How do you guys dose two part?

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by GuitarMan89, Apr 26, 2010.

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  1. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    I have been having troubles with my Ca and Alk. My Ca has been low for a while now, averaging about 360ppm and my alk is about 8 dkh. However, I was unable to raise my Ca no matter how much I dosed. My dosing regime was to dose Ca and Alk at the same time. After reading that article about Alk, Ca and Mg, I learned that adding Ca reduces Alk a little and adding Alk reduces Ca a little. Also, that in order to raise one or the other, you need to dose them separately, I think. Anyways, I dosed Ca by itself and test a few hours later and it was up to 430ppm, good right. However, my alk had fallen to about 6 dkh. So I dosed Alk, then tested both later on and my Ca was about 390ppm, and Alk about 7. BTW, my Mg is 1350 so that's not the problem. I just want to know how you dose a two part system? Thanks.
     
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  3. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    One in the morning and one at night. I usually dose alk at night for hopefully some pH stability.
     
  4. Powerman

    Powerman Giant Squid

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    I dose alk all night with drews doser pumps and my AC Jr. I dose Cal in the morning one shot.

    I have chased test around and screwed my dosing up. Finally called BRS and they got me straightened out. I have found now their recommendations are pretty spot on. So perhaps it won't be exact, but it should be real close. Look at your actual water volume and start with their base lines.... wait for it to settle. Dose the one that is lower to bring it up.

    I have also found their calculator to be spot on. See where you are at, and how much you need to dose to get it whare you want. It should land perfect if your water volume is correct.

    I went back to basics after calcifying all my pumps and BRS got me dialed in in two weeks. Used the calculator and I'm right at BRS recommended doses for what I have.

    How much are you dosing and is it BRS? I'm at 60 ml/day for 110g with mostly SPS.
     
  5. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    Sounds familiar, I'm always calcifying my pumps and sides, especially in my sump. I do use BRS supplies, I guess I need to go back to basics. How did you figure out how much to dose? Did you just get the parameters to where you want them, then figure out how much your tanks uses in a day?
     
  6. Powerman

    Powerman Giant Squid

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    Start with the calculator at BRS and figure out how much you need to dose to bring your numbers where you want them. Get them there and don't raise ALk too fast... sps do not appreciate it.

    Start with BRS recommendation for your tank.... best guess for lps/sps...sps dominate...high side of scale or low. Just pick something... dose in equal parts ....and stop testing constantly.

    Wait 3 days to a week and test to see where you are..... if your numbers fell off.... and say it went from 8 to 7.7 in 3 days.... then see how much of a dose to raise from 7.7 to 8... then divide that dose over the three days, and that is how much you need to add (or subtract) to your timer.

    There is the starting dose to get where you want, then the maintenance dose to keep you there...daily consumption.

    I was chasing test... the first thing BRS said was to stop testing and chasing results. Test every three days and see what happens. Give it time to settle. Again... I was dialed in in two weeks.

    When you do your initial dosing.... the calculator should be spot on so just test to see that you are getting proper results you expect. Test at the same time every time. I dose my stuff over night and morning, I always test in the evening.

    Don't be afraid to call BRS... those guys are way helpful... they have this stuff nailed down.
     
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  7. bama

    bama Humpback Whale

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    Very informative.. I too have been having trouble with the 2 part.. I might call BRS to help me out..
     
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  9. Powerman

    Powerman Giant Squid

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    Oh ya... and say your numbers fell off from 8 to 7.7 in three days... well if you get your dose to add to your timer.... that will still only be daily consumption.... you still need to add that much to raise it back up.

    So say you need to add 5 minutes to your timer, well you would still need to add 10 minutes for those three days then knock it back to 5 after that. You know what I mean... you still have to get it back to 8, then dose daily consumption.
     
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  10. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    Very good info, thanks
     
  11. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    Bump this for anymore good advice
     
  12. Night-Rida

    Night-Rida Finback Whale

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    maybe you need to raise your salinity a notch, to hold higher numbers..