Do you dose your 2-parts twice a day?

[newbie916]

newbie916...i would agree that ur "overstocked"
my gosh u got several frags attached to the glass lol
nice looking tank

lol.. I knew I'd run into this problem because most of the corals came from my sons 24 gallon Aquapod and I switched my 95 gallon to a FOWLR This 45 gallon is actually my son Christian's tank who's almost 4. I just help take care of it, but I've definitely got the bug and ran across those Aqua mag frag plugs that are magnetic. Now I could use every space of the tank and move the frags and colonies around There are just so many nice corals out there and I'm definitely an addict..

 

[Rockys_Pride]

Nice setup. If it's working for you, don't mess with it.

What I do, I breakup my Alk and Ca dosing to morning and night. If you dose too close together they will bind to each other and make it hard for the corals to use. I'm not familiar with the Bi onic, but you should also dose mg. This will cause the Ca and Alk to loosely bind to the mg and overall easier for the corals to use. Not sure if the bi onic has Mg in it or not.

 

[newbie916]

Your tank looks great. Your dosing does seem low, but as long as you are constant it is what it is. You have nice growth rings on some of your frags so they are growing at a reasonable pace. I personally am dosing 1.3 ml per gallon of tank water a day, which I think works out to a shade under 3 dkh a day, so you have some potential in your tank to pull down a lot more 2 part. I found in my system once everything stabilized/matured, that my two part consumption sky rocketed.

I have an aquamedic doser I used on my old calcium reactor and they are not good IMO. The can siphon depending on where the wheel stops turning. This could cause your two part to go into your tank uncontrolled, or the reverse scenario with air or water back siphoning. True, you could set all the tubing at the right height so it does not siphon into your tank, but honestly it is not worth it. I would go Bubble magus, or if you want individual control with a separate controller, then a BRS pump as they do not siphon. You really can't beat the value of the bubble magus, and if you want to automate more dosing later it is easy to expand. My .02.

Thanks Jeffrey,

I'm definitely going to have to look into my dosing regiment and double check my Calcium levels. I have a feeling it's going to be low after hearing everyones dosing schedule. I'm definitely going to get a Bubble Magus dosing pump with all of the recommendations. Appreciate yours and everyones elses advice because I'm still fairly new to the sps world. We probably got our first frag a little over a year ago and have been addicted ever since

 

[newbie916]

Nice setup. If it's working for you, don't mess with it.

What I do, I breakup my Alk and Ca dosing to morning and night. If you dose too close together they will bind to each other and make it hard for the corals to use. I'm not familiar with the Bi onic, but you should also dose mg. This will cause the Ca and Alk to loosely bind to the mg and overall easier for the corals to use. Not sure if the bi onic has Mg in it or not.

Thanks Rocky,

I dose Kent Mg about 15ml's per week.Helps keep the Alk more stable. So far its been working decently well and it's not that hard to dose twice a day. I look at the tank more often than that anyways However, I'm definitely going to pickup the BM dosing pump to make life easier and see if the better consistency will improve the health and growth of the corals. If I miss a day of dosing my alk will drop 1-2dkh, so I'd like to avoid any swings. What 2 parts are you using? I heard BRS is more economical than ESV. Appreciate the advice

 

[SPotter]

One thing I have learned about dosing is that the suggestions on the bottle are just that. Everyone's tank will be different based on how much and the types of corals you have, how much rock and coraline algae you have and the type of salt you are using. I am running a 40g dt, 20g's in my sump, a 10g frag trank and I am dosing 48ml's daily of both parts along with kalk for my top off wich is about 2g's a day. I agree with if its not broke and everything looks great as it does in your tank, dont try to fix it. I definitely think dosing pumps will make it easier especially if you go away. I have seen several people selling used BM dosing pumps on here so I would look there because you might be able to get a really good deal on one.

 

[newbie916]

One thing I have learned about dosing is that the suggestions on the bottle are just that. Everyone's tank will be different based on how much and the types of corals you have, how much rock and coraline algae you have and the type of salt you are using. I am running a 40g dt, 20g's in my sump, a 10g frag trank and I am dosing 48ml's daily of both parts along with kalk for my top off wich is about 2g's a day. I agree with if its not broke and everything looks great as it does in your tank, dont try to fix it. I definitely think dosing pumps will make it easier especially if you go away. I have seen several people selling used BM dosing pumps on here so I would look there because you might be able to get a really good deal on one.

Thanks Steve,

I'm looking for the BM dosing pump on the For Sale Forums. If you guys could shoot me a pm if you see one that would be great I'm going on a family vacation to Belize for 2 weeks in the end of June to the first week of July, so it'll be nice to get one dialed in before than. That's one of the things that I've been worried about because my Mom will be watching the tank. She's done it before, but freaks out about dosing, temp, etc I'll try not to mess with the tank too much because you guys are right. If it's working than why try to change it. So far it's working Again, appreciate everyones input and help..

 

[newbie916]

So I went ahead and tested my Ca, Alk, and Mg this morning and my suspicions were correct. My Ca is at 350, Alk 8.0dkh, and Mg 1400. I bumped up dosing two days ago to 15ml of Ca and 20ml of Alk of ESV Bi-Ionic, but that's probably not enough.

What's the safest way for me to get my Ca back up without swinging my Alk? I just want to make sure that I don't make any drastic changes and crash the tank. I know I can't raise my Ca 100ppm in one day because it'll shift my Alk. I'd hate to crash my tank... I'd like to get it back up to 450 and my Alk stable at 9dkh. That's what I get for slacking on testing..ugh What's your recommendations on getting it back up safely?

Thanks
Chris

 

[jeffreylesser]

Are you using this link? It is very helpful for dosing.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

The Ca portion of the two part can be added to raise your Ca. You have the right attitude, do it slowly over a number of days. IMO, though raising calcium is not as big a deal as raising or lowering ALK. FWIW, if you look at that link the balanced Ca for 9 Alk is a Ca of 425.

What test kit are you using for Alk?

 

[newbie916]

Are you using this link? It is very helpful for dosing.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

The Ca portion of the two part can be added to raise your Ca. You have the right attitude, do it slowly over a number of days. IMO, though raising calcium is not as big a deal as raising or lowering ALK. FWIW, if you look at that link the balanced Ca for 9 Alk is a Ca of 425.

What test kit are you using for Alk?

Thanks Jeff,

I did a 25% water change and I'll follow the link you gave me. I dosed a little more Ca and tested my alk again and its staying at 9dkh. I use ELOS test kits. Thanks again and I'll test again tomorrow morning and adjust, but the corals seem fine so far.

I was just afraid if I changed CA too much it could cause a alk swing

 

[SPotter]

+1 on not chasing ca 450. Keep an eye on the alk and ca will fall in line. I am curious about not dosing equal parts of ca and alk. I always thought that was the idea behind 2 part but like many things in this hobby.....anything is possible.


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[jeffreylesser]

Actually if you read up in the thread the OP thought he should be dosing unequal parts, but later testing showed a depleated Ca in the tank(350 I believe). I think the OP is probably dosing equal parts of B-ionic at this point.

 

[MammothReefer]

I don't dose equal amount. tank uses less calcium then alk, or at least appears to be. If you are using 2 different dosers I've found they sometimes can be off a little bit from each other so you will have to test & compensate. (at least with the older drews dosers) BM, and the BR dosers may be better.

 

[newbie916]

I used some buffers to gradually bring the levels back up to normal. I've been able to maintain the Alk at 9dkh and raise the Ca up to 415 so far. Corals look fine and polyp extension and color seem even better

I started the tank dosing equal 2-parts, but my Alk would drop from 9dkh to 7dkh when I did equal dosing. That's why I ended up dosing more Alk than Ca originally, but I think the problem came in when my son and I added a few sps and chalice colonies and several frags over the last few months. That and our corals seem to pickup on their growth. I also haven't test Ca for the last month or two and I only checked Alk and SG a few times a week. I'm going to start dosing equal 2-parts tomorrow starting with 25ml's of both and adjusting my dosing regiments from there.

I've heard that depending on the tank and what kind of corals the consumption of Alk and Ca could be different. Thanks again guys and I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I'm going to pickup that BM dosing pump, just waiting for a good deal

 

[newbie916]

I got my Ca back up to 440 and my dkh up to 9.5 right now. I switched my dosing to doing equal 2-parts 15ml in the morning and 10 ml in the evening and I've been testing before each dosing regiment.

I've noticed that every 12 hours my Alk drops 1dkh, so from 9.5 to 8.5. It's not ideal to be dropping 1 dkh every 12 hours bring it back up and let it drop another dkh. Right? I'm sure the corals are pretty used to it by now, but I'm assuming its effecting growth and color due to unnecessary stress. What are your thoughts?

Either way, I ordered the Bubble Magus Dosing pump yesterday thanks to all of your recommendations. I'm sure having it dose 24 times a day is going to stablize the water quality. I got a pretty good deal on ebay and only paid $252 shipped NIB. Any suggestions on configuring it and where do all of you put your equipment? I've got a chiller, ATO, 2 MP10ES', Phosban reactor, 2 fans, and I have no idea where I'm going to put the dosing pump..lol Any suggestions? How's your guys setup? I have a old mini-fridge that I've been using to store all of my supplements. Would you recommend drilling a hole in the side and feeding the tubing through their?

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[SPotter]

Dosing over a 24 hr period will definitely even out that issue of the dkh drop. As far was where to put it, I have my sump in the basement so everything is mounted on the wall and lines feed into the return section of my sump. I think any place you can put it that is stable and you will be able to access the bottles would be good.

 

[jeffreylesser]

I don't dose equal amount. tank uses less calcium then alk, or at least appears to be. If you are using 2 different dosers I've found they sometimes can be off a little bit from each other so you will have to test & compensate. (at least with the older drews dosers) BM, and the BR dosers may be better.

I think all dosers should be checked, and the BM dosing pumps can be off from each other as well. I am not a chemist by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I read somewhere that heightened levels of strontium can cause reduced usage of calcium as corals use calcium and strontium to build skeletons. Don't quote me on it. I am almost 100% positive there is a Randy Holmes-Farley article/thread out there about potential causes for 2 part imbalance.

I could only find this one, but I am sure you have read it:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#15

 

[newbie916]

Thanks guys,

Wish I had a basement or closet to build my system into. The tank is sitting in the corner of the kitchen and the stand is way too small for all of the equipment I'm just looking forward to getting the dosing pump and making the tank more stable.

Anyone using Bi-Ionic 2-Parts and their Magnesium supplement? I've just been dosing Kent Magnesium, but figured if I'm hooking everything up to the doser I should probably use the same brand. Any thoughts?

I'll read the article and see the best way to balance out the system. I'm assuming that it won't be equal 2-parts, but hopefully it'll be close..

 

[SPotter]

I use b-ionic 2 part but not their mag supplement. I was using bulkreefsupply two part kits and then decided to switch over to b-ionic. I have continued to use the brs mag and while I know their directions call for not adding mag until a gallon of the 2 part has been completed, I dose 2ml's per day of the brs mag and I have maintained a level of 1400.

 

[newbie916]

Thanks SPotter,

I guess it's one of those things that I need to test for and create my own dosing schedule I've been dosing 2.5ml 3x a week of the Kent Mg, but my test kit only goes up to 1280. Why would Red Sea make a test kit that only goes up to 1280 is beyond me. All I know right now is that my magnesium is about 1280..lol Have to go out and buy a ELOS kit. I'm going to swing by the LFS at lunch to pickup Bi-Ionics Magnesium to try it out.

 

[SPotter]

I used the elos mg test kit and now use salifert. IMO....the salifert is so much easier to use and a lot less counting of the drops. I cant tell you how many times I would get half way thru the elos test and forget how many drops I put in because of distractions and then have to start over again.

Also, did you mention what salt mix you use? I switched to reef crystals because of the higher levels of alk and ca. I made the switch about 3 weeks ago and have been able to dial back on my daily dosing every week now.