I recently purchased the new Apex to be ready for Trident and had to take advantage of DOS, it should arrive today and my two part dosing from BRS as well. I've been testing daily to see how much my elements drop daily in order to properly dose. Something to note is that I always test at 12am and do each test at least twice to minimize human error as well as test kit error, I'm using API for calcium (just ordered the salifer version), as for Alk and Mag, I use salifer. My Alk seems to be dropping at a steady rate of .3 a day, calcium for some reason dropped on the first day, rose, then dropped which made no sense to me since I haven't started to dose, as for Mag, it dramatically dropped the first day , then slowed down, something else to note is that the first day I started to dose was the day of my water change, I have a nuvo fusion 20G with about 12-14 water, the rest is rock/sand. I do close to a 5 gallons of weekly water change. I will continue to test daily until my next water change to get an accurate idea. Any ideas as to why my Mag is not dropping and my calcium dropped, rose , and dropped again & advice for dosing?
Dosing for the first time
- Thread starter Phixman
- Start date
RobZilla04
Active member
The drop, rise, drop is most likely a result of the testing margin of error and/or the human element. The API tests are pretty unreliable anyhow. Once you get the Salifert, Red Sea, or Hanna you'll get more reliable results.
How stocked is the tank with coral? Are you noticing corraline growth?
From my experience consumption/dosing occurs in the order of Alk, Cal, then Mag.
How stocked is the tank with coral? Are you noticing corraline growth?
From my experience consumption/dosing occurs in the order of Alk, Cal, then Mag.
nereefpat
New member
As Rob said, the 20ppm Ca is within the noise of the test. 1 drop equals 20ppm in the titration. Nothing wrong with API Ca test. Just know that the reading is probably +/- 10-20ppm. An alk consumption of 0.3 dKH equates to Ca consumption of about 2ppm Ca, by the way.
The alk consumption of 0.3 dKH seems reasonable. Do you have corals?
Not sure on the Mg. Animals don't consume it nearly that fast. It could be that you just need to through out the first result of 1260. It might be worth bumping it up to 1200-1250. I wouldn't worry that much about it if your alk and Ca are in line.
The alk consumption of 0.3 dKH seems reasonable. Do you have corals?
Not sure on the Mg. Animals don't consume it nearly that fast. It could be that you just need to through out the first result of 1260. It might be worth bumping it up to 1200-1250. I wouldn't worry that much about it if your alk and Ca are in line.
I wouldn't say my tank is heavily stocked since corals aren't as big as some tanks, but no more coral will fit until I upgrade to my Red Sea 350 in a few months. I do however, notice that my sps grows decently right after a water change, I don't get the coral growth I'd want and coloration isn't as good as I want it to be, I only feed once a week after a water change, typically do mysis shrimp one week, and the next week reef chili with some reef roids (some say coloration could be due to starving coral), so I might try to feed twice a week now. As for coralline , I noticed that my coralline went crazy during winter when I was doing a water changes every 2 weeks or so, rather than weekly. I have some coralline in the back wall, some on the rock, and a little spot on the glass.
didn't know .3 dkh = 2ppm Calc daily, this will help with dosing. I heard that if you dose more ml of one or the other, it will cause one or the other to drop or rise, is this true? It would take 3 ml a day to rise Calc by 2ppm , and 1.5 ml of Alk to rise it by .3
homer1475
New member
It's typical to not dose equal parts. Most tanks use way more ALK then CAL.
Right now with my relativley low coral load I'm only dosing ALK twice a week, but my CAL gets replenished by my weekly WC's. When I had way more coral, I was dosing 80ml of ALK, and only 30ml of CAL daily.
I have never found dosing 2 part in equal amounts to give me numbers where they should be. I have always found that an equal amount of CAL supplementation as ALK will cause my CAL to skyrocket.
Right now with my relativley low coral load I'm only dosing ALK twice a week, but my CAL gets replenished by my weekly WC's. When I had way more coral, I was dosing 80ml of ALK, and only 30ml of CAL daily.
I have never found dosing 2 part in equal amounts to give me numbers where they should be. I have always found that an equal amount of CAL supplementation as ALK will cause my CAL to skyrocket.
RobZilla04
Active member
JohnnyHildo
Member
which is interesting if you consider that every company (that I can think of these days) that produces elements for a balling method recommends to dose in even parts. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that do dose in uneven portions but I bet there are just as many that have had killed their corals by getting too adventurous with the dosing adjustments.
we have to consider that this is for a hobbiest dosing first time I would never recommend they "tinker" by trying to target 3 specific numbers. instead base the dosing on the current system consumption and base the dKH what the alkalinity of their chosen salt mix.
just my opinion
homer1475
New member
I would still never dose in equal amounts. You'll find one will sky rocket while one will remain constant.
I don't consider it tinkering to achieve a number(never chase numbers). I consider it dosing what the tank consumes. Why add whats not needed?
You speak to anyone who's been in the hobby for a while(heck even search this section of the forums), and you will always find that equal parts dosing is not what is suggested.
I don't consider it tinkering to achieve a number(never chase numbers). I consider it dosing what the tank consumes. Why add whats not needed?
You speak to anyone who's been in the hobby for a while(heck even search this section of the forums), and you will always find that equal parts dosing is not what is suggested.
nereefpat
New member
Natural seawater has parameters similar to yours, with alk just a little higher. You don't want alk to be any lower than it is right now though.
Most folks shoot for slightly elevated levels
Mg 1250-1300
Ca 400-450
Alk 8-9
Ca and carbonate are used in that 7:1 ratio. That's why kalk is popular, since it replenishes those elements in that ratio. Your mileage may very of course, so it's good to test.
I can't help you much with your 2-part. I just use kalk, and then hand dose the 3 as needed, which isn't very often.
Calcium and alkalinity are consumed at the rate of 2.8 dKH per 20 ppm calcium to form calcium carbonate. There are a number of factors that can shift that a bit, but generally, tanks seem to require more alkalinity because there's so little of it in comparison to the amount of calcium, in terms of forming calcium carbonate. Water changes often can keep the calcium level in line.
Dosing unequal amounts of calcium and alkalinity two-parts is fine, and won't cause any measurable drop in parameters as long as the amount is reasonable. Overdosing a supplement can cause precipitation, which can lower both parameters.
What would you consider a reasonable amount of difference? I finally got my DOS set up and ready to go. Should have my two part by tomorrow. :celeb1:
The size of a dose is limited primarily by two issues: pH and the total amount added. If you are adding a high-pH additive, then driving the pH in the area where the supplement is being added too high can be an issue. I dosed supplements into the main tank, and 2-3 dKH in one shot was fine. If the dose is going into a sump or the like, I'd suggest watching for signs of precipitation.
The other issue (total amount added) is just keeping the dose down to range that's not going to cause precipitation. Anything below 11-14 dKH should be fine. Again, though, dosing into a small volume of water is worth checking.
The other issue (total amount added) is just keeping the dose down to range that's not going to cause precipitation. Anything below 11-14 dKH should be fine. Again, though, dosing into a small volume of water is worth checking.
I will keep all this in mind and watch my ph and see what it does in the next couple days, thank you!
I checked my parameters today (didn't check yesterday) I was assuming my Alk would keep dropping at a constant rate of .3 , but seems my coral didn't consume any at all in the last 2 days and my level doesn't seem to go below 6.7. Do levels stop dropping at some point? Magnesium has began to drop and calcium is still the same. DOS was setup , and began my dose at 12 am after checking all my parameters. I was going to dose more Alk than Calcium, but decided to keep the same ml of dosage since it was only like .3ml more for calcium. I haven't began to dose Mg, I want to see what it does until the end of Friday, when I will performing my water change.
