dosing help newbie

stevediaz1 · Feb 7, 2016

i just got my kamoer 3 channel doser calibrated stand I'm ready to do the math and see how much to dose cy levels currently are calcium at 380 magnesium at 1150 alkalinity at 8.5 and i want them at ca,450-mg,1350-alk,9.5 so I'm using redsea foundation ABC my question is

1. where can i find a dosing calculator that recognizes redsea products and tell me how much to dose using redsea products?
2. should i start with one element to dose/stabilize then go on to the next and so on or do i dose all three at once?
3. whats the most i can raise each level per day with out causing any harm to my corals

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 7, 2016

While one can calculate what is needed to add in this one particular instance to get to your target, one cannot then know anything about how much it would need to be dosed tomorrow or the next day to maintain those levels without further measurements over time.

Before we got to those corrections, let's make sure the current numbers are correct and the salinity is optimal. You low value for magnesium has me concerned about this, and it may be easiest to raise magnesium by raising salinity.

What salt mix are you using and what do you think the salinity or specific gravity is (and how was that measured)?

stevediaz1 · Feb 7, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
While one can calculate what is needed to add in this one particular instance to get to your target, one cannot then know anything about how much it would need to be dosed tomorrow or the next day to maintain those levels without further measurements over time.

Before we got to those corrections, let's make sure the current numbers are correct and the salinity is optimal. You low value for magnesium has me concerned about this, and it may be easiest to raise magnesium by raising salinity.

What salt mix are you using and what do you think the salinity or specific gravity is (and how was that measured)?

well i try and keep it at 1.025 i use redsea coral pro sat i started mixing my own salt recently and i check it with a redsea refractometer i do water changes every sunday more or less about 10 gallons

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 7, 2016

IMO, at that sg using Red Sea Coral Pro, the magnesium is likely higher than you measured. Red Sea claims it is closer to 1400 ppm for that specific gravity. So I would not look to supplement it at the moment. Which magnesium kit?

As to boosting the alkalinity, using this calculator and the entry for B-ionic Original and you'll be pretty close the the potency of Red Sea Foundation B. Use just a bit less than the calculator suggests.

stevediaz1 · Feb 8, 2016

I'm using salifert to measure ca,alk,mg

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 8, 2016

OK, so I'm not sure why you are getting such low magnesium readings or whether they are real or not.

Did you recently calibrate the refractometer?

stevediaz1 · Feb 8, 2016

i just did all my test yesterday and I'm showing i have ammonia .25 why nitrite 0 and my nitrates are .25 as well i could understand why my nitrates are high i have to do water changes but my tank is a little over 3 months know i have 50 pounds of live rock & i have 2 1/2 inches of livesand 30 inches long x 9 inches wide i also put some ehiem biological filtration balls in my AIO sump to help with the ammonia shouldn't the ammonia be part be done already since my tank has cycled already? and also what should i do i have 2 filter socks on there and i change them every week with a fresh pair but i do tend to feed heavy witch i suspect is the problem flow is not a problem mp10 on a 30 inches long and the dual return nossle with spinsstreams on them I'm sorry guys especially mr farley but I'm getting really frustrated with and i need help please i really want to make this work i love this hobby

ammonia 0.25
nitrite o
nitrate 0.25
ph 8.0
ca 385
alk 8.6
mg 1140

stevediaz1 · Feb 8, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
OK, so I'm not sure why you are getting such low magnesium readings or whether they are real or not.

Did you recently calibrate the refractometer?

3 days ago but with rodi and i placed it at 0 is that ok

stevediaz1 · Feb 8, 2016

i just purchased this to calibrate my refractometer is ok 53.0 mS standardized fluid for calibrating the PINPOINT® Salinity Monitor with conversion chart

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 8, 2016

For the Red Sea Seawater Refractometer, RO/DI will be perfect if the refractometer is perfectly made.

The 53 mS/cm fluid (assuming the solution is perfectly made) will be perrfect for 35 ppt calibration, even if the refractometer is not perfectly made. So I'd use the new solution.

stevediaz1 · Feb 9, 2016

hello again mr farley did you get a chance to see my levels i posted earlier whats up with that ammonia at 3months 2 weeks in the tank i also checked my phosphate levels with hannah checker TWICE i got 0.00 with a margin that hannah has at 0.40 or is it? 0.04 is the green hair algae perhaps of my heavy feeding? ill post a video on youtube and ill forward the link

stevediaz1 · Feb 9, 2016

stevediaz1 said:
hello again mr farley did you get a chance to see my levels i posted earlier whats up with that ammonia at 3months 2 weeks in the tank i also checked my phosphate levels with hannah checker TWICE i got 0.00 with a margin that hannah has at 0.40 or is it? 0.04 is the green hair algae perhaps of my heavy feeding? ill post a video on youtube and ill forward the link

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 10, 2016

stevediaz1 said:
hello again mr farley did you get a chance to see my levels i posted earlier whats up with that ammonia at 3months 2 weeks in the tank i also checked my phosphate levels with hannah checker TWICE i got 0.00 with a margin that hannah has at 0.40 or is it? 0.04 is the green hair algae perhaps of my heavy feeding? ill post a video on youtube and ill forward the link

The stated uncertainty of the HI736 is +/- 0.0015 ppm and the HI713 is +/- 0.04 ppm.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 10, 2016

I might suggest getting a fish or other organism that eats algae.

Algae takes up N and P, so even if those seem low, they may be low because the algae is taking it up.

Still intercepting phosphate with something like GFO before the algae gets it can be a good plan.