Dosing with B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System

[Spasticat]

OK, I've had a 12 gal JBJ nano-cube for about 5 months now.

 

Here is the tank 3 months in:

 

Here is the tank 4 months in:

 

Here it the tank today:

 

Up until now, I haven't tested water parameters beyond Nitrate and Nitrite...

 

Now I have begun testing for Calcium and Alkalinity. I want to keep better track of the chemical balance... and I really want some coralline algae.

 

After a water change, I normally add 3 mg of both parts of the B-Ionic Calcium buffer (2 weeks ago in the "dark ages" I just added liquid calcium). Then I add 2 ml Strontium M and .5 ml Iodine.

 

Since I'm sick of guessing at all this... I'm going to tell you all what my current parameters are, and I'm hoping some of you will tell me how to correctly dose it moving forward (with the chemicals I have)

 

June 1, 2004

Salinity: 1.024

Nitrate: 0

Nitrite: 0

Alk: 3.0 meq/L or 8.4 dKH

Cal: 525 mg/1*

 

...The Calcium test I have (Seatest), makes me drop until the tube turns "pure blue." I have no idea the difference between murky purple and pure blue... so I gave a high estimate.

 

So... how should I dose the tank after my water test??

???

[fuka]

AWESOME looking tank man i would love to know the specs on that thing i just bought a lil aquapro ao15 i think its like the jbj over in the US should be setting it up at work soon...

 

about the coralline algae...in my tank at home i only use to do weekly water changes but then i started to add iodine, calcium and magnesium and upgraded my flow in the tank then coralline algae is growing like crazy its encrusting the LR the sand bed and plastic in the tank...

 

so if any of that info helps lol jus wat i did n BOOM its off...

[Spasticat]

I guess my question is how do I correctly dose calcium in a 12 gal with 2 pt. B-IONIC?

[coral reef]

you must test on a day by day basis and monitor how many ml you need to dose of each to get good cal and alk readings

[Spasticat]

get serious

[don.earnest]

He is serious. There's no easy answer. It depends on the quality of your water, what livestock you have in your tank, how much trace elements they need, consumed calcium, iodide, your lighting conditions, your filteration conditions, how much LR, LS, etc., etc.

 

You don't have to do it every day for the rest of the tanks life, but that's the only way you can determine exactly how much you'll need to get the levels you're seeking. Once you figure it out, you can back off on the testing, until you add something else.

[ninhsavestheday]

just dose whatever it says on the bottle. thats what i do.. keeps mine at 450.

[ninhsavestheday]

525.. thats high.. you might be putting 2 many drops.

[Spasticat]

How often should I be dosing the 2 pt system?? I'll test again tonite and post the results.

[corey0613]

i agree that the only way to accurately dose is by daily tests and trial doses in the beginning. it only took me 2 weeks to figure that my 25 gal that is loaded with SPS needs 15 ml of each daily.

 

your calcium is too high and your alk could come up a bit. if you just dose small amounts of the alk for a few days it will remedy your problem.

 

if you dont lower your calcium you run the risk of it calcium carbonate precipitating in the tank and covering everything in white. you should really read up on the relationship between CA and Alk and how to avoid serious problems when dosing.

 

personally if i were you, with the livestock that you have, i would just stick to weekly water changes. its not like you have any corals that are demanding the high ca and alk need for calcification. youll probably just end up throwing your parameters out of whack. just my opinion

 

again there is no set time frame for dosing. you dose when your tank needs it. for some tanks its everyday, and for others its once a week. depends on your livestock.

[playful1]

You want coralline...use weiss reef dna...I dose 2 part every morning, however I have a ph meter so I can better determine the dose.