Dosing - Concentrating your Suppliments

[michika]

I'm curious, and I'm relatively new to dosing, so I wanted to pick the collective Canreef brain if I can please.

Do any of you concentrate your suppliments, e.g. mix them stronger then the recommended instructions? If so, why, how, and what products are you using?

Here is my issue in a nut shell I have a lot of water volume, it takes a lot of product and RO/DI water to move the proverbial needle on things like Mg. and Alkalinity.

E.g. It takes me 4.5g of MG suppliments + RO/DI to move my tank by 50ppm. Its a lot of freshwater to be adding and the volume just keeps ticking up as my clams grow and the SPS I have is starting to really uptake them elements in my water.

I want to be able to safely dose my tank stronger additives, but am looking for some guidance and to hear the experience of others'.

[Skimmerking]

Catherine why not just use a cal RX for now. I see your point in adding all this extra water. But if you are evaporating then this would be good. What about using KALK for now to you evaporation. Are you at the limit already for Kalk and evaporation.

[michika]

Originally Posted by Skimmer King

Catherine why not just use a cal RX for now. I see your point in adding all this extra water. But if you are evaporating then this would be good. What about using KALK for now to you evaporation. Are you at the limit already for Kalk and evaporation.

Because the biggest culprit is Mg.

I'm not doing reactors because I can't find media (e.g. ARM) consistently and in a reliable supply. I do love the idea of a kalk reactor again, but I'd have to build one because I can't find anyone who sells them large enough or would custom make me one for a reasonable price.

The two part dosing for dKH and Ca is pretty minor. I only dose 1g of dKH (Soda Ash) per day. Ca is more like 1g over 4-5 days. Mg though its 4g/day since last week Thursday. The Mg consumption in my tank is ridiculous and it seems to be ramping up again.

[Skimmerking]

Talk to Dez he had a huge problem when he started out his 150 gal. I know its not the same but it was a huge demand like 5 gal worth of MG he had to use to get it up. For some reason it wsa super low. But why not have you mag as your top off if you are depleting it that fast. I have doubled up my MAg before for a double dose and dosed it that way and it worked.

[TimT]

Hi Catherine,

Hope this helps.

I used to use a Ca reactor but found it was too time consuming twiddling with it all the time so I switched to Balling Lite method.

I do my dosing as follows:
Mix the Bicarb, CaCl and Mg/CL+MgSO4 at near saturation levels in their own 5 gallon buckets. ie 1260grams Sodium Bicarb, Aluminum Free into 15L of RO water. This lasts on average 10 days. So 126 grams of bicarb per day.

I use a Profi doser.

I test my parameters every 3 days with Lamotte and Salifert test kits.


I have found that Magnesium is a weird bird. Sometimes the demand can go through the roof and stay that way for a month or more. Other times there is NO demand at all for months on end. I consistently use Reef Crystals or Instant Ocean salt mix and use a full 160 gallon bucket or 3 x 50 gallon bags for a water change. I don't think it's the salt mix doing it but something in the system.

I sell the same chems that I use in my 800 gallon system which has been running continuously for 11 years.

Cheers,
Tim

[PFoster]

I also used to use a CARX + kalk reactor but abandoned them years ago for the Balling Lite method.
I do have a brand new deltec kalk reactor here though if you want one

I mix
2kg Ca into a 2.5g fish tank.
2kg Mg into a 2.5g fish tank.
1kg Ca into a 5g fish tank.
This is below the max saturation point.
I just dose straight MgCl to keep the sulfate levels lower. I stopped dosing magnesium sulphate years ago.


I have never found that dosing the Balling Lite method has any effect on lowering my salinity when mixing at this concentration.

I find that the Mg consumption on the system varies the most depending on what salt brand you use.
When I used RC, i had to dose a fair amount of Mg, and I too always found that I was having to adjust my Mg dosages as they seemed to change a fair amount.

When I used Royal Nature and DnD I didnt dose ANY mg almost at all.... ever.
It was to the point where I was convinced something was wrong, lol.

When I used TMC I had to dose some Mg.
Currently I am using the Fritz salt as its giving me great results at a budget price and I find my Mg consumption to be just a tiny bit higher than when using TMC, but this could be related to coral load currently as the diff is so small.

And I should also mention that we test every day so parameters stay VERY stable.
And again, no matter what salt i used, what the bioload was, how much we dosed, I never saw any effect on salinity.

[michika]

I wonder if its part of a "new tank" thing. I vaguely remember having low MG in past tanks, but that was low Mg, not Mg being used up by the system.

Foster, why the MgCl only and not magnesium sulphate? Is it in relation to which is more "usable" to the tank. I've seen disucssion on moving only to Magneslum Cloride as the sole source, but I am still on the fence. What benefits do you see from this change?

Just to clarify this is the first time I've done 2-part dosing and prior to this tank I've always used reactors. I'm just coming up to the end of my 5g buckets on pretty much everything.

Tim, how heavily stocked is your system? What parameter in your tank requires the most for dosing? Ca?

[TimT]

Hi Catherine,

Originally Posted by michika

Tim, how heavily stocked is your system? What parameter in your tank requires the most for dosing? Ca?

The system is heavily stocked with SPS( probably 600+ frags and 100+ colonies) and 300+ LPS and a monster sunset Chalice that is close to 18" across. Very few leathers.

I find that Alk is used the most and then Ca. Probably about a 60/40 ratio.

Balling lite does not use very much MgSO4. 550 grams MgCL and 80 grams MgSO4 to 10L.

Cheers,
Tim

[TimT]

Hi Catherine,

Originally Posted by Michika

I wonder if its part of a "new tank" thing.

It could be. I have found when I add fresh coral sand or gravel the mag usage tends to rise.

Cheers,
Tim

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by PFoster

I also used to use a CARX + kalk reactor but abandoned them years ago for the Balling Lite method.
I do have a brand new deltec kalk reactor here though if you want one

I mix
2kg Ca into a 2.5g fish tank.
2kg Mg into a 2.5g fish tank.
1kg Ca into a 5g fish tank.
This is below the max saturation point.
I just dose straight MgCl to keep the sulfate levels lower. I stopped dosing magnesium sulphate years ago.


I have never found that dosing the Balling Lite method has any effect on lowering my salinity when mixing at this concentration.

I find that the Mg consumption on the system varies the most depending on what salt brand you use.
When I used RC, i had to dose a fair amount of Mg, and I too always found that I was having to adjust my Mg dosages as they seemed to change a fair amount.

When I used Royal Nature and DnD I didnt dose ANY mg almost at all.... ever.
It was to the point where I was convinced something was wrong, lol.

When I used TMC I had to dose some Mg.
Currently I am using the Fritz salt as its giving me great results at a budget price and I find my Mg consumption to be just a tiny bit higher than when using TMC, but this could be related to coral load currently as the diff is so small.

And I should also mention that we test every day so parameters stay VERY stable.
And again, no matter what salt i used, what the bioload was, how much we dosed, I never saw any effect on salinity.

Deltec kalk reactor really hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm