Help me dose my tank

[PitHair]

I am setting up an SPS tank. I want great colors. I need help with deciding what to dose and how to does it. It seems magnesium, calcium and alkinity is all I need to dose.

What supplements brands are good?
What doser is good?
I have a apex controller so a doser that I can hook up to that will be great.

Here are my tank details
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23396625

 

[tmantaylor18]

You can use the new apex doser but it's $300 and only doses two liquids. You could also buy Bulk Reef Supply dosers that are around $70 a piece. These will work with your Apex, they just take a bit of work setting up.

Bulk Reef Supply also has calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium that you mix up yourself thats much cheaper. b-ionic is good stuff for alk and calcium if you dont want to mix it yourself.

 

[Bpb]

+1 bulkreefsupply all day. If you can stomach the DOS pump by neptune it would likely be a higher quality unit, but for half that cost the bulk reef supply dosers are perfectly fine and I've been happy with mine.

The pharmaceutical grade calcium chloride, soda ash, and magnesium mixes are decently priced and high quality.

Before dosing, make sure you have the appropriate tests to measure what you're dosing, and know how to properly use them to get consistent readings. Ie how to clean and care for the syringes and test tubes

 

[Mark9]

I picked up the one gallon whole package kit from BRS
BRSlink

I had read that repeated switching would shorten the life of my controller, so i bought 2 digital timers from Amazon (as recommended by BRS).
Amazonlink

The timers are connected to my controller, so if there's a ph swing, they get shut off.

All in all, very easy to setup.
Great video from BRS.

 

[shih87]

I use Arm&Hammer baking soda for KH, CaCl2 and MgCl2 bought from dog store for Ca and Mg. For great color, you may need more than above, but light and trace elements always next after you have steady KH, CA, and Mg.

I may not take all from this video, but I think it is a good reference..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7PMIvMKqSY

 

[Mark9]

I use Arm&Hammer baking soda for KH, CaCl2 and MgCl2 bought from dog store for Ca and Mg. For great color, you may need more than above, but light and trace elements always next after you have steady KH, CA, and Mg.

I may not take all from this video, but I think it is a good reference..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7PMIvMKqSY

Yeah, that video is quite interesting, but you should watch the videos from step 1.
I looked at the red sea reef care program, and have actually tried one part of it, the reef energy.
The reef energy portion caused my tank to go green almost overnight.
Way too much nutrients going into the tank.
Just my experience.
Only problem I see to the red sea program is that they highly recommend that you do all of their steps, not piecemeal.
Complicated.

 

[DieselJunkie]

I think you have a long way until you will need dosers.

Kalk in your ATO will provide plenty for a long time to come. Once it gets heavily stocked, stabile and you have massive growth/corals and a need that exceeds water changes and kalk, get some dosing pumps