Will I need to dose soon?

E46Twist

E46Twist

New member
Hello all, I have been keeping softies for a while and then started getting a few LPS a while back. Right now I just have tons of frags but I am concerned about grow out. Here is a list of my LPS: torch, frogspawn, hammer, fine grape, 2xtrumpets, pagoda, acan, brain, chalice, and a Monti(sps.) In a 125 using reef crystals, at what point would I need to start dosing calcium based on experience from you guys?
 
Well I am hoping not to, because I have made it this far with out a single reactor and I would like to keep it that way.
 
Dose Kalk in your top off water, it'll keep calcium and alkalinity stable, your water changes should keep mag stable.
 
The corals you list can all be big consumers of calcium, alkalinity & magnesium. I would get a GOOD test kit and see where you stand now. As they grow keep testing. Eventually their usage of these elements are likely to exceed what your water changes can provide. At this time you should start dosing via kalk or 2 part. The goal is to keep your levels of the "big three" stable.

You don't use reactors to dose these elements. It can be done by hand or by dosing pumps in the case of 2 part. Kalk is typically dosed via the ATO reservoir. If you intend to grow these LPS long term, you may as well assume you will need to dose at some time in the future. So you might as well start testing now and read up on what dosing techniques will be best for your system. It's not particularly difficult or expensive. GL.
 
I dose kalk(lime water) already with my top off which is no big deal. I don't mind adding things, just don't want all those reactors in my sump.
 
Also do you think I should change to a better salt? I just use reef crystals because it is the only thing I can get locally.
 
I've never used standard IO but did start out with the Reef Crystals but switched because I always seemed to have solids left over after mixing. My impression from reading threads on IO is that it's not particularly rich in the big 3 elements but I can't be sure. Maybe others can confirm or refute that. But even if true, I can't see it being a problem as long as other methods are used to keep ALK, calcium & Mg at reef levels.

Kalk is a great way to supplement calcium & alkalinity. But of course it is limited in the amount you dose based on your evaporation rates. It's probably fine for quite some time for a collection of frags. But many find that as these frags grow out over the years, Kalk dosing won't be able to keep up eventually. Many switch to 2 part dosing by hand or more often by dosing pumps at this point in the tank's growth. You may find that you will need to dose magnesium so I'd test for that. Luckily Mg seems to decline & raise more slowly than the other elements so most only need to dose infrequently and doing so by hand is fine. I certainly understand the desire to keep things as simple as possible!
 
Well, i tested calcium and Carbonate and got 450ppm and 11dKH. I was pretty surprised to see them that high, but pleased. I still need to get a mag test.
 
If that's the case then you definitely don't need to dose yet. How many frags do you have at the moment?
 
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