Looking into 2-part dosers

[Kizmar]

I'm finding that I need to do something to further stabilize my KH and Calcium levels. I've been manually dosing and seem to forget at times, which throws things off a little bit.

Currently, I'm manually dosing with REEF Fusion 1 & 2. The doser I'm eyeballing to automate this is here: BRS 2 Part Doser - 1.1mL/minute.

Also, do you just set these up to pump at a certain speed and they run 24/7?

Thought I'd check here for opinions, and pro's and con's of automatic dosing. :)

 

[R3verb]

nope! The speed is set and then you set a time for how much you want it on per day. So for instance, lets say you need to dose ~66ml of substance X and your dosing pump is rated at 1.1ml/min, you would need to have the pump dose for ~60 mins a day. That being said, you would probably want to split it up into 15 min increments throughout the day (so like 4 stints of 15 mins each) the higher the number of times you can does per day, the better. So for instance, if you are using one of those little mechanical timers that people use for their xmas lights, you are looking at the smalles increment of probably 15 mins so you can dose 4 times a day. If you are using something like a reefkeeper, you can dose for like a minute, 60 times a day. The greater the number of times you dose per day, the smaller the amount is being dose and that leads to less changes in your tanks chemistry over a 24 hour period (this is the same concept as an ATO). Side note, I currently dont dose ANYTHING into my tank so this is all based on research, not real world experience!

 

[d2mini]

yummy....
VX-DP-LB-SMUS Premium Aquatics - VX-DP-LB-SMUS Aquarium Supplies

or...
GHL ProfiLux Stand Alone Dosing System, 3 Pumps w/ Controller - AquaCave.com

So choice. :D

 

[Northstar24]

Have you tried adding Kalk to your top off water? If you dont have to dose a ton, this might be easier than setting up a full fledged two part dosing system. I've been manually dosing Alk myself, but i havent been consistent. I've recently read that the first step is adding Kalk to your topoff water first

While two part dosing from BRS is not terribly expensive, Kalk is even cheaper, and if you run an ATO already, you have everything you need

Otherwise, you can go the two part route, you set the dosing pumps on a timer, so they run for x seconds at 1.1 ml a minute (using the pumps from BRS). Ideally, you break up the total dose over several, smaller dosings a day

 

[Kizmar]

nope! The speed is set and then you set a time for how much you want it on per day. So for instance, lets say you need to dose ~66ml of substance X and your dosing pump is rated at 1.1ml/min, you would need to have the pump dose for ~60 mins a day. That being said, you would probably want to split it up into 15 min increments throughout the day (so like 4 stints of 15 mins each) the higher the number of times you can does per day, the better. So for instance, if you are using one of those little mechanical timers that people use for their xmas lights, you are looking at the smalles increment of probably 15 mins so you can dose 4 times a day. If you are using something like a reefkeeper, you can dose for like a minute, 60 times a day. The greater the number of times you dose per day, the smaller the amount is being dose and that leads to less changes in your tanks chemistry over a 24 hour period (this is the same concept as an ATO). Side note, I currently dont dose ANYTHING into my tank so this is all based on research, not real world experience!

Thanks for the info. Reading through this, it dawned on me that I can use my ReefKeeper to set up the dose schedule. Bonus!

Have you tried adding Kalk to your top off water? If you dont have to dose a ton, this might be easier than setting up a full fledged two part dosing system. I've been manually dosing Alk myself, but i havent been consistent. I've recently read that the first step is adding Kalk to your topoff water first

While two part dosing from BRS is not terribly expensive, Kalk is even cheaper, and if you run an ATO already, you have everything you need

Otherwise, you can go the two part route, you set the dosing pumps on a timer, so they run for x seconds at 1.1 ml a minute (using the pumps from BRS). Ideally, you break up the total dose over several, smaller dosings a day

Also great info. I had looked into Kalk, but don't know much about it. It just happened that I landed on buying part 2 of the 2-part dosing liquids. Early on, it was just alkalinity that I needed to raise. Since then, I've purchased part 1 of 2 to keep alch and calc at the proper levels. So far, 2-3 caps a day of each seems to keep levels where they need to be.

Speaking of ATO, I purchased a JBJ ATO a few months ago and haven't gotten around to setting it all up yet. I still need to get a BRS Top Off Doser to complete the automation.

So, how do you determine if you can use Kalk vs. a 2-part solution?

 

[d2mini]

Thanks for the info. Reading through this, it dawned on me that I can use my ReefKeeper to set up the dose schedule. Bonus!

Yup, that's what I did on my last tank. RKL controlling the BRS dosing pumps mounted in my stand and tubes going to their thin 1g jugs.
This time I'm doing BRS Kalkwasser in the ATO. Much cheaper and more than enough for what my tank needs at this time. I'm only using 1/2 tsp per gallon at the moment and the max is 2tsp.

 

[Kizmar]

Yup, that's what I did on my last tank. RKL controlling the BRS dosing pumps mounted in my stand and tubes going to their thin 1g jugs.
This time I'm doing BRS Kalkwasser in the ATO. Much cheaper and more than enough for what my tank needs at this time. I'm only using 1/2 tsp per gallon at the moment and the max is 2tsp.

Sounds like I need to use up the 2-part I have, get my ATO set up, than use Kalk in the ATO water and see how that goes. I could kill two birds with one stone. :)

 

[Northstar24]

There was an article I found by the guy that does all the reef chemistry articles that explains how to run kalk, I'll see if I can find it again. BRS also probably has a video on it

 

[Kizmar]

So, if you put Kalk in the ATO water, do you have to keep it stirred up?

 

[d2mini]

So, if you put Kalk in the ATO water, do you have to keep it stirred up?

No. I run a powerhead for a bit to make sure it's good and mixed (with ato pump off) then let it settle and then turn the ATO pump back on. You want the slurry to settle at the bottom and not end up in your tank. Just the saturated lime water, which will stay that way without continuous stirring.

 

[Kizmar]

So... after some research and talking to several different people, I'm heavily leaning towards a calcium reactor. I figure I'll end up wanting one when my corals are matured anyway. It sounds like they are stable and need very little maintenance when properly set up.

My LFS sells and recommends the Reef Dynamic's reactors because they are easy to maintain (take apart where needed). As apposed to some that have multiple screws that have to be taken out to clean and replace material.

That said, which calcium reactors have you guys used and recommend?

 

[R3verb]

I have the Reef Dynamic skimmer, It is EPIC. I wouldn't buy a skimmer/calcium/biopelet reactor from any other company.

 

[Kizmar]

Well, I now have an order in for one of these puppies: Calcium Media Reactor Model 250E

My LFS said they sell a CO2 regulator for ~$160. I see one on BRS for $145, but it has a bad rating (fwiw). Any experienced suggestions on regulators?

 

[d2mini]

I'll be interested to hear how your experience goes.
I was thinking of doing a calc reactor on this tank but was swayed away from it during my research. Seemed like too much hassle, parameters that could get out of whack, CO2 tanks to refill, etc. Please post updates as you go. :)

 

[Kizmar]

I'll be interested to hear how your experience goes.
I was thinking of doing a calc reactor on this tank but was swayed away from it during my research. Seemed like too much hassle, parameters that could get out of whack, CO2 tanks to refill, etc. Please post updates as you go. :)

Will do [on posting updates].

One of the tipping points for me happened while i was talking to the LFS guy (that said, I always keep in mind their advice always has a bit of salesmanship mixed in). :)

He had mentioned that it's easy to OD Kalk (in general). When mixing it with ATO water, you could still hit the scenario where your top off needs to run, but the KH is fine (@d2mini - maybe you can speak to this?). He said if I was going to use Kalk, that I'd be better off manually dosing it so I can control what's going in. Since I'm trying to get away from daily / semi-daily dosing...

I've talked to two different people with calcium reactors in their home tanks. Both have said they love it, but to introduce it to the system very slowly so as not to throw things off. So the first week or two I'd slowly switch from dosing 2-part to using only the reactor. It can't be much worse then the roller coaster kH and salinity levels my tank is experiencing right now (without ATO or consistent dosing - I forget sometimes).

Both guys said: once set up properly, the pH and kH in their tank were very stable. One guy did mention that there is a possibility of gunk clogging parts of the reactor causing level issues, but they said as long as you clean it really good every 2-3 months you should be fine.

I'm always open to additional opinions as well. It's not too late to NOT buy the reactor, the LFS would just sell it to someone else at this point. ;)

 

[d2mini]

I've always found that the tank will suck up trace elements pretty consistently (as long as you're not making any major changes). So with the kalk in the ATO it takes some experimenting to find out how much you need, but once you find it the right amount it's pretty easy to keep things level. My quest right now is just figuring out how often you need to add more kalk powder. Every other time you fill up your ATO container? Every third time? So yeah, it's not really a set and forget type deal, but as long as you are testing regularly it's simpler. I like simple. haha :) I don't want to sway you though. Everyone is going to like a different approach for different reasons, whether it be kalk, 2-part or calc reactor. You just need to decide which is best for you and that usually means trying each way for yourself.

 

[Kizmar]

Now that I have my ATO set up and running, I'm ganna start with Kalk instead of a calcium reactor.

Dennis - How did you determine how much kalk you'd need per gallon? I hear it's really easy to OD kalk and wanna make sure I avoid that without my kH plummeting because my mix isn't strong enough.

 

[Ted]

Mr Saltwater tank has a great vid on kalkwassier dosing through the ATO. Its on youtube.

How To Use the King of All Saltwater Additives Safely and Effectively - YouTube