Dosing Additives
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=43779
Printed Date: August 21 2025 at 9:32am
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Topic: Dosing Additives
Posted By: PDoug
Subject: Dosing Additives
Date Posted: October 03 2010 at 8:25pm
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Okay so what does everybody dose with?
I am looking for;
Calcium
Mag
Iodine
PH
Alk
Vit C
Garlic ( I use this already just wondering what the masses use)
Vodka? Or other Carbon sources
Recipes are a wonderful thing as hopefully I will not be the only one to read this  ------------- (307)679-7898 Phillip Douglass 75 Gallon Reef Tank |
Replies:
Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: October 04 2010 at 12:00am
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well i only dose Ca, Mag, Alk and the rest is done by water changes, for me vodka is a dangerous thing if you dont own a powerful skimmer or know what you are doing
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Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: October 04 2010 at 12:12am
BRS for Ca, Mg, Alk. Vit C I use Sodium Ascorbate Crystalline Powder (buffered pH 7.1) made by NutriBiotic. As long as my Ca and Alk are good I don't care about my pH. As far as garlic, it is in the food I use which is the New Life Spectrum Thera +A. ------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
IcyP wrote:Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: October 04 2010 at 8:54am
For me it's testing before adding anything Alk ~10 dKH, Ca ~400 ppm, Mg ~1300 ppm If the test shows I need it, I add: #1 Alk - from 4 parts baking soda and 1 part soda ash, as much as will dissolve in RO water #2 Ca - from Driveway heat, as much as will dissolve in RO water #3 Mg - from Epsom salt, as much as will dissolve in RO water #4 Water changes, 10% every 1-2 months All my tanks are in the sun growing healthy algae and bugs, so that takes care of a lot of things such as Vitamin C. Too many hobbyists got themselves into trouble by testing pH and thinking that it needed to be raised with a chemical additive. The acceptable range for pH is 8.0 - 8.4. Just make sure Alk is right and optimize gas exchange, then ignore pH.  All of the above are ways to keep the water quality at optimum levels. Garlic is a healthy food supplement, a preventive measure to help keep fish from getting Ich. I use it in the frozen food if I see evidence of Ich or about once per month as a preventive. ------------- 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: Lewy
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 11:55am
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Mark,
#3 you said epsom salt. I was at costco yesterday and they are selling an icemelt made of magnesium cloride hexa hydrate is that the same stuff I've read in other places to help level out the sulfer from the epsom salt? Also where do you buy Driveway heat? ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 12:59pm
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It's not Epsom salt but, depending on the impurities, it may be usable for increasing Mg. I will check it out next time I'm at Costco. I'm thinking that the Magnesium Flake sold in health food stores may also be useful, because it is MgCl2. See this: http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Chloride-Flakes-2-2-35-27/dp/B002E62HXQ - http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Chloride-Flakes-2-2-35-27/dp/B002E62HXQ Driveway Heat should soon be available at HD, Lowes or even Walmart. Be sure to check the ingredients. It should be Calcium Chloride and nothing else. ------------- 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: Lewy
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 1:49pm
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Thanks. the stuff at costco is MgCl2 + 6H2O ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Luckedout
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 1:51pm
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+6 water?
------------- -Ben 90g Mixed reef www.body-balancechiropractic.com |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 1:55pm
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I know, I thought it was a bit odd myself. Perhapps I mis-read. I was supposed to be getting diapers down the same isle so I read it quickly. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Luckedout
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 2:01pm
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I'm curious as to what people feel is the most stable form of dosing. manual? 2 part? Kalk reactor? Calc Reactor? etc. I don't dose much current build but I'm looking to maybe do another build and I'm looking to find the best way to keep it stable with the least amount of effort on my part. lazy.... I know.
------------- -Ben 90g Mixed reef www.body-balancechiropractic.com |
Posted By: Jeffs_little_ocean
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 5:29pm
You will get a wide range opinions on what is best when it comes to dosing. Its more of a personal thing and what works best for you. I do find it interesting though that within the last month, i have read about on the board about:
1. An apex malfunction not shuttting off a Kalk reactor and destroying thousands of dollars in an sps showtank.
2. A short in a ph probe wire causing overdosing and melting 14 fish.
3. A bad controller dumping in way too much ozone (turned out to be a cheap MH bulb issue i think)
4. Several corals being killed by using purigen in a small nano tank.
Stories like this make me think I will probably just keep doing things manually and keep it as simple as possible. ------------- Life is good....right? |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 5:57pm
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+1 on keeping it simple ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: bugzme
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 6:21pm
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I believe a calcium reactor will keep things very stable ------------- Jeff 125 tank 50 gallon sump T-5 lighting Rum drinker, Carbon User I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!! |
Posted By: Luckedout
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 6:58pm
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I don't want to depend on a controller to turn things on and off so much as a gradual steady dosing that keeps things in line as they are depleted
------------- -Ben 90g Mixed reef www.body-balancechiropractic.com |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 7:19pm
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I do love my controller, but I think if you have one it's important to know how to use it to it's full potential and how to turn on fail-safes. I have been using a controller for quite a while now and it has saved my tank before. It also keeps things incredibly stable. The temp on my tank never varies more then 0.5 degrees (75.5-76.0), my calcium/alk stay right where they should be, and I never have pH problems. I think aside from the probe wire short, and the bulb problem the others mentioned were user error. Specifically the Apex not shutting off the kalk reactor. It was admitted that they never set alarms or shut off points, so that falls on the person; not the equipment. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 7:27pm
| I love kalk in all my top off water... so you don't have to worry about it over dosing from a controller... just add the amount needed to your top off resevoir |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 8:10pm
Calcium - BRS 2 part, daily Mag - BRS recipe, weekly Iodine - Lugol's Solution, 1 drop three times a week. Be careful with this one, too much and things will get pissed. PH - Have no clue where mine is but I know it is within range. DO NOT dose anything for this. Good oxygenation and steady alk will keep this in line. Alk - BRS 2 part, daily Vit C - never dosed this. Some people love it, I see no need for it. None of the tanks I like dose it. Garlic - Kent Garlic Xtreme. 1 drop to frozen food once a month or so. Vodka - Some bottom shelf cheap vodka, 80 proof. I am currently dosing 12 drops per day. Bacteria source - Brightwell Aquatics MicroBacter7. Just started this yesterday. I am dosing the low nutrient dosage. Strontium - Seachem Strontium. I dose a pinch a couple times a week. I added bacteria because I dose Vodka. I personally think you should be dosing a bacteria source if you are going to carbon source. Give the bacteria some carbon to eat. The good bacteria will out compete any bad bacteria for the carbon source. You might see some cyanobacteria at the beginning of carbon dosing but it goes away quick. edit - I wanted to add that if you are going to carbon dose, you need to RESEARCH it like crazy. You need to keep alk right around 8 or lower. If alk gets too high then you will burn the tips of your SPS and that can go bad real quick.
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Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: October 20 2010 at 8:21pm
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Calcium: Seachem Reef Builder Daily Mg: Kent Tech-M when levels get low Iodine: Kent Iodide 22 drops daily pH- Nothing Alk: Seachem Reef dKh Vit C: Kent Marin-C 7 cc's daily Garlic: Seachem Garlic guard with every feeding Strontium: Kent Strontium and Molybdenum 2x weekly I also dose: Kent Essential Elements 1x weekly Kent Coral Vite 1x Weekly Kent Coral Accel 1x Weekly Phyto 2x Weekly ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: jcom
Date Posted: October 22 2010 at 11:43am
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100G System Volume
Ca: BRS 2 part - Reef Doser every 12 hours to maintain 430 - 440 Ca
Alk: Arm&Hammer 2 part - Reef Doser every 3 hours to maintain Alk 7.7+/-
Mg: BRS Mg + Epsom (RFH 2 part) as needed
Vodka: 1ml daily
MB7: 7 drops daily
K: 5ml Daily
Iodide: 2ml Seachem Vibrance Daily
Sr: Seachem Strontium 1/2 tsp daily
WC: 10% every 2 weeks - Oceanic
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