Best dosing techniques

[jason604]

So what do u guys do with optimal results for dosing a sps dominate tank?
So far I'm dosing alk 16x for 12hr after lights out then cal 16x fr the day. I do notice my alk drop from 8kh to about 7.3 or so. Is that too much fluctuation? Should I just split them on a 1hr alternating schedule?

[kien]

I dose every other hour throughout the day from midnight to midnight. I stagger the two with alk being on the even hours and calc being on the odd hours. There's virtually an infinite combination you can do and I'm not sure there is a 'best' schedule. I'd just try to keep the dosing as steady possible. In my mind, smaller more frequent dosing is better than larger less frequent doses.

[Wheelman76]

I dose alk on the hour and cal on the half hour , 24 hours a day.

[Reef Pilot]

I dose Ca for 2 or 3 hours during the day, and Alk for 3 or 4 hours overnight. I manually dose Mg with my water change every 3 weeks.

I've had to increase the dose concentrations quite significantly over the last several months, esp the Alk. And now have to dose Mg as well, as that was getting pretty low now, too. I am sure it is all due to my SPS growth, as it is getting really crazy lately.

[mark]

I'm using a 2 head pump for Ca and Alk, dosing once an hour into my sump with the drip lines separated by about 12". Mg manually followng RHF instructions for when Ca/Alk jugs are done.

[Sunee]

GHL doser randomly doses Alk, Ca and Mg (7 times per day).

[jason604]

I heard dosing alk is better during lights off due to ph fluctuation?

[Sunee]

I have not researched this but I would think dosing Alk and Ca in small amounts alternately throughout the day would produce smaller swings in both pH and Alk and Ca levels than dosing all your Alk at night and all your Ca during the day. Maybe someone who has looked into this could chime in.

[Reef Pilot]

I think the fears of alk swings are overblown. Of course, you want to be reasonably consistent. I keep mine close to 8, but it ranges from 7 - 9 (as high as 10 sometimes) with water changes and as I adjust my dosing. My SPS growth and color have certainly not been affected.

And yes, better to dose alk at night to keep your pH up. And my Ca has been all over the place, too, from 380 - 480. It varies the most for me.

What I have seen, though, is the impact of higher phosphates. That seems to have a pretty immediate and lasting effect, and takes a while to get back to good growth and color.

If you want the best growth and color for your SPS, get the phosphates down to zero (as measured by the Hanna digital checker, not the color test kits). Plus your algae disappears then, too, so it much less work to keep your tank looking good. And don't forget your MB7.

[mark]

^ am I missing something, is there a linkage between dosing and phosphates?

[Reef Pilot]

^ am I missing something, is there a linkage between dosing and phosphates?
Yes,... SPS...:biggrin:

[mark]

but why? I'm adding calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, not seeing phosphates in the recipe.

[Reef Pilot]

but why? I'm adding calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate, not seeing phosphates in the recipe.
Well, if you want to be picky,... you can dose Foz Down (I have used it, too) to reduce phosphates, which helps SPS growth...

My point was really that how you dose Alk and Ca are not the only things that are important about good SPS health. And the OP did mention that he had an SPS dominant tank.

[jason604]

What is MB7? One of my biggest colony did die over night due to either alk or mg fluctuation when I was trying to fine tune them

[Reef Pilot]

Yeah, I don't want to mislead here. Big fluctuations on Alk are not good. But a change of 1 dKH will not kill your corals (have done that many times with no ill effects). Not sure what type of change you are talking about.

And with Mg, best to raise it only 100 ppm per day. I manually dose Mg every 3 weeks with my water change.

I dose MB7 every 2nd or 3rd day. It adds beneficial bacteria which prevents cyano and works well with your bio pellet reactor to prevent mulm and clumping. Plus it generally makes your water clearer in your tank, with less detritus on your rocks and sand. Here is a link for that.
http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/microbacter7t.php