Auto doser.... SPS now dying

[paddyob]

Well i officially regret adding the doser I bought.

My SPS are dying off. Quite choked.

Doser. Off.

Should have kept to my principles of simplicity.

My green plate. German blue digi. Lavender digi. Orange digi.

Well for what time I saved, I upset the balance.

Marine magic my butt.

Did you overdose?

[Stones]

I purchased the same doser and couldn't be happier. After one little adjustment mine has been working perfect since the get go.

I noticed that these dosers work better on speed 4 for a short duration of time rather than speed 3 or less for a longer period. Mine was heating up the peristaltic tubing and causing a black film to form on the surface and flake off down towards my sump. Once I adjusted the pump interval to be shorter for a higher speed, it's been working great.

Another observation I had with my doser was that the dosing amount listed in the manual wasn't even close to what my actual doser was pumping. I was using a shorter length of tubing than what the book said so my pump was actually pumping way more fluid than the max dosing rate listed in the book. I simply collected all of the fluid being dosed from the 3 pumps in containters and measured it after a full 24 hour period. I took 3 or 4 days to get the dosages figured out proprely but if you went by what the manual said, you are likely overdosing. Overdosing Ca or Mg isn't such a big deal but an overdose of Alk will lead to a rapid decline in all of your corals health.

Hopefully you can figure out what the problem is but I'd start off by collecting all of fluids being dosed to make sure that is accurate and also check your tank parameters as well. My guess would be your Alk levels are too high.

[MMAX]

Maybe should have spent the extra $ and went with the Profilux GHL.

[TimT]

A couple of things.

The GHL units are very easy to use and if necessary repair/upgrade.

I have found that the calcium demand of aquariums can fluctuate if there has been a disturbance to the equilibrium of the tank. ie Temperature fluctuation, lighting fluctuation. This is why I check Ca, Alk and Mg every 3 days and adjust as necessary.

Cheers,
Tim

[MarkoD]

I'll buy your doser if you wish to sell

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by Cugio

Did you overdose?

When test I get normal results. That's what's funny.

I wonder if the dosing is creating PH swings.

Would ph swings hurt SPS yet not my other corals In the same manner?

[daniella3d]

must be something else. YOu would need major swing that would be obvious in tests, not what you mention.

Maybe you should test for something else, like copper.

I have had my aquarium for 2 years and half and I never checked the PH, and I am sure it is all over the place, because my KH sometimes get low, but yet my SPS are doing great. Only time I had die off and bleachign when when I used Kent carbon with copper and contaminated my tank.

It took 2 months to recover and it is still not as it was before.

If anything, dosing one large single dose will create far more swing, and dosing with a pump had brought real stability to my tank. I don't see how dosing a single dose could be any better, quite the opposite.

Originally Posted by paddyob

When test I get normal results. That's what's funny.

I wonder if the dosing is creating PH swings.

Would ph swings hurt SPS yet not my other corals In the same manner?

[paddyob]

Copper test negative.

I have dosed bulk for six years. This issue started when the doser began it's work. Anyone who has seen my tank knows it does great. Until now.


Ph is fine, as mentioned.

Originally Posted by daniella3d

must be something else. YOu would need major swing that would be obvious in tests, not what you mention.

Maybe you should test for something else, like copper.

I have had my aquarium for 2 years and half and I never checked the PH, and I am sure it is all over the place, because my KH sometimes get low, but yet my SPS are doing great. Only time I had die off and bleachign when when I used Kent carbon with copper and contaminated my tank.

It took 2 months to recover and it is still not as it was before.

If anything, dosing one large single dose will create far more swing, and dosing with a pump had brought real stability to my tank. I don't see how dosing a single dose could be any better, quite the opposite.

[paddyob]

I'll test the water today and post results.