I've finally accepted that I need to start dosing my tank. I have a 12 gallon aquapod with some SPS, LPS, and softies. I do weekly water changes of 4 gallons (33% change, but more like 40-50% when factoring the displacement from rock/sand/equipment. I was hoping these large changes would keep the alk up without dosing but that's not the case. Today's test measurements were,
pH: 8.3
kH: 5.2 (ouch)
Ca: 390 ppm
Mg: 1470 ppm
NO3: 0 ppm
PO4: 0 ppm
These large water changes combine with some prolific bubble algae and sea lettuce have tanked my nutrients. In addition, they've clearly failed to keep my alk up. I tested freshly mixed water today to make sure my test kit was working and got a KH of ~8.7.
I've been dosing NO3 and PO4, but I recently slacked on that when the algae in the tank started to go wild. I've also tried dosing Coral Up from time to time, but I haven't been consistent.
Surprisingly, all the corals look pretty good with the exception of a Duncan that's been pouting for like 6 months.
In any case, I think I either need a real doser or I need to be much more aggressive about dosing the Coral Up. I feel like the instructions on the bottle just isn't enough. In any case, what should I dose? What is the simplest possible dosing set up that still yields good results? Could I use my ATO?
I think I'm going to do a 80-100% water change pronto to get my alk back to normal.
pH: 8.3
kH: 5.2 (ouch)
Ca: 390 ppm
Mg: 1470 ppm
NO3: 0 ppm
PO4: 0 ppm
These large water changes combine with some prolific bubble algae and sea lettuce have tanked my nutrients. In addition, they've clearly failed to keep my alk up. I tested freshly mixed water today to make sure my test kit was working and got a KH of ~8.7.
I've been dosing NO3 and PO4, but I recently slacked on that when the algae in the tank started to go wild. I've also tried dosing Coral Up from time to time, but I haven't been consistent.
Surprisingly, all the corals look pretty good with the exception of a Duncan that's been pouting for like 6 months.
In any case, I think I either need a real doser or I need to be much more aggressive about dosing the Coral Up. I feel like the instructions on the bottle just isn't enough. In any case, what should I dose? What is the simplest possible dosing set up that still yields good results? Could I use my ATO?
I think I'm going to do a 80-100% water change pronto to get my alk back to normal.
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