Dosing Pump 101 Questions

[Sculpin]

I've decided to start using a Bubble Magus dosing pump with Fauna Marin balling solutions, and I have a few questions.

1) What is the optimal order should I set my pumps (e.g. first Calcium, then Alkalinity, then Magnesium)?

2) Can someone point me to a calculator to help me get started on dosing amounts? I've searched for a Fauna Marin calculator and found posts on the internet that they stopped making it available to the public. I have a 180g tank and 30g sump, and my parameters are Calcium 380, Alkalinity 9, and Magnesium 9 in case someone might be able to tell me what amounts I should start dosing at. As long as I can get into the ballpark, I can test and tweak as needed. I just don’t want to burn my corals by adding too much too quickly.

3) Both Calcium and Magnesium went straight into solution with the RODI water, but mixing the Alkalinity powder (Carbonate Mix) I find a lot of undissolved powder remains on the bottom, even after adding the recommended 4x more RODI water. Should I transfer the dissolved water to another container and leave the powder at the bottom for future mixing, or do I need to leave the powder in the solution and it will eventually dissolve? I'm worried about future mixes and keeping my levels consistent. I'm also worried about clogging up the dosing pump, and wondering if I should suspend the pump straw a few inches above the bottom of the Alkalinity canister.

4) The Fauna Marin site mentions adding extra trace elements when mixing up their calcium and alkalinkity. Are these required to make the mix effective, or optional like most trace elements on the market? Have other people had good luck with the Fauna Marin Balling Light Trace 1 (Color & Grow), 2 (Metabolic Elements), and 3 (Health Elements)?

Any other suggestions about using the pump would be greatly appreciated.

Also, the Fauna Marin powders seem pretty expensive compared to the calcium reactor I’ve been using the past few years. Are less expensive brands of powders that people would recommend?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[spieszak]

1 you likely won't need to dose magnesium daily, but can. alk done overnight if possible tends to help as far as keeping the ph swings away. there isn't a hard set rule though. the only thing that really matters is that you allow time between them, or they will precip each other out
2 BRS has calculator on their site, and recommendations as to how much to dose up a day
3 try taking the jug/bottle of mot quite mixed stuff and sitting it in a sink full of warm/hot water..tends to get that last bit into solution

if you don't get it all dissolved, you definately don't want to dose the powder
also, seems no matter where i keep my dosing lines, after about a week there is build up in the tube for the alk. a razor blade slit up the side thats going into the sump helps, but it still clogs. pay attention to that as your are trying to get your daily numbers worked out, because it might make you think you should be upping the dose, when you really just aren't getting the dose.

trace/balling is kind of an entirely different subject, and some think its necessary while some don't. i do regular water changes and therefore think my trace elements are taken care of by that. if your planning on changing your water change schedule, or aren't consistent with it, its worth some investigation, but otherwise, its not likely something you 'need' to do

as for less expensive, i'm happy with the stuff from BRS. mixes fairly easy, and seems consistent.. and its fairly priced.
if you find it too expensive, look up Randy's two part recipe. it will bring the price down, but will be more work.

 

[SkimHeavy]

Tim, at barrier had said he had seen a website with a calculator that ask you test your levels over the period of a few days without dosing to determine your consumption. Then it will give you settings to program the doser with.

Maybe he can chime in.

 

[tomz]

I've decided to start using a Bubble Magus dosing pump with Fauna Marin balling solutions, and I have a few questions.

1) What is the optimal order should I set my pumps (e.g. first Calcium, then Alkalinity, then Magnesium)?

It shouldn’t matter as long as you add them into a high water flow area don’t add them at the same time.


2) Can someone point me to a calculator to help me get started on dosing amounts? I've searched for a Fauna Marin calculator and found posts on the internet that they stopped making it available to the public. I have a 180g tank and 30g sump, and my parameters are Calcium 380, Alkalinity 9, and Magnesium 9 in case someone might be able to tell me what amounts I should start dosing at. As long as I can get into the ballpark, I can test and tweak as needed. I just don’t want to burn my corals by adding too much too quickly.

Just start out with a lower value and test your relevant parameters on a daily basis. If alkalinity is dropping then increase the volume added each day until it becomes stable. Same with calcium. My tank is 110G with lots of SPS. I started with 25ml for both alkalinity and calcium and adjusted daily over a two week period to end up at 125ml for alkalinity and 30ml for calcium. Magnesium use is so low that I don’t bother dosing with the pump.




3) Both Calcium and Magnesium went straight into solution with the RODI water, but mixing the Alkalinity powder (Carbonate Mix) I find a lot of undissolved powder remains on the bottom, even after adding the recommended 4x more RODI water. Should I transfer the dissolved water to another container and leave the powder at the bottom for future mixing, or do I need to leave the powder in the solution and it will eventually dissolve? I'm worried about future mixes and keeping my levels consistent. I'm also worried about clogging up the dosing pump, and wondering if I should suspend the pump straw a few inches above the bottom of the Alkalinity canister.

Yes the alkalinity mix always leaves quite a bit of sediment at the bottom of the container (warm water does not help much). I just tilt the container to get all the sediment on one side and then make sure I don’t move the bottle. That way the sediment doesn’t get into the tube. The sediment will eventually harden and you may need to use hot water to dissolve (once the container is empty) it to get it out (depends on the size of the container opening). You could transfer to another container at the start to get rid of the sediment but I always leave it in mine.




4) The Fauna Marin site mentions adding extra trace elements when mixing up their calcium and alkalinkity. Are these required to make the mix effective, or optional like most trace elements on the market? Have other people had good luck with the Fauna Marin Balling Light Trace 1 (Color & Grow), 2 (Metabolic Elements), and 3 (Health Elements)?

I add the extra trace elements but couldn’t tell you for sure if they’re worth it or not. That would require detailed testing with that being the only parameter that changes, which is very difficult to do.




Any other suggestions about using the pump would be greatly appreciated.

As mentioned in the other post, you’ll have issues with the alkalinity tube plugging. I point mine straight down which keeps it from plugging but you still get some precipitant build up on the tube that you’ll need to clean periodically.



Also, the Fauna Marin powders seem pretty expensive compared to the calcium reactor I’ve been using the past few years. Are less expensive brands of powders that people would recommend?

I have not tried the others but with the relatively small amounts I add it is not too expensive (for me) using the Fauna Marin product.



Tom

 

[spieszak]

Yes the alkalinity mix always leaves quite a bit of sediment at the bottom of the container (warm water does not help much). I just tilt the container to get all the sediment on one side and then make sure I don’t move the bottle. That way the sediment doesn’t get into the tube. The sediment will eventually harden and you may need to use hot water to dissolve (once the container is empty) it to get it out (depends on the size of the container opening). You could transfer to another container at the start to get rid of the sediment but I always leave it in mine.

Is this specific to the Fauna Marin powder? I rarely if ever have a problem with the BRS stuff dissolving. The Mg is another story, but not the ALK.

 

[tomz]

I have never used the BRS brand so can't compare. The Fauna Marin directions specifically say that there will be some "residue" left in the container.

"TIP: Use lukewarm water to dissolve the carbonate. A small residue will always be left over in this canister. However, this has no effect on the stability of the solution."

I am experimenting with adding less carbonate to see if I get the same mixture results but with less "residue". I am currently ending up with more than a "residue". I convert kg to ml at 1:1 as it's easier to measure by volume than weight when mixing so not sure I am getting the correct ratio. The large container is 4kg so I also verify that I am using slightly less than 2/3 (2.5kg) for 5 gallons of water.

Directions - "Dissolve 500 g of sodium bicarbonate mixture into 5 litres of osmosis water"


Tom