Starting to dose soon

[Anthrax15]

I will be ordering from BRS, the Two Part Calcium and Alkalinity Total Package. It comes with:

"¢1 gallon of Calcium (7lbs)
"¢1 gallon of Alkalinity (7lbs)
"¢1 gallon of Magnesium Chloride (6lbs)
"¢1 gallon of Magnesium Sulfate (8lbs)
"¢3 clear PVC 1 gallon jugs with caps
"¢(2) 1 ounce dispensing pumps
"¢(2) 100 mL cups for measuring liquid solution

I will also be ordering the Salifert test kits for Cal, Alk, and Mag.

Right now I have a 40g BR mixed reef with 3 small SPS frags.

1 - Small brown Digit
1 - Green Mili
1 - Square Monti Cap

I don't dose anything and only add Kents Essential Elements once a week. I do 5g water changes every week or every other week. I would like to begin adding more SPS to my reef but dont know where to start in regards to dosing.

If you were in my shoes, where would you start?

 

[LakeShow]

Im in the same boat as you, just put my order in at BRS for the starter kit yesterday, looking forward to start dosing because i know my levels are low.

The only test i have so far till the order comes is for alk, its salifert and my reading came back extremely low at 5.4 dKH.

Assuming my calcium and mag are going to be very low also, wheres the best place to start?

 

[Anthrax15]

I'm not sure. I'm pretty lost.

I have read that you have to test your water for a week to monitar how much Cal, Alk, and Mag you need to dose. But that's a rough outline. I'm not sure exactly.

 

[redfishblewfish]

My rule is that anything you add to your tank, you better be testing for it.

Testing will determine dose.

BRS also has a dosing table, which I think is on the high side...very high.

Again, test to determine actual dosing, because amount of hard corals is ultimately going to determine dose. I would think, for a 40 gallon, with light to medium number of hard corals, it would be somewhere in the 15 ml per day range.

Edit to Add: The above is for alk and calc. Mg, I'd dose every 4th day or so, same volume. But again, let testing give you the actual number.

 

[Anthrax15]

Anyone else have any input?

 

[Anthrax15]

My BRS shipment arrived today. I finished making my Cal, Alk, and Mag which was relativly easy and then tested my water.

I tested my water with the Salefert test kits and right now Alk/Mag are in correct parameters but I cant seem to get a measurement of Cal. I did three tests and the water stayed pink the whole time, never turning "clear blue" I don't understand what I am doing wrong.

I do need some help though with how to dose. What do I need to do to figure out how much I dose each day? I really would like to adding more SPS and clams to my tank. Please, as much info as possible would be really appreciated.

 

[mark54321]

My BRS shipment arrived today. I finished making my Cal, Alk, and Mag which was relativly easy and then tested my water.

I tested my water with the Salefert test kits and right now Alk/Mag are in correct parameters but I cant seem to get a measurement of Cal. I did three tests and the water stayed pink the whole time, never turning "clear blue" I don't understand what I am doing wrong.

I do need some help though with how to dose. What do I need to do to figure out how much I dose each day? I really would like to adding more SPS and clams to my tank. Please, as much info as possible would be really appreciated.

Looks as your Ca is very high,if you go through the whole syringe when testing and water does not turn blue pull another syringe of solution and add more drops till it turns blue, then add those two readings. For example: If you used whole syringe that means Ca is 500 and now add result from second syringe , lets say 0.94 ml left in second means Ca 30ppm, that means your total Ca is 530 ppm. Hope this helps

 

[Anthrax15]

Looks as your Ca is very high,if you go through the whole syringe when testing and water does not turn blue pull another syringe of solution and add more drops till it turns blue, then add those two readings. For example: If you used whole syringe that means Ca is 500 and now add result from second syringe , lets say 0.94 ml left in second means Ca 30ppm, that means your total Ca is 530 ppm. Hope this helps

Ok. That makes sense and I will try it tonight.

Once I figure out the exact amount of Calcium in my system, how do I go about dosing and figuring out how much I need to dose?

 

[jedheuer]

I would say test and dose accordingly. Basically add a small amount for a few days and test again. If it is low add more on a daily basis, if it is high add less and don't add any for a few days until it drops down. If you drift significantly make a corrective dose to raise it up which might be a bit more than your daily dose. This applies to you CA and alk parameters. Your mg is going to shift much more slowly and can be tested and added less frequently but you are going to want to keep a close look at CA and ALK. Basically go slow, test, make small additions daily, and correct for bigger swings until you get things dialed in. Also if things do swing drastically beware that the test kit might be wrong. Test again. Make a smaller corrective dose than you think you ought to. You can always dose again tomorrow but an over dose is bad news. Keep your parameters in the middle of what is recommended that way if you swing up or down you are still with in the recommended range. Hope this helps. Here are some more resources to check out:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[Anthrax15]

I would say test and dose accordingly. Basically add a small amount for a few days and test again. If it is low add more on a daily basis, if it is high add less and don't add any for a few days until it drops down. If you drift significantly make a corrective dose to raise it up which might be a bit more than your daily dose. This applies to you CA and alk parameters. Your mg is going to shift much more slowly and can be tested and added less frequently but you are going to want to keep a close look at CA and ALK. Basically go slow, test, make small additions daily, and correct for bigger swings until you get things dialed in. Also if things do swing drastically beware that the test kit might be wrong. Test again. Make a smaller corrective dose than you think you ought to. You can always dose again tomorrow but an over dose is bad news. Keep your parameters in the middle of what is recommended that way if you swing up or down you are still with in the recommended range. Hope this helps. Here are some more resources to check out:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

Thank you :love1:

That's exactly what I needed to know

 

[T Diddy]

Don't dose your Ca and Alk on the same day.

 

[kingfisher62]

I will be tagging along! I need to start dosing also.