2 part dosing

[rbargante]

Hi. Is possible to dose 2 part dosing without testing 1 time per week ?  ( just to help coraline growth) 

Doing water changes every Sunday.  20gal tank, ai prime led. 

Thank you in advance 

 

[SaltyBuddha]

Nope. You actually want to test everyday for a 1 week to get the initial dosages. After that you need to test at least once a week to make sure you are still on track.

 

Coralline will come with time. Better to be patient than to rush and mess up your tanks equilibrium. 

 

"Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank."

[rbargante]

Thak you for the information 

[SaltyBuddha]

4 minutes ago, rbargante said:

Thak you for the information 

Of course! Ive learned a lot from the people on this forum. Just waiting for the day when I can get a bigger tank and put it all to use 

[seabass]

You might be able to drip in some Kalkwasser at night without weekly testing.  You still want to spot check magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium levels; but Kalk won't likely elevate your levels enough to become problematic.  Make sure your magnesium levels aren't low or you might experience more precipitation.

 

However, I actually find dosing Kalkwasser to be a pain.  Some people add the effluent to their auto top off.  However, exposure to air makes it less effective.  It raises pH, so it is often drip dosed at night.  It can also affect your pumps and sand bed.  You will need to research it, if you are planning to use it.

 

I know people have used Purple Up without testing, but I wouldn't recommend it.  The best way to encourage coralline is to make sure your phosphate levels are good, as well as magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium.  If you have stony corals, you will have to dose two part and/or pick a decent reef salt mix.

 

 

[rbargante]

Thanks seabass. I just starting the tank. I want soft corals and just 1 or fish. 

Thank you for your advice 

[TheBig053]

I actually dose Kalkwasser from my ATO and it's been very effective at keeping my Ca levels between 450-475 ppm. However, it doesn't do anything to help keep my Alk stable. I am currently manually dosing a buffer to help keep my Alk up/stable at around 8.4 dKH. I am about to begin dosing two part for Ca and Alk once I get around to calibrating the Jebao DP-4 I bought a week or two ago. I test Ca one to two times a week and Alk every other day since I began manually dosing. 

 

@seabass could you elaborate on the Kalkwasser dosing affecting the sand bed? I have heard of pumps being negatively impacted, but not the sand bed. Thanks!

[jahnje]

24 minutes ago, TheBig053 said:

I actually dose Kalkwasser from my ATO and it's been very effective at keeping my Ca levels between 450-475 ppm. However, it doesn't do anything to help keep my Alk stable. I am currently manually dosing a buffer to help keep my Alk up/stable at around 8.4 dKH. I am about to begin dosing two part for Ca and Alk once I get around to calibrating the Jebao DP-4 I bought a week or two ago. I test Ca one to two times a week and Alk every other day since I began manually dosing. 

 

@seabass could you elaborate on the Kalkwasser dosing affecting the sand bed? I have heard of pumps being negatively impacted, but not the sand bed. Thanks!

So you have something in your system that consumes more alk than ca? most of the time you can just does KW and be fine. I've seen that you can does too fast and cause imbalance issues, but for the most part KW should be fine. Obviously 2 part gives you more control, but I'm curious why you KW doesn't work well enough for you? Not a criticism, just honestly curious. 

[seabass]

23 minutes ago, TheBig053 said:

could you elaborate on the Kalkwasser dosing affecting the sand bed?

@TheBig053, my understanding is the elevated pH facilitates calcite precipitation which may cause it to cake/cement together.  This primarily affects new sand without a bacterial film on it.

[TheBig053]

Just now, jahnje said:

So you have something in your system that consumes more alk than ca? most of the time you can just does KW and be fine. I've seen that you can does too fast and cause imbalance issues, but for the most part KW should be fine. Obviously 2 part gives you more control, but I'm curious why you KW doesn't work well enough for you? Not a criticism, just honestly curious. 

You and me both. I did discover that my salt mix for water changes was only mixing 7 dKH in a fresh batch at 1.026 salinity. So it was low to begin with but would drop down into the 6's a few days after a water change. Now to figure out why the freshly mixed saltwater is only mixing 7 dKH. The manufacturer claims it should mix to between 8-9 dKH at 1.026, so perhaps my refractometer is not calibrated correctly. I calibrate it before each use, using the calibration solution available on Amazon. I suppose the calibration solution could be bad or the refractometer itself could have a defect. I am taking a sample of freshly mixed water and my refractometer up to my LFS today to get a second opinion. 

[jahnje]

2 minutes ago, TheBig053 said:

You and me both. I did discover that my salt mix for water changes was only mixing 7 dKH in a fresh batch at 1.026 salinity. So it was low to begin with but would drop down into the 6's a few days after a water change. Now to figure out why the freshly mixed saltwater is only mixing 7 dKH. The manufacturer claims it should mix to between 8-9 dKH at 1.026, so perhaps my refractometer is not calibrated correctly. I calibrate it before each use, using the calibration solution available on Amazon. I suppose the calibration solution could be bad or the refractometer itself could have a defect. I am taking a sample of freshly mixed water and my refractometer up to my LFS today to get a second opinion. 

That is weird.  I'd think you could compensate by adding baking soda when you mix your salt, then use kalkwasser to maintain things in your ato. How's your Ca in the freshly mixed? Low as well?  I've heard of bad salt out there as well.  

 

I don't think you should have to re-calibrate your refractometer before each use though, or is this a digital one?    Just some ro/di or distilled water should work.

[TheBig053]

No, not digital. I recalibrate before each use out of an abundance of caution I guess. I'd say its 50/50 that it actually needs to be recalibrated. I haven't checked the Ca levels yet because it hasn't been an issue. I will though just as an added data point.