What is this two part dosing concept?

I have been trying to understand what this whole dosing thing is. My 40 reef could still very much be improved. I have been looking at the Kent Tech CB Part A and B dosing bottles. Can someone help me understand the concept behind all this. If i were to get this dosing part A/B and check my levels, is that the only dosing I would ever need to do?

 

it may be Anthos - depends on demand really

but the Kent product would be a good choice based on my recent experience with this product as it does also deliver Magnesium - at a better ratio than some other bottled 2 part systems I have checked over ( need to double check them before giving very valid opinions)

this product and other 2 part dosing product, basically deliver a calcium focused supplement in 1 bottle and an alkalinity focused supplement in the other

the instructions indicate (of the 3 I have checked out) a need to add the same amount from each aspect on a routine basis

testing is required, so you can work out exactly how much you would need to add to replace what is utilised

many tanks for various reasons have a harder time maintaining Alk then they do Calcium ( Alk going towards boosting PH being 1 reason, and also Mag and Strontium could be used by corals in addition to Calc so you dont always get parallel demand)

so it is possible you may occasionally or even routinely need to use more of the Alk focused product than the Calcium focused one

testing is key and then mathmatically knowing how much you need to get where you want and to keep it there
bearing in mind certain general principles

dont increase Calcium by more than 40ppm per day
dont increase DKH by more than 1 per day

Steve

 

Thanks very much for the help steve. So to me it sounds generallly like these products are basically calcium and alkalinity supplements with the ability for buffering also.

 

some are Anthos
the 2 part are better options IMO and IME than some of the single (one product does it all) options

The Kent one does supplement other ions
as do the Seachem reef fusion 1 and 2 and Brightwell code A and B

I have not checked them all out
but for nano set ups these products do seem to be a reasonable way of maintaining the key parameters

in a 40 gallon set up, depending on the coral types being kept there may be some better options for you to be honest

Steve

 

addition

your signature indicates soft corals - and as such
you probably wont need a lot of product to maintain parameters
water changes alone with a decent reef grade salt mix, may be adequate IME

Do you know your current Magnesium, Calcium and DKH levels?

Steve

 

unfortunately no. I am in the process of trying to buy some calcium/magnesium/phosphate test kits. I am on a real tight budget and actually opened up another thread asking about where to buy cheap test kits. So far the best options i have seen is $45 including shipping for a calcium/magnesium/ph/and phosphate. These are API test kits from big als.

So far all i have been testing for is nitrate/ammonia (API test kits). I know this is BAD and need to test for other things so I am trying to get ontop of this.

On a side note, using these API test kits, I have never seen ANY ammonia or nitrate. Except during my cycle obviously. Makes me wonder how accurate API is...

 

ammonia - you would definitely have an issue if you got results for that after a cycle

only happens if you have a death in the reef of a creature large enough to break down faster than the bacteria can keep up with
or a collapse / die off , of the bacteria itself

basically ammonia testing is something most of us do, after the cycle, if we percieve we have an issue and we test that just to eliminate it from the list of possible causes of said problem

Nitrite would be same as above

Nitrate - I cant vouch for the accuracy of API test kits having never used them
but 0 nitrate in a softy dominated 40 gallon tank is either fantastic or an innacurate result IME
might want to get that double checked

I would recomend against buying and starting any 2 part dosing methods , until after you have checked the big 3 - Magnesium, Calcium and DKH

once you have done the above
you may find you dont need the additives provided you do the regular water changes


Steve

 

Sounds great and thanks for all the help. I will get mag/calc/ph/dkh kits soon as possible. This may be a very stupid question, whats the difference between dkh and kh?

 

the scales are different

kh = carbonate hardness
DKH = degrees of carbonate hardness

kh is normally measured in parts per million PPM
DKH is measured in degrees

DKH is more use in a reef tank

SaltyZoo's Alkalinity Reading Conversion (meq/l / dKH / ppm CaCO3) Utility

here is a handy convertor

I just typed in 160 ppm and it tells me DKH and also Milliequivelents per litre (Alk) value

Steve

 

2 Part means "equal parts".

All Calcium and alk supplements are basically the same. For the sake of this at least. All supplements claim to be some special something great when they are all the same stuff.

A 2 part "sytem" is that the supplements are mixed up or you mix them up in a porportion to where you dose equal parts. Corals take up the components in equal parts. So once you get your levels where you want them, then consumption is in equal parts calcium to alk and you dose in equal parts..... 100 ml of calcium and 100 ml of alk.

If you are on a budget, then BRS is your best friend. Kent I'm sure is fine, another very popular one is... someone help me out... what is the other one most common???? Any way, heck you can make your own 2 part from the grocery store. Bottom line is BRS is going to be your cheapest with quality that can be trusted. Some stuff has been proven to have other stuf fin it like boron. BRS is your best bet if you are on a budget and want to go two part.