New to dosing couple questions.

[as1720]

Well i have read a little bit and i think i get the jist of it so i started dosing but i am not 100% sure i understand everything. I have a 29 gallon tank and i am using c-balance. I dose part a in the mroning and part b in thew evening.

This is my third day dosing. i have been dosing 2 ml of each. So i tested the water today and this is what i got.

pH 8.4

Calcium 310 ppm

dKH 14

mag 840

Is this somewhat normal for the first three days? Should i keep dosing 2 ml for a couple more days and see if it goes up anymore? Should i be dosing Mag? Still really freash here so please dont be too harsh. Dont worry no corals or anything yet just a couple small fish and some shrimp.

 

[jezzeaepi]

What kind of test kits are you using? What kind of salt are you using?

Im going to guess that your using IO salt and you arent adding any sort of buffers to it when you mix it up. Freshly mixed IO should read around ~11dkh, ~350 calcium, ~1000 mag. This is the main reason why your calcium and magnesium are low(and out of balance). Youll want to use seperate addtives to get them to the proper level. Your starting point to aim for should be ~420 calcium/9-10dkh/~1300 magnesium. Untill you reach this equilbrium, dosing really doesnt make any sense.

After you have reached your equilbrium, you want to test your tank's alk/calc uptake rate. You do this by testing alk/calc, then don't dose for several days(if you have a lot of corals, you may only need to wait a day), then test again. Divide the drop in calcium/alk by the amount of days, and you know your tanks usage rate, and dose accordingly.

If you are not chemically balanced, and havent tested your alk/calc usage rate, you really have business dosing. Realistically, you wont need to dose anything untill you get a few corals in there and they actually start growing and using up calc/alk. Coraline algae will use some, but it should be low enough that your water changes alone will supplement it.

Peace,
Jesse

 

[as1720]

ok well i guess i had it backwards, i was waiting to put anything in there till i knew how much of the c-balance i should put in. But i guess if nothing is using it anyways it would just build up?

im using slifert test kits and IO salt. I have water going getting ready for a water change. Should i be adding the c-balance to the water change water get it ware i want it, add the water to the tank and then wait a couple days to see ware its at and then start dosing? Just want to make sure i understand

So if i go and get a couple corals that i have been wanting they are not going to die while im trying to figure how much c-balance they need? I just dont want to spend the money to buy the corals i want just to have them die. Should i get some cheaper corals first till i figure it out? I plan on starting with softies anyways, but there are some LPS that i want.

 

[jezzeaepi]

Sofites and LPS dont use up that much calcium and alkalinity, so you wont need to dose very much even when you have several in your tank. Most people find that water changes alone can keep a softie tank with afew LPS going. Since you have no corals right now, only your purple corraline algae is going to be using any calc/alk, which doesnt warant dosing. Like you said, youll just end up building them up over time to a levelt hats too high.

As far as boosting your waterchange water goes, I buy the dry stuff to boost up calcium and magnesium since you get more for your money generally. Using only one part of the A/B solution would be a very expensive way to boost up your calcium(and if its a gluconate based liquid calcium, you really really dont want to do it).


LPS and softies in generaly are much more forgiving of water chemistry. Large alk swings can effect them, but for the most part, thats a problem that SPS owners have to worry about, not lps and softies. Just concentrate on getting your waterchange water to the proper levels first now, and then start testing once or twice a week once you get some corals to see what kind of usage rate your getting. Its not essentail to monitor it real close though with softies and lps, thats only sps.

PEace

 

[as1720]

ok thanks. Makes sence. So im think im going to go to the fish store tomorrow and get me some softies.

Thanks for your help. Im sure i'll look back in a couple months and see how dumb my questions are about corals just like i look back at my questions i asked about setting up the tank and i laugh at how dumb they seem now. lol

You guys are gods to new reef keepers i could answer the same questions over and over like im sure some of you do!

 

[jezzeaepi]

Hehe well someone took the time to answer all of my questions, so I just see it as paying it forward =) Plus I just really enjoy trying to help people figure out their reef problems. I don't claim to be any sort of expert, and have no real scientific background, I just try to read alot and pay attention to what the expereinced memebers of this board have to say.
Peace