how do i dose while on vacation?

F

frankipoo

New member
i was thinking of adding the kalk, both parts of the b ionic and the magnesium to my top off water.

This way when my neighbor tops off the tank, she'll be dosing(somewhat) as well.

Is there a problem with adding those all together then adding that sollution to the tank.

it would probably be about one gallon a day.

I guess i would add 1/2 the normal amount of 6 days(thats how long ill be gone) worth of dosing.

not full strength just in case...



also, is there a problem putting those chemicals together for a week and not using them immediately?



what does every one else do?
 
You can not add both parts of the two part solution. They need to be kept separate. That is why they sell them in two different bottles.

You may want to skip the dosing while you are gone. You could add a bit of kalk, but not enough so that if they make a mistake, ie accidently drop it all in the tank, that they can't kill anything.

Joyce
 
Why don't you get your neighbour to dose the A+B. If you write down the numbers it should be fairly straight forward.
 
If there is anything I have learned over the years, it is to never allow a non experienced person care for my tanks. I simply wouldnt dose

My 2 cents
 
I know this is a close second to rocket science but dosing a two part supplement at different times of the day, well let's not assume were dealing with a tank sitter with a limited capacity. If so them feeding is going to be a big problem. And just in case I always leave phone numbers of people who know my tank, I even explain Reef Central and how to use it in case of emergency. Good luck
 
How about an automatic dosing system. I am setting one up right now. I am tired of being a slave to dosing.
 
Set up two 5 gallon buckets... 1 with alk supp and the other with calcium supp. Have her top off 1/2 gallon from 1 in the morning and the other at night.
 
I use an Aquadoser to dose my two-part. The nice part is, it's set and forget for while I'm home as well. Adding two part every day got old really fast. It's a peristaltic pump, so once you get it set, it's going to dose the same amount every time. The Liter Meter is another doser that's very popular. I'd say it's better than the Aquadoser, but also more expensive. If you do get the Aquadoser, I'd plug it into an UPS. It has to be manually reset if you lose power, and it's not a very user friendly unit. You can also go cheaper with something like an Aqualifter pump, but it's not going to be as precise.

Barring that, I agree with everyone else in just not dosing. Bump up your levels a little higher than normal before you leave and just call it good. Your corals will grow a little slower while you're gone, but it shouldn't cause any long term problems. While I was deployed, my Montipora grew like crazy for 6 months without any dosing.
 
Don't even think about the Reef doser from Aqua Medic. Not accurate and messing with it all the time . Not to Hijack but do your doser lines crud up and then become less accurate?I guess that is hijacking sorry.
 
this is when someone should branch off and start a new thread.
its definatley an interesting one and would probably be appreciated by alot of other members. but most wont know or read the posts because its hidden in this thread.

anyway, back to this thread

thanks for the responses. i think i will probably do two 5 gallon jugs. but probably have her do them right after the other.

its alot to expect from someone to do real dosing.

so how about it?
someone start a thread for dosing systems.
Id like to know more.
 
..but probably have her do them right after the other.
Click to expand...

That can get you into trouble, as if she may dose them too close together, which is the same as adding them together.

Is there a problem with adding those all together then adding that sollution to the tank.
Click to expand...

As already noted, it is a problem.

I think with the experience you have, it is better to not dose or try to have someone dose for you. You need to better understand the systems, the pitfalls and the options yourself a bit better. The fact that you mentioned that you would have her dose them one right after another after you'd been told that they can't be added together just seems to indicate that you should take the easiest road this time:).

Joyce
 
hi Joyce, thanks for condescending to me.

"after you'd been told that they can't be added together "

thats not what i was going to do.
if you read the posts, you will see that what i intended then was to have her add the top off FRESH water from teo different sources, one with some A component the other with the B component.
they would be in a fresh water sollution. it can barely be considered true dosing.
and i wouldnt have her do them together
not only that but how much time does one wait between components at full strength?
a few minutes? hours?
im sure its not alot of time.
it would be done with time inbetween. just because i didnt specify that doesnt mean i wasnt going to wait.


lastly, this is a way to get feedback and gather information.
posing the questions like i did, with some humility may seem ignorant or from inexperience but its not.
its merely a means to try to get people to respond.

i have enough experience to figure it out but thought it would be a good idea to see what other people do and to get some threads going. maybe there are other people who could benefit as well.
what you take as ignorance or inexperience is more a means to get some discussion going.

ive been keeping marine fish succesfully for 30 years.
ive tried alot of things and have gathered enough experience to be confident.

maybe im being sensative but your tone is insulting.
 
By the way, I dose "right after another" all the time, and have never gotten any precipitation. In my case "right after another" is the time it takes me to walk about 7 steps back to the sink to pour component B into my measuring cup. I dose into my overflow and maybe there's enough flow in there to avoid precipitation.

But to the original question - I would just not dose. Especially if you don't have a dosing setup right now, putting this in right now would be asking for trouble, I think. If your vacation is still a few weeks away, maybe, as you'll have time to work out the kinks and fine-tune the dosing. But if your vacation is imminent, I'd just leave it alone.

I left my 90g alone for 8 days, except for an ATO setup that I've had running for several months. My calcium level dropped by about 20ppm and I just corrected that by using some Liquid Calcium. My magnesium level didn't change.
 
If getting a dosing system is out of the question (I have a litermeter III and love it), I would just go on vacation and not dose. The worst thing you can do is change something before you go on holiday.
 
maybe im being sensative but your tone is insulting.
Click to expand...

I merely advised you that based on what you'd posted thus far, the level of experience you appeared to have based on your post count of 22 and the question that you asked, that it might be better to wait and not dose. I do not see how my tone was at all insulting.

I felt that I should explain my reason for the advice I gave. Sorry you took it wrong.

..may seem ignorant
Click to expand...

Your words, not mine. I never said that, nor did I imply it.

I'll stay out of your threads as I don't appreciate taking the time to try to help someone and having it twisted because they didn't like the fact I made reference to that fact that they appeared to be new.

Why do you think I added the smiley? Sorry you found it insulting. That's a new one for me.

Over & out,
Joyce
 
If it was me I would just put a little kalk mix in the top off buckets and call it a day. Even on a 2 week vacation. You could even hook it to a float valve and gravity feed it like I do.
 
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