do i really need to dose?

[cathyg_99]

currently running a 90G new system its been up for about a month (but LR from a established system)

80lbs LR
athelia
galaxy coral
kenya trees
mushrooms
and 2 zoo colonys
star polyps
clove polyps
bubble tip
yellow tank
2 clowns
2 chromis
firefish
mandarin goby
sand sifting starfish
emerald crab
porcelain crab
sand sifting snails
turbo snails
hermit crabs

ammonia 0
nitrates 0
nitrite 0
ph 7.8-8(its steady but the colors between the two marks on the test)
calcium 460
phosphates are now at 0

do i need to dose anything?? and if so what and how much?

Im not to interested on the SPS corals but i do like the softies and some of the LPS

[toxic111]

Your Calcium is inline, did you test your Mag & Alk??

no SPS... that is what I said to start with... guess what, that changed... lol

[cathyg_99]

Your Calcium is inline, did you test your Mag & Alk??

no SPS... that is what I said to start with... guess what, that changed... lol

uhh... no i didnt think id have to with it being new

[toxic111]

I would still test the Mg & Alk, even with being a new system, I know with my tank I have to do the Alk as it will drop nearly a point a day if I don't, and I have a small tank with not that many corals in it.

[ScubaSteve]

You don't really have anything that consumes a significant amount of calc/alk like SPS. If your tank becomes very LPS dominated you may have too but only time and testing will tell. As long as you do regular water changes with a good salt you should be fine. Don't just measure calc, alk shifts more dramatically on a day to day basis than calc.

[cathyg_99]

okay and if my alk level is low how do i dose that?

[fencer]

Don't play around with Alk unless you really have to...usually dKH is around 8 but people have had it up to 10. If all your stuff in the tank looks happy don't do anything to it. If you want your alk tested go to Blue World. Is your salinity is ok?

[naesco]

Don't play around with Alk unless you really have to...usually dKH is around 8 but people have had it up to 10. If all your stuff in the tank looks happy don't do anything to it. If you want your alk tested go to Blue World. Is your salinity is ok?

I agree it is too early to start playing around provided you are doing regular water changes.\

I would suggest that you stop adding more fish at this time. One fish per month is best in a new tank.

Also mandarins need an abundance of pods to feed and an aged system. If you see that she is thinning try to remove her and give her to a reefer that has an established tank.

[globaldesigns]

ALK: 7-8
Magnesium: 1350
Calcium: 400-420

Doing weekly water changes with a good salt should help to keep all your parameters in check. But if your corals consume more than what the salt is replacing then you will have to look at dosing the required stuff.

I myself use Seachem dry goods from JL, lots of stuff out there to choose from. I find Seachem Dry Magnesium, Calcium and ALK is very cheap, very easy to use and of high quality.

Here is the online calculator most of us use:
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

[reefwars]

hi kathy:) like fencer said dont dose for anything that your unsure of, read up on alkalinity but in order to dose one you need to know where all three stand...mag/alk/cal and what each uses daily in your system......dosing blindly without testing for the others is asking for trouble;)


at this stage in your tank a good quality salt will go along way compared to dosing, get your parameters at the levels you want using water changes for now and do constant testing i bet they dont change much untill your tank becomes mature and loaded with corals.

its def a good idea to practise testing for all this though even if your not dosing now that ways it will help you understand what your tank needs and usue on a regular day basis:):)

cheers and the tanks looking great did you get your sump fixed up??

[cathyg_99]

hi kathy:) like fencer said dont dose for anything that your unsure of, read up on alkalinity but in order to dose one you need to know where all three stand...mag/alk/cal and what each uses daily in your system......dosing blindly without testing for the others is asking for trouble;)


at this stage in your tank a good quality salt will go along way compared to dosing, get your parameters at the levels you want using water changes for now and do constant testing i bet they dont change much untill your tank becomes mature and loaded with corals.

its def a good idea to practise testing for all this though even if your not dosing now that ways it will help you understand what your tank needs and usue on a regular day basis:):)

cheers and the tanks looking great did you get your sump fixed up??


yes i did but i still have to find a check valve that will fit my obscure pipe sizes, because i found out that if i have a power outage i will have 2-3 G of water on my floor...

[cathyg_99]

I agree it is too early to start playing around provided you are doing regular water changes.\

I would suggest that you stop adding more fish at this time. One fish per month is best in a new tank.

Also mandarins need an abundance of pods to feed and an aged system. If you see that she is thinning try to remove her and give her to a reefer that has an established tank.

yeah im done for fish right now they kind of came with the rock, the mandarin is eating bring shrimp, i always see him snacking on the left over bits that the others dont eat so at this time he is okay but i am keeping an eye on him