Doping quantity....

I have a 29g biocube. I keep reading articles about Kalk-vasser etc. I have mixed from recipes from websites and have gotten advice to only dope what you can test. But I do not have a spectrometer yet. But I am not sure what I am trying to gain. I am trying to control algae and have installed a ATS (scrubber) and a functional skimmer. Things seem okay, but I think if I dope a little it may help with my tank health.

Readings are:KH @ 8 PH 8.0 Temp 77 lighting 144w of compact flou, a couple inches of live sand 18 pounds of live rock. lighting 12/12

Kalk is for dosing ca and alk or KH. It will raise PH. It has an advantage of precipitating phosphates out of water to help with calcification. I have done it for a few mo, if you add viniger it will disolve more ca and alk and start lowering the PH of the kalk, it will increase bacteria growth also when adding viniger. Moniter ca and alk. Your alk and PH look fine. Just remember to drip the kalk as adding to much in a short time can do alot of dammage to a tank, raise PH and alk really fast and kill stuff.

So the "drip" .... how you do this? I have a reefing friend in Alabama with a 135 and a gallon plastic jug with an "IV" drip he got from the hospital, harpoons the plastic jug and sets the drip. I have gone to pharmacies, medical supply stores, etc etc etc and NOBODY carries saline IV setups. Remembering my Animaniacs Cartoons... "hellooooo NURSE!" Do you have a fancy doping set up? I guess I could try to purchase one, but seems foolish to try to set this up on my bitty bio. Can't I just add an eensie teaspoon full every day? And what about the epsom salt water and the baking soda and the Dow flake recipes? Yes I agree I want to be very careful with these, but I keep hearing people talk about these, and then Garrett suggested just use RO forget doping.

P.S. my ATS seems to be working

I used a 10 gal with a pump for circulationand a aqualifter on a timer. I found that just a timer was a bad idea as it turned the pump on and forgot to turn off. Kalk is used is generaly for top off water. don't add dry to tank! You could use a jug and a air line valve, they sell these on the net also much cheaper than the stirrers. The epson salt is your magnesium, baking soda is alk, and dow flake is your ca. this would be 2 part dosing. The ro/di, the di part will get rid of nitrate and phosphate from the tap, the ro gets rid of heavy metals, chorine and stuff like that. The forget dosing will be ok with a few more water changes as the wc will up your levels in stead of dosing, easier on nano systems. If you have sps's then you may need to dose other wise most say you shouldn't have to, but will help with coriline alge. The 2 part you have to watch how much you add in a short time also, I have a couple syringes with valves set up to drip. My scrubber has only been going 2-3 weeks now too. Softies seem to like the no skimmer though. The brs is the cheapest 2 part, Kalk is cheaper I would pick one and use it wiether it be wc's, 2 part, Kalc.

tinkerman wrote: My scrubber has only been going 2-3 weeks now too. Softies seem to like the no skimmer though.

That is an interesting observation.

"The brs is the cheapest 2 part, Kalk is cheaper I would pick one and use it wiether it be wc's, 2 part, Kalc."

Okay, I have been changing my water at a rate of 2 gal per week, this should be nearly 50% per month. So maybe this is excessive and I should back off on water changes. Garrett told me that the 8.0 PH is okay, but then I am reading a "Reef Note" book that says that is too low, and my 8 KH is too low also. Using only RO it seems that I should be doping to get my numbers up higher. I have struggled with my Leathers and I have had algae growth which would seem to indicate I have Nitrates and Phosphorous levels (I don't know how to test for these) that are elevated giving me algae growth. I think the ATS is going to remove these. So I am just kind of waiting and watching and testing and learning (I hope I am not just practicing mistakes).

I run my PH at 7.9 to 8.2 and I dont see anything that looks bad. Ya yor alk is low I like to keep mine at about 10-12.

Just get a nitrate and phospahate test and see were your levels are at.

I would also get a DI add on to your ro unit.

I do not have a RO or a DI unit. But I have thought about getting one. Is there a good or bad unit or features to look for?

I have this one OCEAN REEF + 1 FIVE STAGE 75 GPD RO/DI http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm Has about everything you need or want in a ro/di. They were very helpful, I knew nothing about them and explained and answered all questions I had fast shipping, I beleive they are in duluth. I have heard that BRS is a good place too. The scrubber will eat alot of nitrate and phosphates. Heres a link that gets indepth with the scrubber, great site for plants too. http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/4752-DIY-project-using-algae-as-export-in-SW?highlight=algea%20scrubber

If you want a iv line try a farm store in the vet/dairy section.

Have you had your water tested with a TDS meter? I'm willing to bet your algae growth is from not using RODI for water changes. Once you get that in place and are doing regular water changes, then you can decide if you need to start dosing. Depending on what you keep, you may be fine without. Without testing your water, you don't know for sure.

If you do end up dosing, you do not "have" to drip. You can just dose it with a dropper.

From my experience and reading, the best ways to rid the tank of algae is to:
1) use RODI water and do frequent water changes
2) cut back on photo period (if by light 12/12 you mean that your lights are on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours, you may want to cut back to maybe 8 or less ours on)
3) don't feed too much
4) good flow to keep "stuff" from settling

I hope that helps.

Good points Cammie and others, yeah The Dosing part from the post of yours I've read you sound like you have prenty of time to research and ask questions and deside how you want to go with your tank as you've said your softies will love you going skimmerless True With a Scrubber DOC's ( Dissolved Organic Compounds) are fuel and if not kept up you may show your Phosphates are low because your reading could be false from the scrubbers consumption.
With a skimmer it brakes down and Rids DOC's .
As for a RO/DI if your Handy you can buy the parts to make your own System if not look for thinks like pressure gauge.back flush, TDS meter.useable options and if your town pressure is 43 or under I would look at getting a booster pump there not cheap but will pay for itself fast on the Membranes and media U'd save on.

tinkerman wrote: The epson salt is your magnesium .

Epson Salt is fine for using as Mag sulfate but you still need Magnesium Chloride too.