2 Part Dosing questions....help a 2-part dosing virgin

hoju74

hoju74

Member
I’m about ready to start dosing B-Ionic 2 part, but I have a couple of questions.

Tank is a 65g with 20L sump. Lighting is 2 SOL Blues, and I have a MP40 for flow. I do weekly 8g water changes with Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. Tank is a mixed reef with about an equal mix of LPS/SPS. Most of the SPS are frag size except for a medium size red monti cap. The test kits I’m using are Red Sea Pro. I’ll be doising manually since I don’t have an ATO and don’t plan on getting one. I’m targeting levels around 9.0 ALK, 460 CAL, & 1350 MAG

Now the questions or topics that need clarification…

1. I test for Mag-Alk-Cal and if any of these are out of range, do I dose only the components that isn’t at the desired level to bring them in line ? For instance, if my ALK is 6, but my CAL is 460, is it best to dose just the ALK part and start testing to determine my daily uptake from there ?

2. After the desired level of Mag-Alk-Cal is reached, I test for several days and find out what my daily consumption is and dose EQUAL parts of CAL-ALK, correct ?

3. I plan on dosing ALK in the morning and CAL in the afternoon. Is this a good idea or overkill for spacing them out so much ?

I appreciate any feedback as this is my first tank that needs dosing. I just want to get off on the right foot and not turn my tank into a disaster.

Thanks,
Josh
 
Yes. You only dose whatever is low, so you will have to see how much your system is using and dose accordingly. Make sure your magnesium level is in normal range because if its too low, you get alk/cal swings.
If you can afford a doser, get one. It will make your life easier. I use a doser to dose small amounts all day to keep alk stable and not swing with bigg doses. It doesnt matter what order you dose alk and mag, just dont mix them together. Reef usually use alk faster than cal, so expect to use alot more alk liquid.
 
You will find mixed opinions on this topic as with every other topic. I like to get my mag up first as that will make sure yo u can hit the levels and hold them. You can also adjust mag faster so its pretty quick to get it into place. Check out the BRS page on dosing for a good calculator (it won't help you a 100% since its designed for their product, but it has a lot of good info). After that, I do adjust each part individually to get them aligned. There is a chart that Randy Holmes Farley put together for one of his articles that shows you the relationship. Once you get the two items synced per se, then you can start dosing the same amount together.

As for spacing, its up to you. I would recommend you dose the tank in 2 batches over dosing the two parts separately, but it kind of depends on if you can separate the two doses enough to not precipitate them. I normally use my overflows to dose so that I don't dump the solution on either a fish or coral. If you can dose 1 in the overflow and have a sump area with high flow, you are probably safe doing them together. If you don't have 2 good spots to dose, then doing one in the morning and one at night is okay, however, be careful your alk doesn't swing too much. It totally depends on the amount you are dosing. This is why people use dosing pumps - they split up the doses throughout the day so that you don't get an up and down spike. I dosed manually before and it still works, but it is nice to have it split up throughout the day.
 
ColaAddict said:
Yes. You only dose whatever is low, so you will have to see how much your system is using and dose accordingly. Make sure your magnesium level is in normal range because if its too low, you get alk/cal swings.
If you can afford a doser, get one. It will make your life easier. I use a doser to dose small amounts all day to keep alk stable and not swing with bigg doses. It doesnt matter what order you dose alk and mag, just dont mix them together. Reef usually use alk faster than cal, so expect to use alot more alk liquid.
Click to expand...

This is all good info and beat me to a lot of it - The idea behind 2 part is that you use both together, but just like Cola said, in reality alk usually gets used faster. Do some searches and you will find that the "experts" typically agree on this fact as well. Again, until you start having more growth, you probably won't have too big of a difference.
 
I would dose alk at night, alk raises ph and can help moderate the low ph swing tanks experience with the lights off
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. When I tested last night, this is where I was at:

Mag: 1520
Cal: 500
Alk: 7.3

I use Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, so that explains the elevated MAG/CAL. I'm going to test another couple of days, and if the ALK is still low I'll dose up to 8.5. Once I hit the ALK I want, I'll test for a few days to determine the consumption rate and start dosing equal parts of ALK/CAL.
 
what test kits are you using, both mag and cal should not be that high with red sea coral pro, alk would be higher, if i remember correctly it mixes up somewhere around 48cal, 1300mag and 10-12 alk. but its been awhile since i tested a fresh mixed bucket.
 
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