Dosing Questions
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=74257
Printed Date: August 25 2025 at 1:49am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Dosing Questions
Posted By: LakeCityReefs
Subject: Dosing Questions
Date Posted: January 04 2015 at 10:56pm
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Ok guys I'm hoping to hear some opinions here regarding the setup of an automated dosing system. Here's the scenario of what I've done so far... Added first corals to new 300 Gallon setup. Water 1.024 (Instant Ocean) was a week old and testing 480 cal., 12 dkh Alk., Mag. was low at 1160 raised it to 1320 over a 3 day period. Tested the water several times over the course of 2 weeks. Today water tested as follows. Cal. 400, Alk. 10.5 DKH, Mag. 1300 I took the depletion and divided it by the 14 days that had passed to see what the average daily depletion was. My target levels are Cal. 440, Alk. 11 DKH, Mag. 1350. I setup the Neptune DOS system to dose the alk at night (help ph swing), and the cal during the day. Using the Seachem Reef Fusion 2 part I am looking to make the following daily adjustments: Cal. 12 ppm/day, Alk. .11 DKH/day Not going to chase Mag but rather see how the 2 part handles it since it and other trace elements are included in the ingredients. The online dose calculator says to use dose Cal. 136ml/day, Alk. 10ml/day. Am I missing anything? I realize I need to first get the levels up to target and then find the dosing amount that will hold there. I set the system to receive 25 ml Cal and 13 ml Alk today. The online calculator stating the huge amount of calcium has me concerned. Is this difference in quantities typical? My goal is to keep all perameters as stable as possible without changing routine. I'm open to any suggestions and hope some folks using an automated system will let me know how large their tank volume is and how many ml. of each supplement they're using daily.  
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Replies:
Posted By: Crazy Tarzan
Date Posted: January 04 2015 at 11:19pm
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I would retest, then try another calculator to verify the results. Easier to test a few times than try to deal with one bottoming out/crashin ------------- Was that in there yesterday? Casper--WY windier than ? Down to a 20, soon to double or nothing |
Posted By: LakeCityReefs
Date Posted: January 05 2015 at 12:00am
| Ok I have left the tank now. The system is slowly adding alkalinity for the next several hours. I am already seeing the PH stabilize more than it has on any other night. The system will automatically stop dosing alk if the PH raises over 8.3. I will retest tomorrow evening. Thanks for the advice. |
Posted By: Crazy Tarzan
Date Posted: January 05 2015 at 7:21am
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You can also dose in addition to the doser. The doser should be able to keep up with the daily consumption, but if your lacking you can add calcium/alk/mag to bring levels up slowly. Don't change dkh more than .5 dkh/24 hrs, it can stress the stuff in the tank and cause probs with calcium, and don't change calcium more than 100ppm in 24hrs for same issues (drop alk, probs with tank stressing). However just your huge water volume can necessitate larger amounts of dosing to bring stuff in line. Try http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html" rel="nofollow - 2 part calculator ------------- Was that in there yesterday? Casper--WY windier than ? Down to a 20, soon to double or nothing |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: January 05 2015 at 3:25pm
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Because Alk and Ca supplements can have varying concentrations, because the use of Alk and Ca is dependent on the amount of and health of the animals and algae and because other variables can change Alk and Ca use at any time, any mathematical calculator is simply a generalization. Rather than use a calculator I set it up and do testing to see if what is being added is keeping levels up. BTW, to shoot for a level as high as 11 dKH could be counterproductive. Every tank is different and chasing numbers can be disastrous. This is a new tank, right? Not a lot of stony coral yet, right? You want it to be easy to maintain, right? Here is how I do it. Use a good quality 100% Aragonite sand, a bottom layer of Oolitic sand in the display and a 2-3" layer of Oolitic in the Refugium, the levels should stabilize at somewhere around 8-9 dkh and around 350-400 ppm Ca, without dosing any supplements. Dosing can then be set up to run a little to bring it slowly up to approximately 9-10 dKH and 400-450 ppm Ca. Slight variations from this are not a worry. Each tank is different. Dosing will need to be checked frequently for a while and adjusted as determined by testing, especially each time more coral is added to the system. There is no substitute for regular testing. Aloha, Mark
 ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: LakeCityReefs
Date Posted: January 05 2015 at 9:25pm
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I tested again just now and came up with the same results as before I started the dosing. I think I will keep testing every night this week around 8 pm and see if it holds steady. If it holds steady I'm fine with Cal. 400 DKH 10.5 Yes Mark there are stony corals in the tank but not many for its size. The setup was started with 200 lbs. Aragalive sand. 100 lbs live marco, 100 lbs mixed live, 40 lbs live real reef rock. 30 lbs dry rubble in the 70 gallon sump. I'll take Tarzan's advice and just manually dose if I decide to raise it. Fingers crossed that I've found a steady amount for the time being. |