I am slowly plunging into the SPS corals..I have a couple very nice montis and recently purchased 2 cheap mille and acro frags to test myself..My question is sense I have mainly dealt with LPS and Softies I basically have dosed CA and PH seperatley..I used Kent Turbo CA in combination with Seachem Reef Complete CA to maintane a ppm of 480..I also dosed Seachem PH buffer to maintane a 8.2 PH level..I was wondering with the leap into more demanding SPS if I should stay with my normal regimen (which has been working for the montiporas) or switch over to a 2 part dosing scheme ex. Kent Tech AC & AB or an equivalent?..I think the scheme I use now works fine for what I have because the tank inhabitants allow for a little give in the water chemistry..But I need something that will be more stable in the long run..as my regimen now requires additions of these chemicals about 3 times a week...
Slowly phasing out
- Thread starter WVUReefer
- Start date
TylerHaworth
Active Member
... What is your Alkalinity?
GENERALLY - you should never use a "pH buffer" as they tend to be slightly ambiguous as to what they actually consist of - Chasing a certain pH is bad, because there are MANY variables and relationships that comprise pH.
Instead - You should test and dose for Calcium(420-500), Alkalinity(8-12), and Magnesium(1300-1400) - If these are all in check, then a pH anywhere between 7.8 and 8.4 is fine
Also - I noticed that when I started loading up on high demand critters (Acropora, multiple clams, large SPS colonies in general) - That when dosing even once per day, my corals weren't really happy because of the fluctuation... Now I've got dosing pumps that actually dose four times per day, everything looks SUBSTANTIALLY better after stabilizing my water chemistry... I wouldn't dare wait to dose every third day while having Acropora in the system, and really wouldn't even risk going back to dosing once per day for that matter.
GENERALLY - you should never use a "pH buffer" as they tend to be slightly ambiguous as to what they actually consist of - Chasing a certain pH is bad, because there are MANY variables and relationships that comprise pH.
Instead - You should test and dose for Calcium(420-500), Alkalinity(8-12), and Magnesium(1300-1400) - If these are all in check, then a pH anywhere between 7.8 and 8.4 is fine
Also - I noticed that when I started loading up on high demand critters (Acropora, multiple clams, large SPS colonies in general) - That when dosing even once per day, my corals weren't really happy because of the fluctuation... Now I've got dosing pumps that actually dose four times per day, everything looks SUBSTANTIALLY better after stabilizing my water chemistry... I wouldn't dare wait to dose every third day while having Acropora in the system, and really wouldn't even risk going back to dosing once per day for that matter.
TylerHaworth
Active Member
I'm sure that others have plenty of success manually dosing once per day - it just honestly became a HUGE hassle and a "chore" to me...
Reliable/Consistent dosing pumps aren't cheap, the ones I have are from Bulk Reef Supply at about $99 each... And, I am controlling them with my Apex, however they can be controlled almost as well with a couple cheapo timers from Lowe's. After the initial setup, the cost of operation is quite low.
Reliable/Consistent dosing pumps aren't cheap, the ones I have are from Bulk Reef Supply at about $99 each... And, I am controlling them with my Apex, however they can be controlled almost as well with a couple cheapo timers from Lowe's. After the initial setup, the cost of operation is quite low.
LPS_Blasto
Member
I had the same problem for a long time.
I finally built a completely automatic top off system and now dosing takes me 10 seconds a week. I have a 10g tank for my RO storage. The main sump has several float switches that sense my evaporation. When it drops 3/4", there's a powerhead in the RO storage tank that turns on and delivers RO to my main sump via a vinyl tube.
The storage tank also has floats switches that control when the RO filter and pump turn on. It's set up so that the tank fills up to the top and then a float switch shuts off the RO filter pump and a 12V solenoid valve. So the RO storage tank is full now. About twice a day, the main sump evaporates enough water to trigger the powerhead in the storage tank. That keeps the sump topped off. The RO storage tank just sits there and pumps water into the main sump a couple times a day. After about a week, the storage tank is getting low on water. A lower float switch trips the RO pump and solenoid valve to turn on and fill the storage tank up again.
I never touch it. But the point is, I dump my dosing chemicals into the 10g RO storage tank. It takes me 10 seconds to add enough chemicals for 1 week worth of dosing. It gets slowly pumped into the main sump about 1.5g per day +/- Thats all it takes to maintain my alk and pH.
I finally built a completely automatic top off system and now dosing takes me 10 seconds a week. I have a 10g tank for my RO storage. The main sump has several float switches that sense my evaporation. When it drops 3/4", there's a powerhead in the RO storage tank that turns on and delivers RO to my main sump via a vinyl tube.
The storage tank also has floats switches that control when the RO filter and pump turn on. It's set up so that the tank fills up to the top and then a float switch shuts off the RO filter pump and a 12V solenoid valve. So the RO storage tank is full now. About twice a day, the main sump evaporates enough water to trigger the powerhead in the storage tank. That keeps the sump topped off. The RO storage tank just sits there and pumps water into the main sump a couple times a day. After about a week, the storage tank is getting low on water. A lower float switch trips the RO pump and solenoid valve to turn on and fill the storage tank up again.
I never touch it. But the point is, I dump my dosing chemicals into the 10g RO storage tank. It takes me 10 seconds to add enough chemicals for 1 week worth of dosing. It gets slowly pumped into the main sump about 1.5g per day +/- Thats all it takes to maintain my alk and pH.