How do you know when it is time to start dosing? - Page 2

tmz · 06/19/2018, 10:12 AM

Ideally alk should be kept constant. I'm not clear about the alk level in the water added during a water change. If it is a lot higher or lower than the tank water levels, it could be part of the problem. 20% water changes per week is a lot. I personally do 1% per day with a salt in the 9 dkh range and keep my system in the mid 8's, primarily via limewater(kalk) ) dosing.

cedwards04 · 06/19/2018, 07:13 PM

My hanna checkers came in today. I pulled a water sample and set it aside for when i get a little extra time to test everything. I did do a 20% waterchange yesterday. I also tested my alk today using the red sea kit and the hanna checker.

Red sea = 8.1dkh
Hanna = 7.5dkh

I will check ca using both tests as soon as i get a chance. Possibly later tonight or tomorrow.

cedwards04 · 06/20/2018, 03:52 PM

Checked my ca from the water sample yesterday.
Red sea =450ppm
Hanna =447ppm

bertoni · 06/20/2018, 08:24 PM

Now that's a very close match.

They might not always be so close, but that's a good sign. Those numbers all are fine.

cedwards04 · 06/21/2018, 05:34 AM

I think i am going to dose some soda ash to bring the alk up to around 9 or 10dkh depending on how the corals respond. I plan to do it a little each day over the next couple of weeks and see if i can accelerate the growth a little.

bertoni · 06/21/2018, 11:56 AM

Okay, that seems fine. You might need to chart growth for a few weeks or more to get some idea of the possible effect, though.

cedwards04 · 06/21/2018, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni

Okay, that seems fine. You might need to chart growth for a few weeks or more to get some idea of the possible effect, though.

I have been taking pics to document growth fairly regularly so i am hoping i will be able to see if anything changes.

I started dosing the tank today. I used some brs soda ash i got from a friend and used the brs calculator. For my tank size, it recommended 37ml to raise 1dkh. So i split it in half and dosed 18ml, waited 30 min and checked, dkh rose by 0.5dkh. So i went ahead and dosed another 18ml, waited 30min again, and it rose another 0.4dkh for a total of 0.9dkh. I am going to stop there and just monitor the tank for a few days and see how things respond. If all seems well, i will do another 38ml and see what happens.

bertoni · 06/21/2018, 06:09 PM

Okay, I'm glad the dosage worked so well. Please keep us posted!

06/19/2018, 10:12 AM	#26
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	Ideally alk should be kept constant. I'm not clear about the alk level in the water added during a water change. If it is a lot higher or lower than the tank water levels, it could be part of the problem. 20% water changes per week is a lot. I personally do 1% per day with a salt in the 9 dkh range and keep my system in the mid 8's, primarily via limewater(kalk) ) dosing. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.

06/20/2018, 08:24 PM	#29
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Now that's a very close match. They might not always be so close, but that's a good sign. Those numbers all are fine. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/21/2018, 11:56 AM	#31
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Okay, that seems fine. You might need to chart growth for a few weeks or more to get some idea of the possible effect, though. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/21/2018, 06:09 PM	#33
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Okay, I'm glad the dosage worked so well. Please keep us posted! __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/19/2018, 07:13 PM	#27
cedwards04 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 217	My hanna checkers came in today. I pulled a water sample and set it aside for when i get a little extra time to test everything. I did do a 20% waterchange yesterday. I also tested my alk today using the red sea kit and the hanna checker. Red sea = 8.1dkh Hanna = 7.5dkh I will check ca using both tests as soon as i get a chance. Possibly later tonight or tomorrow.

06/20/2018, 03:52 PM	#28
cedwards04 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 217	Checked my ca from the water sample yesterday. Red sea =450ppm Hanna =447ppm

06/21/2018, 05:34 AM	#30
cedwards04 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 217	I think i am going to dose some soda ash to bring the alk up to around 9 or 10dkh depending on how the corals respond. I plan to do it a little each day over the next couple of weeks and see if i can accelerate the growth a little.