Would you dose?

[Choff]

Hi All,

Have had my first corals in my tank less than a month and about to get another shipment and checked my levels today 4 hours after my WC. My primary concern is I am getting first SPS, a pavona.

Red Sea Tests:

CA 370 ppm
Mg 1240 ppm
KH 3.6 meg/L ; 10.1 dKH

PH 8.1
Salinity 1.026
78-79 deg

Nitrate & phosphate = 0

Looking at these charts I am in range, but would you dose calc?

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com


Thanks!

 

[dmatt88]

Everyone who gets started in this hobby wants to buy everything possible for their tanks. Dosing units most common. However regular water changes allowing your tank to settle in I find is the best. Without a ton of coral in a tank there are no demands to calcium. Now I say this because calcium is a tough test to administer. I've gotten numbers from 340-520 on the same water. Id fo a larger wc and continue to monitor. If you decide you need supplementation to your tank, consider a calc reactor. Best money I've spent on my tanks. Course I have maybe 500 coral so the demands on my water is crazy.

..........hail to the victors valiant.

 

[steved13]

IMO if you're even thinking about dosing you need to get your head in the right place.

No criticism intended, just a way of sharing my opinion. LOL
From your post it would appear, you're not thinking (what I would call) the right way . Dosing is best when it's about replacing what is being used, not so good if it's just to raise the numbers. Your post of what your readings are after a water change leads me to believe you looking to raise the numbers.

To really advise, we would need to know what the numbers are after a water change and then what they are a week later just before the next water change. Then we can see if your tank is using calcium (for instance) or not. If your calcium is 350 but staying there all the time, then nothing is using it, so no need to make it any higher or dose at all.

Chasing numbers is almost always a recipe for disaster. Once your system is using an element, then dosing is in order to keep the level stable. At that point some people will raise it higher in the range, so if it drops with coral growth they have time to notice it and adjust, before it drops out of range.

 

[BLADEYAMAHA]

I would change salts.

 

[Doogle]

You don't have enough coral to worry about dosing. Just monitor once a week. When your tank is using more then you can up your water changes or start figuring out how to replenish what you are using.

 

[TylerHaworth]

Steve said it perfectly.

 

[Choff]

Everyone who gets started in this hobby wants to buy everything possible for their tanks. Dosing units most common. However regular water changes allowing your tank to settle in I find is the best. Without a ton of coral in a tank there are no demands to calcium. Now I say this because calcium is a tough test to administer. I've gotten numbers from 340-520 on the same water. Id fo a larger wc and continue to monitor. If you decide you need supplementation to your tank, consider a calc reactor. Best money I've spent on my tanks. Course I have maybe 500 coral so the demands on my water is crazy.

..........hail to the victors valiant.

Thanks Matt, I am not yet looking to get dosing pumps or a calc reactor until I learn a lot more about balancing chemistry and my tank needs. I was just considering manually bumping calcium for the time being. That being said....I think I will be in this hobby for 25 years and I will still want to buy everything possible. I loves me gadgets!

IMO if you're even thinking about dosing you need to get your head in the right place.

No criticism intended, just a way of sharing my opinion. LOL
From your post it would appear, you're not thinking (what I would call) the right way . Dosing is best when it's about replacing what is being used, not so good if it's just to raise the numbers. Your post of what your readings are after a water change leads me to believe you looking to raise the numbers.

To really advise, we would need to know what the numbers are after a water change and then what they are a week later just before the next water change. Then we can see if your tank is using calcium (for instance) or not. If your calcium is 350 but staying there all the time, then nothing is using it, so no need to make it any higher or dose at all.

Chasing numbers is almost always a recipe for disaster. Once your system is using an element, then dosing is in order to keep the level stable. At that point some people will raise it higher in the range, so if it drops with coral growth they have time to notice it and adjust, before it drops out of range.

Steve, thanks for the candor and you are spot on. I have only been in this hobby for about 6 months and know I have a ton to learn. The embarrassing part though is I have read everything you said previously in my research on the subject, yet there I am thinking about chasing numbers. Good advice and well taken! Thank you.



Bladey, I'm using Red Sea Coral pro. I'm thinking along the lines of Matt and that the issue may really lay with the test itself. I have approx 160G of water in my system and I change 25G weekly. As Doogle and Matt both pointed out, with my low coral load, calcium really shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks all!