Bolus dosing

[DutchReefer420]

I am not going to hunt through 62 pages to find an answer to a simple question, It takes the fun out of it.

First rule of Bolus Method - dont talk about alk.

like i said its all in here.. you just need to put in the work if you want to know

Sadly life doenst let me sit in front of my tank for measurments 10 hours a day.

 

[DutchReefer420]

I have nothing against bolus dosing of bicarbonate, if you like it, but I am super skeptical of that statement being generally true, and you showed no data on that comparison. It makes no sense.

As I have said over and over in this thread, one needs to know what one is comparing to. There are all sorts of permutations one could try, even if bolus dosing is your thing. For example, bolus dosing of carbonate and the effect on alk levels.

when the only option to get some where is a automated KH tester i will skip!

 

[twentyleagues]

like i said its all in here.. you just need to put in the work if you want to know

Sadly life doenst let me sit in front of my tank for measurments 10 hours a day.

Sounds like we are in the same boat but paddling in different directions. I'll keep "bolus dosing" my afr until I can get straight answers.

Time for a song
Oh Oh its magiiic, You knoh-oh-ow

 

[ReneReef]

You are using the original FM KH Mix? Have you seen this „tabletop effect“ of the alkalinity? I am using regular bicarb and the alkalinity just rises directly to the expected value. Nothing like it was explained by Claude and Doug. This is what makes some people (me included) nervous as its generally considered to keep alk stable (Claude says he doesn‘t understand where this thought is coming from).
Have you seen bigger swings? Did corals react to the bolus dosing?

My Montis, Stylo and LPS do not mind the current daily 1.2dKh swing but I am not sure about the Acro frags that I received yesterday…

The FM “carbonate mix” is just bicarb. Nothing else. Earlier in this topic this was investigated using several techniques including IR-spectroscopy. So no debate there anymore.

The “missing KH” is due to an error in the dosing instructions for the carbonate solution. FM says it contains 5000KH/L but it’s actually much less potent at only 3340KH/L. So people were not seeing the alk they added because they didn’t add it in the first place.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

when the only option to get some where is a automated KH tester i will skip!

I never suggested such a thing.

Knowing the alk before you bolus dose, and how much you dose, would be a huge step forward. Add to that the range of alk from your spread out dosing ( one or two measurements) would help us understand what effect the actual alk level may be playing.

 

[twentyleagues]

Ok it was killing me not sure if this is helpful or not, doesnt make sense to me 100% and they seem to think that also.
post 689
2.5 dkh bolus does in 600l tank. Test after only shows 0.8dkh increase.
Need how many mls that is.....

 

[rtparty]

Ok it was killing me not sure if this is helpful or not, doesnt make sense to me 100% and they seem to think that also.
post 689
2.5 dkh bolus does in 600l tank. Test after only shows 0.8dkh increase.
Need how many mls that is.....

Post 1244 explains what happened there

Those dosing FM alkalinity don’t actually dose as much as they thought. FM doesn’t even understand their own alkalinity product. Speaks volumes

 

[MichaelM]

A few months back i posted all my measurments on how much i dose and the raise i saw with salifert.

You mean this? https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bolus-dosing.1055204/post-12549412
Interesting that you seem to get this plateau. I also did the tests a while ago: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bolus-dosing.1055204/post-12565245
Alk was dropping quite consistently then.

Well, maybe I will do that again tomorrow.

The FM “carbonate mix” is just bicarb. Nothing else. Earlier in this topic this was investigated using several techniques including IR-spectroscopy. So no debate there anymore.

I actually could not keep track of this thread for quite a while, so I missed that it seems. So it is not a bicarb-carbonate mix as suggested by others (limits of solublitity and such, see also this: https://www.meerwasserforum.info/forum/thread/76554-bolus-und-oceamo-duo/?postID=836719&#post836719). Maybe I really do not need to worry about the alk swings then. I was just a little alerted after listening to the Reef Bum episode with Joe Muscat who was emphasizing heavily on absolute alk stability.

 

[twentyleagues]

Post 1244 explains what happened there

Those dosing FM alkalinity don’t actually dose as much as they thought. FM doesn’t even understand their own alkalinity product. Speaks volumes

True, and I understand that. He was asked if he could tell us how much he dosed per day and if he tested after the dose to see what his numbers were. What I posted was all I could find other than a 3.0 dkh before his skimmer incident.

 

[Oldreefer44]

For what it's worth, my system (180 with a moderate to heavy sps bio lode) has settled in at 8.1 DKH with a 250 ml dose of their prescribed solution. Still seeing much improved coral growth and color.

 

[twentyleagues]

For what it's worth, my system (180 with a moderate to heavy sps bio lode) has settled in at 8.1 DKH with a 250 ml dose of their prescribed solution. Still seeing much improved coral growth and color.

So the dkh after the 250ml bolus dose is 8.1dkh? Any idea what it is before the dose?

 

[Oldreefer44]

Stays very consistent with it dropping to 8.0 some nights and not others and occasionally rises to 8.2 but rarely. Dose all of it at 7:30 with lights coming on at 8. Took about 2 weeks to get there after previously using AFR and Kalk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Stays very consistent with it dropping to 8.0 some nights and not others and occasionally rises to 8.2 but rarely. Dose all of it at 7:30 with lights coming on at 8. Took about 2 weeks to get there after previously using AFR and Kalk.

The question you seemingly responded to was about alk. Are you sure you are not referring to pH?

 

[andrewb70]

So i've been doing a Bolus Dose now for a couple of weeks dosing 250ml @ 8:30am of FM Alk on a 650l Mixed reef. My swing during the day (7.8-8.8) can be seen on the first graph. I have my Alkatronic testing every 6 hours.

Before Bolus my daily Alk swing was less (8.4-8.7) but I haven't seen any ill effects of the change as yet.

PH is 8.1 - 8.4

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Before Bolus my daily Alk swing was less (8.4-8.7) but I haven't seen any ill effects of the change as yet.

Thanks!

Do you have a pH graph of bolus that is equivalent to the pre bolus?

Have you seen anything you'd call a benefit switching to bolus?

Any tracking of how much total alk is used in each case?

 

[twentyleagues]

So i've been doing a Bolus Dose now for a couple of weeks dosing 250ml @ 8:30am of FM Alk on a 650l Mixed reef. My swing during the day (7.8-8.8) can be seen on the first graph. I have my Alkatronic testing every 6 hours.

Before Bolus my daily Alk swing was less (8.4-8.7) but I haven't seen any ill effects of the change as yet.

PH is 8.1 - 8.4

This has got to be the best answer to the questions yet. Thank you!

 

[andrewb70]

Thanks!

Do you have a pH graph of bolus that is equivalent to the pre bolus?

Have you seen anything you'd call a benefit switching to bolus?

Any tracking of how much total alk is used in each case?

For me Bolus has only made a slight difference to Ph, low Ph for me is not a problem as I have my sump in the garage which has plenty of Oxygen. I have been lucky enough to keep Ph above 8. In the relatively short period (2 weeks) I would say that my LPS have puffed up somewhat, SPS difficult to say if there's been any improvement in colour or growth. No real tracking but 250ml of Alk on my tank suggests a 1.8dkh to 2dkh consumption per day.

 

[twentyleagues]

For me Bolus has only made a slight difference to Ph, low Ph for me is not a problem as I have my sump in the garage which has plenty of Oxygen. I have been lucky enough to keep Ph above 8. In the relatively short period (2 weeks) I would say that my LPS have puffed up somewhat, SPS difficult to say if there's been any improvement in colour or growth. No real tracking but 250ml of Alk on my tank suggests a 1.8dkh to 2dkh consumption per day.

Is that 1.8-2.0 with fm's math error? Seems your consumption would be closer to 1 dkh if your swing is 7.8-8.8 or am I misunderstanding the dosing/usage?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No real tracking but 250ml of Alk on my tank suggests a 1.8dkh to 2dkh consumption per day.

Thanks. Is that using the questionable FM data for potency? Because the graph looks more like a 1 dKH boost during the bolus.

 

[twentyleagues]

Thanks. Is that using the questionable FM data for potency? Because the graph looks more like a 1 dKH boost during the bolus.

ok so I do understand it!