HAHA:ape:
How do you know when it is time to start dosing?
- Thread starter cedwards04
- Start date
HAHA:ape:
In theory, higher alkalinity levels will encourage more growth, up to the point that the corals are limited by food or light. I think 9.5 dKH is high enough in practice. Some tanks seem to have coral problems if the level gets much above 8 dKH, although that seems to be due to carbon dosing. I'd try 9.5 dKH and see how it goes.
Calcium at 400-450 ppm should be fine. I don't see any reason to go higher.
Calcium at 400-450 ppm should be fine. I don't see any reason to go higher.
Tripod1404
Active member
Isnt it close to ~54ppm. 1 dKH alk is ~17ppm CO3- . With 1-1 consumption, wouldn't it be 53 ppm CO3- and 53ppm Ca.
Last edited:
Tripod1404
Active member
I think the issue is more with low nutrients rather than carbon dosing. I dont dose carbon but my nitrate is at 1ppm with KNO3 dosing and phosphate sometimes do not register anything but zeros at Hanna ULR for weeks.
If my alk goes above ~7.8 dkh for a prolonged period (as little as few days), my SPS lose all PE and brain corals deflate.
At 7.5dKH, my daily alk consumption is at 2.5dKH. A while ago, I tried keeping it at 8dKH to see if I would get more growth. After a week of doing it my daily alk consumption dropped to 1-1.5dKH and acros montis start to get burned, so I stopped and let it drop to 7.5 dKH.
So it makes me believe lower alk can give better growth under conditions where nutrient levels are otherwise limiting.
It's 2.8 dKH per 20 ppm calcium. The ppm numbers aren't equal, for various reasons.
Ideally alk should be kept constant. I'm not clear about the alk level in the water added during a water change. If it is a lot higher or lower than the tank water levels, it could be part of the problem. 20% water changes per week is a lot. I personally do 1% per day with a salt in the 9 dkh range and keep my system in the mid 8's, primarily via limewater(kalk) ) dosing.
cedwards04
New member
My hanna checkers came in today. I pulled a water sample and set it aside for when i get a little extra time to test everything. I did do a 20% waterchange yesterday. I also tested my alk today using the red sea kit and the hanna checker.
Red sea = 8.1dkh
Hanna = 7.5dkh
I will check ca using both tests as soon as i get a chance. Possibly later tonight or tomorrow.
Red sea = 8.1dkh
Hanna = 7.5dkh
I will check ca using both tests as soon as i get a chance. Possibly later tonight or tomorrow.
cedwards04
New member
Checked my ca from the water sample yesterday.
Red sea =450ppm
Hanna =447ppm
Red sea =450ppm
Hanna =447ppm
They might not always be so close, but that's a good sign. Those numbers all are fine.cedwards04
New member
I think i am going to dose some soda ash to bring the alk up to around 9 or 10dkh depending on how the corals respond. I plan to do it a little each day over the next couple of weeks and see if i can accelerate the growth a little.
cedwards04
New member
I have been taking pics to document growth fairly regularly so i am hoping i will be able to see if anything changes.
I started dosing the tank today. I used some brs soda ash i got from a friend and used the brs calculator. For my tank size, it recommended 37ml to raise 1dkh. So i split it in half and dosed 18ml, waited 30 min and checked, dkh rose by 0.5dkh. So i went ahead and dosed another 18ml, waited 30min again, and it rose another 0.4dkh for a total of 0.9dkh. I am going to stop there and just monitor the tank for a few days and see how things respond. If all seems well, i will do another 38ml and see what happens.
