Dosing in a future 20 gal reef

[L0L_Z]

Ok so I planned on buying a reef tank and my equipment is as such

lominie p30 light
aqua one heater
4 kg live rock
hob filter
Cheap Amazon powerhead

possible stocking
yellow head jawfish
designer clown
swissguard basslet


possible corals
mostly lps like torch, hammers, Trachys, blastos, acans, scolds and lobos as well as some softies like mushrooms, zoas and a gsp rock, and maybe some harder corals like sun corals, montis and birds nest


questions
What to dose?
How much to dose?
Which brand to dose?
Will I need a dosing pump?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

You don't dose until your testing shows that the coral is using more than can be replaced by water changes. In a 20 gallon, you likely will be able to get by with no dosing for quite a while, and may never need it, depending on your salt mix parameters and your water change schedule.

 

[blaxsun]

^ What he said.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

^ What he said.

Excuse me??

 

[L0L_Z]

Alright I will, but if I need to dose (which will be likely considering my stocking) what brand?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Alright I will, but if I need to dose (which will be likely considering my stocking) what brand?

Really too early to say. Wait until you have a need and then look into the "best" fit for your situation.

And again, it's not a forgone conclusion that you'll even need to dose. No reason to buy things that your tank doesn't need but you might be tempted to use just because... Save that $$ for quality equipment.

 

[mdb_talon]

Agree with others you are getting ahead of yourself but there are many approaches and brands that will all work. For simplicity sake in a 20g tank I would normally advise people to use Tropic Marin all for reef.

 

[Jason Scalise]

Watch and observe. In fact, you may need > 1 year of running before things dial in to where you are confident you need to dose anything.
I am starting my own 20g at the moment after tearing down a 100g. Trust me, I know it is tempting to be “all over it” but really diligent observation and methodical reaction will serve you well. (Don’t ask how I know).

 

[L0L_Z]

Alright, I wil be using aquafirest reef salt. Question, is it possible to set up a small sump using those cheap little pumps? (No drilling btw

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

To be honest, with a 20g you will be micro dosing, if at all with water changes. I'm talking AFR less than 5 ml daily, Trace elements less than .06 ml daily, etc. If you need to dose it is easy enough to do by hand with feeding syringes. I usually do it while I am feeding in the back of the tank (AIO) or sump.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

To be honest, with a 20g you will be micro dosing, if at all with water changes. I'm talking AFR less than 5 ml daily, Trace elements less than .06 ml daily, etc. If you need to dose it is easy enough to do by hand with feeding syringes. I usually do it while I am feeding in the back of the tank (AIO) or sump.

 

[mdb_talon]

Alright, I wil be using aquafirest reef salt. Question, is it possible to set up a small sump using those cheap little pumps? (No drilling btw

An external sump requires either a drilled tank or a hang on back siphon overflow(or put sump above tank in which case it requires a drilled sump)

 

[L0L_Z]

No wait you don’t get it, I meant taking 2 pumps like the one in this photo and using tubing to direct water down to the sump and up. It will have a hob, heater and a refugium with live rock,Chaeto,crabs,shrimp, and a snail.

 

[V A R I A N T]

A drilled tank with built in overflow, or a hang on overflow can break the siphon from the display to the sump. Your suggested two pump solution will not prevent the display from overflowing the sump in a power outage scenario.

 

[L0L_Z]

But if the electricity goes out, won’t the pumps go out too? I’m not gonna use the usb ones btw.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

But if the electricity goes out, won’t the pumps go out too? I’m not gonna use the usb ones btw.

It will be nearly impossible to do this successfully long term, and if the power goes out, the siphon effect will draw water down to your sump and overflow it.
You'd be better served by waiting until you can afford an AIO or a drilled tank with a proper sump... Lots of gently used stuff out there.

 

[L0L_Z]

I might try this, as over here power outages are like 1 in a million and if they do happen, they warn us beforehand so I can simply remove the pump. I don’t mean to be ignorant I’m just curious to see if this will work.

 

[V A R I A N T]

But if the electricity goes out, won’t the pumps go out too? I’m not gonna use the usb ones btw.

Yes, the pumps would go out, but this does not affect the siphon. Once started a siphon relies on pressure and gravity. You need a siphon break valve, check valve, or other device to halt the siphon. All of which can/will fail at some point.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yes, the pumps would go out, but this does not affect the siphon. Once started a siphon relies on pressure and gravity. You need a siphon break valve, check valve, or other device to halt the siphon. All of which can/will fail at some point.

A siphon break helps mostly with reverse flow in our applications... If he's already got a pump sending water down to a sump, there's no way to install a siphon break...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I might try this, as over here power outages are like 1 in a million and if they do happen, they warn us beforehand so I can simply remove the pump. I don’t mean to be ignorant I’m just curious to see if this will work.

It will be next to impossible to get the pumps to balance...