Dosing ?

[562newb]

Want to start 2 part dosing soon on my 40g breeder , but want to gather as much info as I can first. I been testing ever other day to see how much trace minerals are being consumed; alk, calcium.I wanted to know after a water change do you guys still dose the same daily amount? Or is their no dosing on water change days ?

[Urchinhead]

Yes. Dose the same after a water change.

[reefer916]

I water change every day in my 24 gallon and dose 2-Parts Kent Nano, which has other trace elements. I also have to dose additional Ca and Mg daily to maintain proper water parameters. However, it depends on your bio-load.

[violinist]

Dose the change water, otherwise you are diluting the tank concentrations you've gone to the trouble of testing for.

 

eta: dose the change water based on the volume of the change water (in case that wasn't obvious).

[562newb]

what if my change water is at correct levels, in other wordsnl where I want them to be

[lakshwadeep]

Most water change water has all the correct levels because it hasn't been used in the tank. In this respect, you can see that most quality salt mixes are very similar in composition. You only need to dose when the water changes are not sufficiently replenishing specific compounds, which means you should see how the levels change between water changes and if there is a net decrease.

 

This is a good guide to reef supplementation (read the links under the methods section):

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

[timdanger]

Most water change water has all the correct levels because it hasn't been used in the tank. In this respect, you can see that most quality salt mixes are very similar in composition. You only need to dose when the water changes are not sufficiently replenishing specific compounds, which means you should see how the levels change between water changes and if there is a net decrease.

 

This is a good guide to reef supplementation (read the links under the methods section):

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

 

it really is just that simple. i don't know why people want to argue about this.

[farkwar]

it really is just that simple. i don't know why people want to argue about this.

 

What is being depleted so rapidly on a nano tank that it needs to be dosed in the first place?

That can't be repleted with a good high Ca reef salt mix with water changes.

 

I really do have to see pics of these tanks.

 

 

Just because dosing is needed on large tanks(100g+) does not mean that nanos need to be dosed.

They have to do it because the cost of frequent 20% water changes is cost and time prohibitive.

That is not so for nanos.

[nano427]

What is being depleted so rapidly on a nano tank that it needs to be dosed in the first place?

That can't be repleted with a good high Ca reef salt mix with water changes.

 

I really do have to see pics of these tanks.

 

 

Just because dosing is needed on large tanks(100g+) does not mean that nanos need to be dosed.

They have to do it because the cost of frequent 20% water changes is cost and time prohibitive.

That is not so for nanos.

 

I think the reason us nano guys have to dose is because we try to cram in the same amount of corals into a small tank as do the guys with 100g tanks.

[lakshwadeep]

But dosing depends enormously on the type of corals. There are many "fully stocked" nano tanks that don't need dosing because of their coral selection.

[farkwar]

I think the reason us nano guys have to dose is because we try to cram in the same amount of corals into a small tank as do the guys with 100g tanks.

 

I did some quick calculations.

You would need to be producing 5g of skeleton or shell material a week, to deplete the usable Ca in a good reef salt mix, in a 30G tank, with 5G a week water change.

 

Nano427, are your corals really growing that fast?.

 

I will post my numbers and calculations, for error corrections if asked.

I almost posted it, but deleted it and saved it because it was tedious to read.

[reefer916]

What is being depleted so rapidly on a nano tank that it needs to be dosed in the first place?

That can't be repleted with a good high Ca reef salt mix with water changes.

 

I really do have to see pics of these tanks.

 

 

Just because dosing is needed on large tanks(100g+) does not mean that nanos need to be dosed.

They have to do it because the cost of frequent 20% water changes is cost and time prohibitive.

That is not so for nanos.

 

Here's a pic of mine. Damn thing drinks Ca, Mg, and Alk. I do daily 1-2 gallon water changes and a 5 gallon water change weekly with RC and I still have to dose 2-parts, Ca, and Mg. I've tried a week of water changes without dosing and my Ca dropped to 370, my Mg dropped to 1100, Alk went down to 8. The consumption's always changing because I keep adding more SPS.

[timdanger]

What is being depleted so rapidly on a nano tank that it needs to be dosed in the first place?

That can't be repleted with a good high Ca reef salt mix with water changes.

 

I really do have to see pics of these tanks.

 

 

Just because dosing is needed on large tanks(100g+) does not mean that nanos need to be dosed.

They have to do it because the cost of frequent 20% water changes is cost and time prohibitive.

That is not so for nanos.

 

i have to dose my tank every other day, both alk and ca, or else it drops quickly.

 

it's 40g, but it's not super-heavily stocked.

[timdanger]

I did some quick calculations.

You would need to be producing 5g of skeleton or shell material a week, to deplete the usable Ca in a good reef salt mix, in a 30G tank, with 5G a week water change.

 

Nano427, are your corals really growing that fast?.

 

I will post my numbers and calculations, for error corrections if asked.

I almost posted it, but deleted it and saved it because it was tedious to read.

 

macroalgae? skimming? other inverts? lots of things could be consuming/depleting any number of elements.

 

we're not generalizing saying "dosing is necessary" -- we're just saying see what your test results come back with. you are generalizing saying it's not necessary. i guess my question is, why are you trying to argue with people's testing results?

[farkwar]

macroalgae? skimming? other inverts? lots of things could be consuming/depleting any number of elements.

 

we're not generalizing saying "dosing is necessary" -- we're just saying see what your test results come back with. you are generalizing saying it's not necessary. i guess my question is, why are you trying to argue with people's testing results?

I'm not arguing with testing results. There are none.

 

The op stated simply "I want to start dosing 2 part..."

 

And what I am saying is that for a Newbie new tank, that frequent water changes with reef salt that is already supplemented with more than enough Ca to replete Ca in a nano system.

If Ca is below 400 by all means dose, or ALK is 4. 2 part is pretty safe.

 

I would suggest putting the money for dosing equipment into livestock first.

A heavily stocked sps or clam tank IS going to burn up Ca. I just don't think that the OP has one of those. From his post, do you think he does?

[562newb]

I don't have clams , I do have alotbof softies , a few sps, and a few lps. I also run a skimmer , I been testing every other day and my results are : ca is dropping 10 ppm per day and alk is dropping .5 dkh a day, I do my 5 gal water changes every week, same day. My levels do back to where I want them ca 440, and 9 kh, should I just do my water changes more frequently instead? Maybe every 5 days, instead of every 7 days?

[reefer916]

I don't have clams , I do have alotbof softies , a few sps, and a few lps. I also run a skimmer , I been testing every other day and my results are : ca is dropping 10 ppm per day and alk is dropping .5 dkh a day, I do my 5 gal water changes every week, same day. My levels do back to where I want them ca 440, and 9 kh, should I just do my water changes more frequently instead? Maybe every 5 days, instead of every 7 days?

 

There are a few different ways you could do it. Increase the frequency of water changes, until your Ca and Alk stablize or you could just dose a little. If it's a consistent drop and your other water params, such as, Phosphate, nitrates, ammonia, nitrites, etc. are within acceptable levels then I'd just dose a little. It won't take much.. However, if your running into excess nutrients, as well as, the depleted trace elements I'd do more frequent water changes. There are different ways to running a reef system and one way that works for us doesn't mean that you have to do it our way. Try the different methods over a period of time and you'll figure out what's best for your situation and system.

 

For my 24 gallon I like to do 1-2 gallon daily water changes and a 4-5 gallon weekly water change. Keep in mind that I do get busy some days and end up skipping my daily water change, but I usually make up for it the next day. In addition, I thought that the daily water changes were enough to replenish the used trace elements, but after a few weeks I realized that I still needed to dose. I've been doing the daily water changes for about a year or so without any problems. I have different maintainence schedules for my 95 and 12 gallon because they require different levels of care. Anyways, I hope this is helpful and try dosing or increased water changes and see what works for you. Good luck