mixed reef and dose 49 mls each per day. Your alk number seems a bit low. Don’t be concerned about dosing equal amounts. My experience with ReedCrystals is that it comes with very high calc. I went through a couple month period where I wasn’t dosing calc at all. I now do a mix of RC and IO for water changes.


I also agree that you need to test Mag….and you are not getting it solely from the water changes. You will have to dose mag as well….in the 1400 ppm range.

 

[Zippy69]

You should check your mag regardless of water changes. It may be lower than you anticipate adding to your problem. I have a 55 sps dominant and dose 90 ml of alk and cal to keep alk at 7.7-8.0.

 

[ThatGuy]

I guess I'll pick up a mag test tomorrow and up my alk to 8 and leave it to see what it's dropping per day.

I just can't imagine dosing 49 ml per day let alone 90 ml. I guess if I end up keeping the tank I might have to ask for a doser for xmas.

 

[dppitone]

I'd suggest doing some research on wetwebmedia.com. There's a relationship between Ca, Alk and Mg. When Ca goes up, which yours is, there can be a tendency for Alk to be held down. There's more to it than that, but some reading on that site should be enlightening.

Trying to see how much people with SPS heavy tanks are dosing daily.

I can't seem to keep up with it. I'm doing 5-10 ml a day alk and same for cal. Problem is my alk is always 6. I can't seem to keep it up. Cal is fine, always between 440 and 480. I don't want to OD the tank so I'm trying to see what other people with roughly the same stocking as me are at.

Thanks in advance.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I use to be a manual doser…but eventually pick up two BRS 1.1 ml/min dosing pumps. Now I couldn’t live without them. And you’re in luck….they are now on sale for 50 clams a piece. I run mine through a ReefKeeper, dosing three times a day.

 

[Tommyboynj]

Gotta check that mag. I'd be interested to see where it comes in at.

 

[Cdiggy]

I have a 58 with some spa and a lot of calcareous algae and have my dosing pumps set up to dose 3.75ml every other hour for a total of 81.5ml/day. First hour is ca second hour is alk. I use two little fishies brand that has a bunch of stuff in it including mag. I also put 2 teaspoons/gallon of calcium hydroxide in my top off water. That seems to keep the levels correct.