Dosing Question

[reeflover7826]

So I finally set up my 55g its been running since Aug 08 just about ready for some corals but I need to know what I need to dose and which product I should be dosing I was planning on buying a drip doser I know I need to dose calcium and magnesium but what else? I herd Vodka Vinagar how many drips per second? Any advise would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

[davewbush]

You'll have to test your water to see what needs to be dosed. It will all depend on what corals you have and how many.

 

[reeflover7826]

Do you have any suggestions on good testing equipment? I have a ph monitor and use Seachems Reef Buffer to keep my ph at 8.3 a Hydrometer to test salinity and keep my gravity at 1.025 and thats all the test equipment I have. I take a sample of my water to my LFS to test for Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites, and which I have a small trace of nitrates and thats it.

 

[davewbush]

You'll need a calcium test, dkh, and Mg test for sure. I used to dose but now I do a weekly water change and it takes care of every thing. i have a 90 and do a 10 gal water change.

 

[reeflover7826]

I usually do a 10 gallon water change every week do you think this is to much for a 55g? with the water changes my perameters should be good you think?

 

[davewbush]

Realy depends on the corals. If you plan of having a lot of sps then you will need to suplement. If it is going to be soft and lps, it will proble do. The 10 gal is not to much.

 

[airdog67]

How big your water changes will partly depend on the amount of fish you will or already have.

 

[Michael]

sounds as if your totally unsure as whether you need to dose or not buddy, id agree with dave above that you may not need to dose anything at all, water changes may be all you need, its all about testing, buy salifert calcium, alk and magnesium test kits, and monitor your params, if you find you need to supplememt them then at least you will know how much etc,if its just a little low then a change of salt and water changes may be just the job

 

[Dweezle]

Re: Dosing Question

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14713724#post14713724 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reeflover7826
I herd Vodka Vinagar how many drips per second? Any advise would be greatly appreciated thank you.

Do me a favor and read this link http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php before you even think the word vodka again. You can easily kill everything in your tank if you overdose and the dosage itself is crazy small (tenths of ML per day). You probably have no need to mess with it right now anyways.

Go to the chem forum and hit the sticky links there for intro to SW chem articals. No need to start dosing anything until you know what it does, why you need it and how much to add. It's somewhat dry reading, but this is info you MUST know.

Also if you've been using buffer to raise ph, your alk may be out of wack. I'd get an alk kit or have your LFS test it before you add anymore. Happy reefing.

 

[reeflover7826]

Good stuff, thanks for the advice I love Reef Central, I wouldn't know what to do if it weren't for you guys.