Need help dosing

[Dave0331]

I'm about to start dosing my 125 tank alk, cal and mag. I was wondering if I could get some pointers since this is my first time and quite honestly I have no clue what I'm doing

Currently I have
1240 mag
400 call
9 dkh
All stats drop dramatically everyday if I don't dose. For example my mag was 1320 one night the very next night it was 1240.
Calcium I can't seem to keep up with since I have a lot of caraline algae and I maybe because my mag is dropping too

 

[Brieninsac]

First off, what salt are you using and what's the frequency/percent of your water changes?

 

[Dave0331]

I use Aqua Forest Reef salt with probiotic I do about 20 gallons every 3 weeks on my 1:25 but I'm going to start doing 10 gallons every week

 

[Brieninsac]

I'm not familiar with that salt. I use Red Sea Coral Pro and it does a good job keeping my Kh, Calcium and Magnesium in line. I still have to dose Kh 2-3 times a week and Calcium about once a week. I'm doing a 30% w/c once a month.

 

[thegrun]

You need to establish your daily need of the three and then program your controller or dosing pump to provide that amount. I dose 24 times a day, calcium and magnesium on the hour, alkalinity on the half hour. Some just dose a couple of times a day, but if your daily needs are high the tank will be more stable with numerous smaller doses.

 

[Dave0331]

I have been dosing 32ml of esvp 2 part and my reading on dkh is at7. how much more do I have to up the dosage by?

 

[Dave0331]

ok so I just did a 15 gallon water change a couple days ago and I just tested my parameters they are as follows

mag 1340
cal 405
alk at least 4dkh full 1ml using redsea test kit.


why is alk so high compared to calcium and magnesium?
should I dose calcium separately? im dosing 90ml per days using part 2. Im wondering if the calcium bottle has gone bad. Should I stop dosing alk and dose calcium separately until alk comes down and calcium goes up?

Im lost on what I need to do

 

[mitchb]

I would recommend reading Randy Holmes Farleys articles on the subject. Also get yourself a multi head dosing pump so you can dose more often You don't need to add magnesium daily; Farelys article will explain that. Above you don't mean 4dkh, you mean Meg/L which is a bit high but not uusual, but it is not balanced with the calcium level, which is ultimately what you want to acheive. For example, 8.5 dkh is ballanced with 420 calc level. if you want the alkalinity to go down, yes, stop dosing it. Once you get balanced you need to dose the same quantity of each. Getting a handle on this chemistry is vital to your success so keep reading

 

[Dave0331]

Sorry I meant 14dkh