Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 So I got around to testing everything and found my ALK really low. I've been dosing the BRS 2 part and using their calculator and I'm not getting any where. How much are my sps using every day....Anyway here are all test results including the ALK test right before dosing (same time everyday, except today which doesn't matter because I'm getting nowhere). 9/10/12 SG 1.026 Temp 81.0 Ammonia 0 Nitrate 20 / 15ppm Phosphates 0 ALK 5.32 next day 5.88 Dose 10ml next day 6.44 10ml next day 5.88 20ml n/d T1 5.71 T2 5.82 T3 6.27 Cal 550 Mag 1250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Flenderson Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 How many gallons is your system? The calculator should give you 2 differnt amounts. One number is the amount you need to dose to achieved your desired level, and the other is the amount you need to dose daily to maintain your current level. The maintance level can be dialed in to your specific needs or demands of your corals and can increase over time with growth. First things first what is your total system water volume? Minus LR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Dose more then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 Dose more then. Tried that, doubled it and the ALK went down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Have you checked your mag? If your mag is low then your alk will never be sable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 How many gallons is your system? The calculator should give you 2 differnt amounts. One number is the amount you need to dose to achieved your desired level' date=' and the other is the amount you need to dose daily to maintain your current level. The maintance level can be dialed in to your specific needs or demands of your corals and can increase over time with growth. First things first what is your total system water volume? Minus LR?[/quote'] I'd say around 50 gal total between tank and sump and thats w/ water displacement from the LR. All entered into calculator said I needed 39.9ml to bring it to 7, I figured it would take more than that because of demand in the tank. But I'm dosing and it still drops? I have managed to add a few sps and my lps has gotten big enough to effect that. Does the supplement go bad over time and if so what kind of time limit are we talking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 Have you checked your mag? If your mag is low then your alk will never be sable. Yes mag is 1250 checked twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 i know i have to dose a lot for one of my 40 breeders.between 3 of my tanks i go through over a gallon of the 2 part BRS every mont and i wouldnt say i have a heavy stoney coral dominated tank.just sayin its not unusual to have to use alot of the 2 part if you have growing corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 i know i have to dose a lot for one of my 40 breeders.between 3 of my tanks i go through over a gallon of the 2 part BRS every mont and i wouldnt say i have a heavy stoney coral dominated tank.just sayin its not unusual to have to use alot of the 2 part if you have growing corals. Thx that is very helpful actually. I haven't had to dose really up til now and I'm unsure how the #'s play out yet. You know what I mean? Whether it takes a fair amount of supplement to keep levels where I want them or if a little goes a long way. It's sounding like I might be able to dose more than I am. Any one have a suggested limit on how much I can dose safely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 once its all dialed in you may not have to dose as much.but it may be daily dosing for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 once its all dialed in you may not have to dose as much.but it may be daily dosing for a while. I can handle a daily dosing w/ a routine amount. It is the dosing to try to reach a certain # that's driving me nuts, I feel like I'm putting a lot in and I'm probably not. 10ml over 4-5 days should have brought me back up to 7 as far as the calculator is concerned (not). I even doubled the dose and the # fell back down to 5.71 from 5.88. I know we're only talking 10th of a point here, but it should not be falling when I'm dosing this much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 So i was right? 10ml? Thats barely anything. I dose 400 ml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 So i was right? Your always right, now tell me step by step what to do and make it so I don't have to think about it any more. You guy's ever see that episode of south park where their playing guitar hero, and the chasing the dragon video game, well I feel like I'm chasing that dragon here and if I'm correct they never caught theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Dose some. Test in an hour. Repear til you are satisfied. I use a ratio of 75% bicarbonate to 25% carbonate to avoid pH swings one way or another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 Dose some. Test in an hour. Repear til you are satisfied. I use a ratio of 75% bicarbonate to 25% carbonate to avoid pH swings one way or another Thank you, I'll start again there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 When you dose your alk, does it make a white cloud in the water? If it does, than you are only removing the calcium from your tank and possibly LOWERING your alk as well. The recipe for BRS two part is very concentrated so it precipitates easily. When I was dosing BRS two part I would dilute about 100 ml of the alk into a gallon of RO/DI water and add it that way. Then I would not get precipitation (the white cloud) forming in my tank. Good luck with your dosing. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 Thx,no white cloud and I'm keeping track of the cal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 So I have it up to 6.9, which is close to where I was trying to get it. Can I now take the # not dose for 24hr test and deduct #2 from #1 to get an estimate of how much ALK the tank is consuming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 I would keep up the current dose if 7 is a happy number for you my guess is that you demand it far exceeding your in put and you may need to increase the dose even more then you already have. I recently just had this same issue with my tank and it ended up taking me dosing 20ml a day to keep it steady mid 8s =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberlee Posted September 15, 2012 Author Share Posted September 15, 2012 I would keep up the current dose if 7 is a happy number for you my guess is that you demand it far exceeding your in put and you may need to increase the dose even more then you already have. I recently just had this same issue with my tank and it ended up taking me dosing 20ml a day to keep it steady mid 8s =) I know I think I'm the 1 who responded on that thread. I expected this to happen due to the added hard corals and the un real growth of the ones already in the tank. I'm really bad about testing and try not to play the #'s game (bad things happen chasing dragons), but I for some reason (even though my tank has never looked this good) decided I should run a full set of tests. Now that # is bugging me and it is just low enough to become a problem soon. So I'm trying really hard to get that daily dose dialed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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