Kent Marine Aqua Dose 1400 Delivery System

[Nano_Nate]

Kent Marine Aqua Dose 1400 Delivery System

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Im not having a skimmer on my 10 gallon but do i need this!!!!

[fishbabies]

I have one.....I don't think i have ever spent that much on a plastic bottle in my life.....EVER!!! But I do use it every day. You can make one yourself for about $5. I just know something would go wrong if i had an automatic powered top-off system.

[Nano_Nate]

so would i need it?

[Vincerama]

No, you don't need it.

 

You can dose kalk just as well using a 2l plastic soda bottle, some airline tubing and an airline tubing valve.

 

I used a peanut butter jar, with the airline tubing siliconed near the bottom of it. Works pretty good.

 

V

[blk_g20]

i fabricated one myselfm, with a plastic jar and silicone and airline valve as well. jar was free, tubing was free, silicone was free, and those plastic valves and 5 for $2 or so. i tried it last night and it seem to work just fine.

[Nano_Nate]

what do i put in the bottle...

[seabass]

Just put in RO/DI water if you are using it to top of your evaporated water. If you are using it to dose Kalkwasser, put in RO/DI water with Kalkwasser. This is a gravity fed siphon so you will need to sit or hang this container up higher than your tank.

[Nano_Nate]

Im just starting a Nano Reef and im guess im not getting what dosing does and how do do it and if i really need one?...can some one kinda explain it better in depth!! thankx

[fishbabies]

as your water evaporates, you are left with a greater salt to water ratio. so depending on your rate of evaporation, a worse case scenario would be that your SG could climb from 1.024 to 1.027 in one day. where i live it is warm and dry and i agitate the water surface a lot....so i get lots of evap. i also leave on the weekends which is why i went with the Kent Aquadose as opposed to something automated that could malfunction....my own paranoia. i bought the aquadose because it has a drip counter....a small clear bottle the size of a battery midway down the tube that lets you count how many drips per second(s) you are getting....and an easy adjust tube pincher to control that rate. you can get both of these things at some pharmacies and med supply places if you DIY. i had a DIY model, but i couldn't control my drip rate as precisely.

 

Dosing refers to slowly adding certain additives to your tank so as not to stress your livestock. Dosing Kalkwasser too fast for instance will cause your pH to change too suddenly. or just dumping 2 cups of freshwater to top off a 10 gallon will make the SG change too quicly and stress your livestock.....many snails and stars in particular can die this way. you can also use a doser to acclimate new fish. dosing saves lives.

 

....imagine if you had to live the rest of your life aboard a jetliner and the captain was lazy so he just pressurized and depressurized the cabin with the flip of a switch instead of regulating the pressure slowly.....sad!!!

[Nano_Nate]

My Fish only tank doesnt evvorate hardly at all...if it doesnt evaporate do i still need a Aquadose?

[Nano_Nate]

Dose an Aquadose basiccally add saltwater automatical...so the level of water never go too low that the water gets saltier?

[seabass]

When saltwater evaporates it loses water, but keeps the salt. Therefore you only need to add RO/DI water (without salt mix) to make up for the lost water.

 

However, when you do a partial water change, you are removing salt too, so you need to replace the water you changed with saltwater.

 

Continue to monitor your tank’s SG to ensure that it remains constant (I use 1.025 – some will say this is too low, others will say that it is too high).

[fishbabies]

the salt stays but the water evaporates.....only add freshwater. if you hardly have evap, and you don't take off for the weekend, then try researching a DIY water top off. anything that drips slowly will work. as you study corals or deal with algae outbreaks, dosing will become more important to you. kalkwasser , bicarbonates, and some additives are much better when added very slowly.....and most work better when diluted with freshwater. that's where slow dosing is useful...you can just sit your doser (whatever it is DIY or Kent's) on top of your hood or wherever, watch some tv, and then take the doser off when it is empty

[Nano_Nate]

So do you just fill the Aquadoser up with freshwater....cuz i get what you mean by saying that water evporates and salt satys so you should freshwater cuz saltwater would make it more salty. Whats kalkwasser ??.....and thatnk you very much for being patient with me..

[seabass]

Please don’t get us wrong, you do NOT need a doser (or DIY dripper or auto top off). However, they can be helpful and can reduce the stress of dosing or topping off.

 

Many people just slowly pour freshwater into their tanks to make up for the evaporation. You could pour it in your HOB if you want to help mix it in better. There is really nothing wrong with topping off this way. You should top off everyday if you can; as this will reduce the fluctuations in your tank’s salt content.

 

Yes, just fill the doser with enough freshwater to bring the level of your water to where you want it. Kalk is a calcium suppliment. However, you won't need to worry about it until you get some corals.

[Nano_Nate]

Seabass and Fishbabies you guys have been overwelmingly helpful and i thank you very much.

 

So, seabass are you saying that i dont need a doser all i have to do is watch the evaporation level and if it gets low fill it up with freshwater to make up for the water lost...correct?

 

But when i do get coral i know im going to need that calium supp. but that wont mean i need a doser..but could you just mix the calcium supp. with freshwater in the doser and set it for like a drop every min.

 

does that sound good!!??

[Nano_Nate]

so if im correct in the above satment is a doser for making sure the water level doesnt drop and get to salty and so you can add calium supp. to your coral through the dosing.

[fishbabies]

no worries....when you are just starting out, it all seems like so much info...and everyone wants to be assured they are getting the absolute best for their soon to be babies. i added freshwater by hand for 2 months....so you are in no rush. once you have corals or an algae outbreak (not the initial break-in algae, but outbreaks months down the road) kalkwasser (calcium hydroxide) will help promote coral growth while controlling algae and maintaining pH. it is basically calcium, and exists in seawater at around 400ppm. it is imperative that kalk be dosed slowly...and that's when a doser comes in handy. you have several weeks/months before you need to worry about all this tho :-)

[fishbabies]

btw...your salt mix will usually have all the calcium you need. when you have corals they will tend to exhaust calcium levels....and that's when you supplement them

[seabass]

Fishbabies, you beat me to the punch. Good information!

 

Nate - yes, top off everyday if you can, even if you are losing less than a cup of water.

 

Partial water changes help replenish the elements that your coral are using, but as you get more corals, they will consume more calcium than what you will be putting in. Therefore you will need to add supplements (dose).

 

Even then, you can get by without a doser, if you use a supplement like Seachem’s Reef Complete; however, Kalk should be dripped. The idea of a doser is to minimize the drastic changes to your tank’s water. Change = stress, which you should try to minimize.

 

You can usually add a supplement in your top off water (if you use a doser or not). This helps dilute the supplement which is good. Read up on supplements, there are plenty of threads on this forum about them. Only dose after your test kits indicate that you need to, and follow the directions on your supplements exactly.

 

I think you’ve got it.

[fishbabies]

hooray....i bet you'll have super healthy babies

mine aren't speaking to each other....sigh.....but that's another thread....