How do I figure out how much to dose daily?

[harkey]

Hey guys, I’m just getting into dosing pumps but I’m quite confused on how to figure out how much do I need to dose daily.

I’ve attached an example and I want to know if that’s the right way to do it. Thank you!

 

[Lavey29]

You need to test alk for 3 days at the same time each day and determine your daily alk consumption. Then depending on what supplement you use their are online calculator to help determine daily dosing amounts. Alk and calcium typically get consumed proportionally but magnesium gets consumed at 1/10 the amount of the other 2.

 

[littlebeard]

An incredibly difficult question to answer without knowing what you are dosing and what corals you are keeping. While that math adds up it really only answers the alk question. What about calcium and magnesium? Trace elements?

There are a number of online calculators that you can use to check your math.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator
You talk about system volume, but what about the displacement from live rock/sand/equipment?


Some more notes that I have:

Don't assume alk consumption is linear. TEST OFTEN!

High PH can affect coral growth (increase) which in turn causes a higher alk demand. This is noticeable when windows are open during nice weather.

Don't raise alk more than .5 a day... slower is better. In fact unless it drops fast, I'd say no more than .1 if possible. (my personal preference and experience)

Dosing pumps aren't perfect. It's better to dose more often, with more volume than less often at smaller volumes. If possible dilute the solution and dose accordingly.

 

[Uncle99]

Hey guys, I’m just getting into dosing pumps but I’m quite confused on how to figure out how much do I need to dose daily.

I’ve attached an example and I want to know if that’s the right way to do it. Thank you!

The calculation you make is fine for the initial dose. CA I start dosing at same rate.
But you’ll need to test daily to fine tune those two.
Get the Alk Hanna checker, it will make that test fast, but the CA you can use most kits.

Don’t react to daily fluxes, look for trends and adjust based on those trends.

 

[harkey]

An incredibly difficult question to answer without knowing what you are dosing and what corals you are keeping. While that math adds up it really only answers the alk question. What about calcium and magnesium? Trace elements?

There are a number of online calculators that you can use to check your math.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator
You talk about system volume, but what about the displacement from live rock/sand/equipment?


Some more notes that I have:

Don't assume alk consumption is linear. TEST OFTEN!

High PH can affect coral growth (increase) which in turn causes a higher alk demand. This is noticeable when windows are open during nice weather.

Don't raise alk more than .5 a day... slower is better. In fact unless it drops fast, I'd say no more than .1 if possible. (my personal preference and experience)

Dosing pumps aren't perfect. It's better to dose more often, with more volume than less often at smaller volumes. If possible dilute the solution and dose accordingly.

My tank is filled with LPS corals, and I'm dosing Aquaforest KH buffer. My magnesium is steady at 1400, and calcium is at 400. I haven't done an ICP test for trace elements yet. The biggest issue I'm facing is alkalinity dropping a lot, while calcium stays fairly stable, and magnesium is where I want it to be. Thank you for the extra notes and advice, I really appreciate it!

 

[harkey]

You need to test alk for 3 days at the same time each day and determine your daily alk consumption. Then depending on what supplement you use their are online calculator to help determine daily dosing amounts. Alk and calcium typically get consumed proportionally but magnesium gets consumed at 1/10 the amount of the other 2.

Thank you! I will test for the next following days and see from there.

 

[harkey]

The calculation you make is fine for the initial dose. CA I start dosing at same rate.
But you’ll need to test daily to fine tune those two.
Get the Alk Hanna checker, it will make that test fast, but the CA you can use most kits.

Don’t react to daily fluxes, look for trends and adjust based on those trends.

I’ll check out the Hannah checker, thank you

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The biggest issue I'm facing is alkalinity dropping a lot, while calcium stays fairly stable, and magnesium is where I want it to be.

That’s normal. Relative consumption is about

2.8 dKH alkalinity
18-20 ppm calcium
Near zero to 2 ppm magnesium

So you always detect alk dropping most easily, even when all are being consumed proportionally.

 

[harkey]

That’s normal. Relative consumption is about

2.8 dKH alkalinity
18-20 ppm calcium
Near zero to 2 ppm magnesium

So you always detect alk dropping most easily, even when all are being consumed proportionally.

Thanks for the info! That makes sense now why I'm seeing the alkalinity drop more. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days to track my daily alk consumption and adjust my dosing based on that.

 

[Lavey29]

Thanks for the info! That makes sense now why I'm seeing the alkalinity drop more. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days to track my daily alk consumption and adjust my dosing based on that.

You also need to make sure salinity stays consistent becuase this can cause alk fluctuations too.

 

[harkey]

That’s normal. Relative consumption is about

2.8 dKH alkalinity
18-20 ppm calcium
Near zero to 2 ppm magnesium

So you always detect alk dropping most easily, even when all are being consumed proportionally.

I just tested my alkalinity right now and is it normal for my alk to go from 8.1dkh to 7dkh after a day? I have a lot of LPS and I do see coralline alagae growing in my tank could that be a factor as well? I use the salifert test kit for alk and fauna marin calcium and magnesium test kit.

Salinity = 1.026
PH = steady 8.2

Sept. 19
Alk = 8.1dkH
Calc = 435ppm
Mag = 1400ppm

Sept. 20
Alk = 7 dkH
Calc = 425 ppm
Mag = 1360ppm

 

[goosemans]

I just tested my alkalinity right now and is it normal for my alk to go from 8.1dkh to 7dkh after a day? I have a lot of LPS and I do see coralline alagae growing in my tank could that be a factor as well? I use the salifert test kit for alk and fauna marin calcium and magnesium test kit.

Salinity = 1.026
PH = steady 8.2

Sept. 19
Alk = 8.1dkH
Calc = 435ppm
Mag = 1400ppm

Sept. 20
Alk = 7 dkH
Calc = 425 ppm
Mag = 1360ppm

Seems to be typical consumption for a decently stocked tank. Do you have a picture of your tank? Im not sure if this has been mentioned but give some time between doses of alkalinity and calcium so they don’t precipitate.

 

[harkey]

Seems to be typical consumption for a decently stocked tank. Do you have a picture of your tank? Im not sure if this has been mentioned but give some time between doses of alkalinity and calcium so they don’t precipitate.

Yeah I’ve attached a picture of my tank. I do wait at least 20 mins before dosing mag or alk.

 

[goosemans]

Yeah I’ve attached a picture of my tank. I do wait at least 20 mins before dosing mag or alk.

Your tank looks very nice. Great job and good luck with your reef

 

[harkey]

Your tank looks very nice. Great job and good luck with your reef

Thank you!

 

[Lavey29]

Yeah I’ve attached a picture of my tank. I do wait at least 20 mins before dosing mag or alk.

With the amount of corals and size you should be dosing alk and cal daily and magnesium once a week

 

[harkey]

With the amount of corals and size you should be dosing alk and cal daily and magnesium once a week

I do dose weekly but now that i am getting a dosing pump im just trying to figure out how much to dose daily. I've never really paid attention how much my tank consumes daily back then but nowim trying to figure it out. So it normal for my alkalinity to go from 8.1dkh to 7dkh after a day? Just trying to confirm!

 

[Lavey29]

I do dose weekly but now that i am getting a dosing pump im just trying to figure out how much to dose daily. I've never really paid attention how much my tank consumes daily back then but nowim trying to figure it out. So it normal for my alkalinity to go from 8.1dkh to 7dkh after a day? Just trying to confirm!

It can if you have sufficient coral stock and size. I use a 2 head red sea doder. Easy to set up and use. I dose 40ml of alk and cal daily and 15ml of magnesium hand dosed once a week. Bionic 2 part alk and cal is easy to use. Here is a pic of my sump. You can see my dosing reservoirs and my compact doser sits on top of my ATO.