Alk question

[InactionJackson]

Quick question…….how many days do you test Alk before making a call on consumption? Test daily and at same time? Better to test at certain Ph levels? So morning or afternoon or night depending on Ph levels? ‘
I’m asking cuz I think my tank is consuming roughly 10 ML a day…I get it to 8.3 then test it the next day and it’s 7.8…..afternoon testing and Ph roughly at 8.15…..I’ve been able to keep Ph levels steady due to installing a C02 scrubber.
So before I start dosing, I’d like to get your thoughts….

Oh….and can you drop 5ml of Alk at once? Because I did it….
Thx for any answers

I’m using Hanna
Second test with spindisk

 

[dwest]

I would test at the same time for sure.

 

[Petcrazyson]

I don’t think it’s necessary to test Alk every day, unless your in the early stages of reef set up. I test relatively at the same time, not every day though, around 11 in the morning or 12 in the afternoon, just before my corals are consuming most. This way if I have it calculated how much consumption of said element has been done, I can assume that the number will be on the lower side. It’s never the best idea to test at the end of the day, because you’ll get a lower Alk reading of what you actually have, and then blindsided start dosing the wrong number of Alk.

 

[Lavey29]

I test for 3 days straight at the same time to confirm consumption amount.

 

[InactionJackson]

I don’t think it’s necessary to test Alk every day, unless your in the early stages of reef set up. I test relatively at the same time, not every day though, around 11 in the morning or 12 in the afternoon, just before my corals are consuming most. This way if I have it calculated how much consumption of said element has been done, I can assume that the number will be on the lower side. It’s never the best idea to test at the end of the day, because you’ll get a lower Alk reading of what you actually have, and then blindsided start dosing the wrong number of Alk.

So far it’s been consuming 11 ml a day, I’ll round it down to 10…..can you split that up into 2 doses and toss it in the sump, or does it need to be divided up and dosed over 12 or 24 hour period?

 

[HVRK23]

You can dose that over 2 doses for sure. That’s not that much ALK, imho. I’d aim to dose it into a high flow area usually.

 

[InactionJackson]

You can dose that over 2 doses for sure. That’s not that much ALK, imho. I’d aim to dose it into a high flow area usually.

Yeah, ive put it in my sump the last 2 times at 5 ml each, I just didn’t want to keep going if there was a chance to wipe out my stuff……I have a predominately softy/lps tank, 3 sps

 

[HVRK23]

Continue testing as long as your consumption is matching your dosing then your good to go.

 

[InactionJackson]

Continue testing as long as your consumption is matching your dosing then your good to go.

Now what’s point where I should start to use a doser? 15ml/20ml/30 ml a day? I’m sure the more my corals grow, the more they’ll consume

 

[MnFish1]

Quick question…….how many days do you test Alk before making a call on consumption? Test daily and at same time? Better to test at certain Ph levels? So morning or afternoon or night depending on Ph levels? ‘
I’m asking cuz I think my tank is consuming roughly 10 ML a day…I get it to 8.3 then test it the next day and it’s 7.8…..afternoon testing and Ph roughly at 8.15…..I’ve been able to keep Ph levels steady due to installing a C02 scrubber.
So before I start dosing, I’d like to get your thoughts….

Oh….and can you drop 5ml of Alk at once? Because I did it….
Thx for any answers

I’m using Hanna
Second test with spindisk

Usually - you take a test on day 1 using a reliable test kit - then - without dosing for those 7x24 hour periods, on day 7 (you're right same time, etc each day) divide that result by 7 - thats your consumption per day. There are numerous calculators (see BRS or Hamza's reef)

 

[Petcrazyson]

So far it’s been consuming 11 ml a day, I’ll round it down to 10…..can you split that up into 2 doses and toss it in the sump, or does it need to be divided up and dosed over 12 or 24 hour period?

You can split it up into 2 doses if you want, or you could do one full dose, and you could toss it in the return chamber in your sump, or you could add it to the main display as long as it’s not direct poured on coral. I usually do one full dose and into the return chamber. Whatever works best for you. What brand Alk are you dosing?

 

[InactionJackson]

Usually - you take a test on day 1 using a reliable test kit - then - without dosing for those 7x24 hour periods, on day 7 (you're right same time, etc each day) divide that result by 7 - thats your consumption per day. There are numerous calculators (see BRS or Hamza's reef)

Will do…I’ve used the BRS calculator….so if I was actually using 10 ml a day then that would be 70 ml a week , so using a doser might be less of a headache…

 

[InactionJackson]

You can split it up into 2 doses if you want, or you could do one full dose, and you could toss it in the return chamber in your sump, or you could add it to the main display as long as it’s not direct poured on coral. I usually do one full dose and into the return chamber. Whatever works best for you. What brand Alk are you dosing?

Red Sea Foundation B. Liquid

 

[Lavey29]

Now what’s point where I should start to use a doser? 15ml/20ml/30 ml a day? I’m sure the more my corals grow, the more they’ll consume

Kind of depends on the individual and when they feel it's to much of a hassle to hand dose multiple times. I dose 38ml of alk and calcium daily in 3.8ml increments. Alk doses during the day and calcium in the evening. Alk and calcium should be dosed proportionally. Magnesium is consumed at 1/10th the rate of the others so typically water changes suffice to replenish Magnesium levels.

 

[MnFish1]

Will do…I’ve used the BRS calculator….so if I was actually using 10 ml a day then that would be 70 ml a week , so using a doser might be less of a headache…

That is just the way to calculate your 'need/day'. You can also do it for 4 24 hour periods and divide by 4. I guess it depends on your budget - mixing it and dosing xxxx/day is cheaper than a loser - but more work.

 

[MnFish1]

Kind of depends on the individual and when they feel it's to much of a hassle to hand dose multiple times. I dose 38ml of alk and calcium daily in 3.8ml increments. Alk doses during the day and calcium in the evening.

Do you think there is a benefit of dosing 10x/day - as compared to twice/day (asking for people who work, etc). To answer the OP - if you wanted to dose this much a dose is probably worth a thought (sorry @Lavey29 ) not criticizing your method - just an answer for the OP

 

[InactionJackson]

That is just the way to calculate your 'need/day'. You can also do it for 4 24 hour periods and divide by 4. I guess it depends on your budget - mixing it and dosing xxxx/day is cheaper than a loser - but more work.

I do have a doser, but haven’t hooked it up yet. But I get what your saying…

 

[Petcrazyson]

Red Sea Foundation B. Liquid

Thats a good one. Personally like the Tropic Marin one better, but with yours you can feel comfortable adding it at two intervals in the day

 

[InactionJackson]

Kind of depends on the individual and when they feel it's to much of a hassle to hand dose multiple times. I dose 38ml of alk and calcium daily in 3.8ml increments. Alk doses during the day and calcium in the evening. Alk and calcium should be dosed proportionally. Magnesium is consumed at 1/10th the rate of the others so typically water changes suffice to replenish Magnesium levels.

I think if I need to start dosing manually more than twice a day then I’ll hook up the doser.

 

[InactionJackson]

Thats a good one. Personally like the Tropic Marin one better, but with yours you can feel comfortable adding it at two intervals in the day

Awesome….I have plenty of it. I’m not going through calcium or magnesium to worry about those…