Maintaining Levels in Tank

[Potatohead]

Originally Posted by gmann

sorry I didn't want to start another thread so since it was related figured id post here:

in terms of dosing would this be the correct procedure?

1. once calibrated, test params and use reef calculator to figure out how much is needed to reach desired levels
2. set dosing amounts
3. after monthly water change, re-test and reset dosing amounts based on new params
4. repeat step 3 after every water change?

not sure if I have a bad batch or not, but I noticed my aq reef salt produces a low ca. i am going to open another box, although I bet they will be part of same batch. Also considering H2Ocean since it has higher CA levels.

FOr the first week or two I would be checking alk daily and the other stuff every 2-3 days until you are confident it is dosing correct amounts. Even after that I would still check alk almost daily and everything else once a week or so.

[gmann]

Originally Posted by Potatohead

FOr the first week or two I would be checking alk daily and the other stuff every 2-3 days until you are confident it is dosing correct amounts. Even after that I would still check alk almost daily and everything else once a week or so.

thanks I will do this.

[DKoKoMan]

You should be able to maintain your levels with the doser without much issue. Eventually when/if the tank demand gets too high, you may need to reevaluate or get creative.

[gmann]

yeah just trying to figure how to dose properly before I run out and buy it this weekend.

[tang daddy]

Not sure what salt you use but I use IO and AF

IO we all know is low in mg and ca alk closer to 9.5 and above
When I do a 25g wc with this salt I add about 6 tbsp of calcium chloride to buffer the ca closer to 460. Mg I don't bother as my tank was reading above 1800

For AF salt I don't add any chems.

I think once you have figured out how much your tank consumes daily then checking alk weekly same with ca and mg is fine. As long as you're starting off with a base line dose you can tweak the cycle.

I am currently dosing 7ml of sodium bicarbonate 14 times per day of my solution as its quite diluted tho about 8tbsp to 2.5 l of water. The reason for spreading the doses is it will raise ph and in a smaller systems of 100g it can rise quite quickly if dosing larger amounts in less doses.

Everyone's tank is different and consumes less or more so should test new batch of SW mix to see where your params are then add to it to get it as close to the tank params. Most people aren't too fussy but that will help your params to stay more stable.

Now I am testing every week and a half and the alk is always rock steady at 8.5 ca above 420 and mg 13ish.

I am actually more concerned with making sure po4 is low so my tank will uptake more ca

[DKoKoMan]

Nice information tang daddy.