New to Dosing Ca, Mg and Alk...and would like some advice

[RPatsula]

I'm about to start dosing my aquarium using the BRS two-part dosing system. I am a little bit confused about how to start dosing. My display tank contains mostly SPS corals and polyps so far, in the end I hope to have a mix environment of both LPS, SPS and polyps. My display tank contains about 165 gallons of water with about 100 pounds of live rock and my sump has about 52 gallons of water so that the combined volume I am going with is 200 gallons. Here are my water parameters; calcium is at 325 ppm, magnesium is at 1000 ppm and the pH is at 8.3. So using the BRS calculator (I will be using the BRS solutions)
calcium 325 raised to 420 equals 1945 mL. Pour into the sump over two days.
magnesium at 1000 raised to 1350 equals 5645 mL. Pour into the sump over three days.
pH at 8.3 raised to 9 equals 100 mL
is there a particular time or order that I put the three different solutions in at?
Once I get my water parameters at the desired level and I start dosing using my dosing pumps that will be connected to my apex, is there a desired time to dose the three different solutions? I was thinking of dosing at 0.2 mL per gallon per day or 40 mL of both Ca and Alk. Am I missing anything? Also since this is my first time adding calcium, alkalinity and magnesium… Am I doing it right.
Thanks for any advice.
Rick

[michika]

Go here (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/instructions/article/Instructions-for-Bulk-Packaged-Materials), to the BRS website's dosing instructions for 2-part. This should help regarding the order of dosing, and what to expect as a result.

This is a quick excerpt from the website;

Test calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels and adjust to correct points, as needed. Levels must be at the right points before beginning daily dosing. Use the BRS Reef Calculator during this step.

*Spread the recommended adjusting doses out over a few days to avoid shocking the system. Be sure to dose each solution separately and slowly to high flow areas of the tank. This is especially important when dosing the Alkalinity portion of Recipe 1 as a temporary increase in pH will occur.*

When dosing Alkalinity white flakes or a cloud may appear. This is normal and happens because the solution is highly concentrated. It will dissipate as the solution spreads throughout the tank. Just be sure to add the dose slowly to a high flow area.

Determine the daily dose by starting with the table below. Calcium and Alkalinity will be dosed daily in equal amounts.

Add doses of Calcium and Alkalinity separately and slowly to high flow areas of the tank.

After a few days of dosing retest Calcium and Alkalinity levels. If levels are not on target adjust the dose up or down. It may take some trial and error to get this part dialed in.

Once the dose is dialed in continue daily dosing until the gallon jugs of Calcium and Alkalinity are finished. At this point it is time to dose 20oz of the Magnesium solution. This can be done entirely in one dose just remember to add slowly to a high flow area of the tank.

It is OK to dose the Magnesium portion in multiple doses instead of one dose at the end. If you opt to do this, just keep to the following ratio: 20oz of Magnesium solution for every 1 gallon of Calcium and Alkalinity. (20oz Magnesium:1 gallon Calcium:1 gallon Alkalinity)

[e46er]

PH @9 is wayyyyyy to high 7.8-8.3 is an acceptable range

When u start dosing measure constantly over the first week
Or 2 to make suttle adjustments

Dose cal and alk at different times so you don't get precipitation

[Seriak]

PH @9 is wayyyyyy to high 7.8-8.3 is an acceptable range

When u start dosing measure constantly over the first week
Or 2 to make suttle adjustments

Dose cal and alk at different times so you don't get precipitation

I think he meant Alk

[daplatapus]

For what its worth, in my experience I wouldn't try dosing any Ca or dkh until my Mg was closer to 1400-1450. Your Mg levels is what's going to determine how much of your Ca and dkh will stay in solution. In my tank if my Mg is below 1300 or so my Ca or dkh won't budge no matter how much I dose. Again, that's been my experience.

[greyreef]

You having any calcium deposition on equipment? Any precipitation of calcium?
That Magnesium seems awful low, and with your sps and use of ca, agree you need to first increase mg, otherwise other parameters wont go up
Read advanced aquarist article on reef parameters farley holmes
Here is link
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php
Good luck!

[greyreef]

Mind you, if your tank looks great, dont panic too much
Go slow, be observant!

[daplatapus]

Mind you, if your tank looks great, dont panic too much
Go slow, be observant!


Agreed. If everything is alive, growing and looking good, all these numbers are just tweaking your tank, optimizing it.
And I love the BRS calculator for how much to dose for these parameters. Keep a close eye on what the recommended rise is for each parameter and raise levels slowly.

[greyreef]

Didnt see your salinity either
Lower salinity will definitly reduce mg
Thats an easy one to fix

[lastlight]

Agreed on getting magnesium to 1350 - 1400 before you bother adding the other two. They likely won't balance properly if magnesium is that low.

And I think it's on the BRS site but I'm pretty sure it's recommended to not raise alk more than 1 dkH a day and calcium 10ppm?

If my levels are low i follow those guidelines.

[RPatsula]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Yes my salinity went down a little bit, it used to be at 1.026 and it went down to 1.02 due to a water problem I had about three weeks ago. I am slowly bringing it back up. I do not have any calcium deposits on my equipment or any calcium precipitation. I am still skimming fairly wet, to get rid of my algae problem. I will just dose the magnesium to begin with and get it back to an acceptable level. I think I will do it fairly slowly and introduce the magnesium back in over a period of five days. All my corals are still looking good. I had a green hair algae breakout on my sand bed but I think that was due to overfeeding with my plankton.
I will also look over the articles you suggested as well. Sometimes it just gets a little bit overwhelming as well as confusing but I am slowly learning. I will post again once I have started adding the magnesium.

Thank you
Rick

[daplatapus]

This is the link to the BRS reef Calculator:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator

According to that page the Mg shouldn't be raised more than 100 ppm per day
Ca shouldn't be more than 50 ppm per day and dkh shouldn't be raised more than 1.4 dkh per day.
I've used this calculator quite a few times and it's been spot on every time.

You're totally right, it can be very over overwhelming, but there's lots of help here and there are many willing to share their experience and knowledge. Ask away!

[lastlight]

According to that page the Mg shouldn't be raised more than 100 ppm per day
Ca shouldn't be more than 50 ppm per day and dkh shouldn't be raised more than 1.4 dkh per day.

oops i was way off! guess i just made up my own safety factor. calcium must be less of a risk. they're basically saying you can make up any shortfall immediately in one shot.

[greyreef]

Bringing up your salinity will help correct the problem as slinity is an overall measure of salts, if low will make Ca and Mg low as well!
Just go slow, try not to overcorrect
From the sounds of the look of your tank, your doing a great job!

[michika]

Another suggestion for dosing; write down what you did, when you did it, and HOW you got that calculation. In short, show your work. This has helped me numerous times as I've had to think back to what I dosed or how I came to that particular conclusion, etc. Notebook and a pen are a cheap and easy combination.

[RuGlu6]

Just get Calcium Reactor. It is simple and low maintenance, set it and forget it !

[somewherebeyondthesea]

Another suggestion for dosing; write down what you did, when you did it, and HOW you got that calculation. In short, show your work. This has helped me numerous times as I've had to think back to what I dosed or how I came to that particular conclusion, etc. Notebook and a pen are a cheap and easy combination.

+1 I do the same :biggrin:

[RPatsula]

Thank you everyone for your advice, I just thought I'd give you an update as to where I'm at. Last Friday I started dosing just the BRS magnesium solution at approximately 900 mL per day. In total I dosed approximately 4000 mL. Here are my readings since then; calcium went from 325 to 390 ppm, magnesium went from 1000 to 1400 ppm and my pH went from 8.32 to 8.35. I also did a 20 gallon water change as well.
After watching a few YouTube videos I now understand the difference between pH and KH. Apparently I was not measuring KH correctly, so I will measure it again tonight. I will also measure my specific gravity as well to see if it has risen from 1.02. I'm hoping it is back to 1.026 since my water change.
I think now I will be able to dose calcium, alkalinity and magnesium to get my aquarium at the appropriate levels so that I'll be able to dose the BRS to par solution on a daily basis.
Once again thank you
Rick

[daplatapus]

What I did when I was first dialing in my system was once I got my Mg to where I wanted it, I did a water test to confirm, then didn't dose anything for 24hrs and did another test. That should give you a pretty good idea of what your tank consumes in a 24 hr period and give you an idea of what to dose per day. Then start dosing that amount. Your Ca and dkh should stay steady if you start with just dealing with your Mg. Your current Ca and dkh levels are fine so you don't really need to do anything with them right away. Go a week with just dosing Mg and see if it stays pretty solid or if it creeps up or down and adjust accordingly. I would test all 3 every time but wouldn't deal with the other 2 unless there's something drastic. This will give you good practice with your testing and show you the relationship with those big 3 and how they interact with one another. Once you've gone a week without any real changes in your Mg levels, then move on to your other 2 the same way. Slow and methodical and write down what you did and how it affected everything.

Dom

[RPatsula]

Hi what I determined is that when you try to measure alkalinity calcium or magnesium… Your numbers can vary quite drastically from one day to another. It is also hard when you're depending on other people to help you do it. On April 26 I started dosing the BRS magnesium solution until I went through the 1 gallon jug . On April 29 I measured alkalinity at 7 D KH, calcium at 390 ppm, magnesium at 1400 ppm, specific gravity at 1.022 and pH 8.35. On May 1 I measured alkalinity at 5.6 D KH, calcium at 325 ppm, magnesium at 1290, specific gravity at 1.022 and pH at 8.4. I am going to measure again on Thursday night to see if there is considerable change again, or is what I am seeing normal. I am thinking that my magnesium levels can come up a bit, to 1350 , so I'm wondering would it be practical just to dose 1 L of magnesium over a two day period and then measure everything again. When should I start dosing the alkalinity and the calcium?
Thank you
Rick

[e46er]

That's a big mg drop in a short time
My tank consumes just over 1dkh v /20 ppm calcium a day and my mag only drops 50 ppm a month