Dosing

[Victoss]

As I get into my bigger tank with more coals eventually and my clam I would like to start dosing. I'm even on instant ocean salt right now so there's another good reason I should start. My question is whats the preferred method everyone's using right now? 2 part, calcium reactor, baling, etc? Haven't dosed before so don't want to go with something too complicated.

 

[curiousphil]

I think 2 part in a doser is the simplest and most popular right now.  I would personally go with either the Bubble Magus dosing pump or 2 of the BRS single dosing pumps and add 2 part.  In fact that's exactly what I'm planning on doing.

Balling seems to be getting popular too though... and my understanding of it is that it's more or less just 2 part dosing with trace elements mixed in.

 

[spyd]

I would use 2 part or balling. They are all most identical. I use 2 part and have had great success with it. It takes a little while to get it setup properly but once it is you can pretty much leave it. I use BRS 2 part and buy the 5 gallon pails. It will last me a very, very long time. lol.

I wouldn't bother with a calcium reactor. They can be very finicky to setup.

Balling went south there for quite a while but is now being hyped up again. Does it make any difference compared to 2 part? You would have to do some unbiased research but it may. Just from my experience, I won't be switching from 2 part because it is working for me so I don't want to mess with success.

 

[Salty Cracker]

2 part dosing here.

 

[Darryl_V]

Is this the 120g.  2 part is my recommendation as well.

 

[jroovers]

2 part 

 

[Duke]

2 part here too, a stand alone doser like the BM or the Kamoer is really convieniant.

 

[Poseidon]

2 part has my vote too, on 2 of the brs dosers
like mentioned above it takes a bit of patience and testing to set up but once thats done you should be good to go.

 

[Victoss]

Thanks everyone, I was originally thinking 2 part but wanted to gauge everyone's opinion. I do have a DIY controller where I can set timers for outlets so do you think 2 of the brs dosers is the best way to start or should I just jump right in to a 3 pump doser if funds permit? On that note why is the BM doser almost half the price of the other dosers on BRS, just brand names?

Yep this is the 120 gal Darryl.

 

[KBennett]

I'm using Kalk in my ATO until it can't keep up with the growth, which probably won't be for a while... It's easy and cheap to set up.

 

[Poseidon]

Thanks everyone, I was originally thinking 2 part but wanted to gauge everyone's opinion. I do have a DIY controller where I can set timers for outlets so do you think 2 of the brs dosers is the best way to start or should I just jump right in to a 3 pump doser if funds permit? On that note why is the BM doser almost half the price of the other dosers on BRS, just brand names?

Yep this is the 120 gal Darryl.

correct me if im wrong guys but arnt the 3 channel dosers programmable themselves? (internal timers)
which would make your diy controller obsolete...

 

[Darryl_V]

Thanks everyone, I was originally thinking 2 part but wanted to gauge everyone's opinion. I do have a DIY controller where I can set timers for outlets so do you think 2 of the brs dosers is the best way to start or should I just jump right in to a 3 pump doser if funds permit? On that note why is the BM doser almost half the price of the other dosers on BRS, just brand names?

Yep this is the 120 gal Darryl.

If you have a trusted controller for timing than the BRS pumps are good value and work great.    IMO its not worth it to get 3.  Just run alk and calcium on them and hand dose MG every month or so if needed.

 

[Victoss]

correct me if im wrong guys but arnt the 3 channel dosers programmable themselves? (internal timers)
which would make your diy controller obsolete...

Ya they are but I mainly use my controller for my DIY LEDs, an outlet for fans to turn on/off (again for LEDs) and an outlet for a broken LED driver that won't turn off fully when dimmed all the way down so still useful to me.

I think I might start off manually dosing anyways but just trying to plan everything out.

I'm using Kalk in my ATO until it can't keep up with the growth, which probably won't be for a while... It's easy and cheap to set up.

I was considering Kalk but was worried about variants in evaporation and it sounds like 2 part is the step up from kalk. Again totally new to dosing so correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Duke]

im running the kameor doser and its the same looking as the BM one. its been rock solid for over a year now, i only use 2 of the 3 pumps, but its nice to have a spare i can use if one ever fails. brs pumps are also supposedly very reliable and long lasting..so i don't think you can go wrong with either, the menu on a stand alone is nice tho, pick the hours, the intervals, the delays between each pump.. and set your amount, it does the rest for you. i have mine dose each cal/alk/ 24 times a day with 8 minutes between the cal and alk,

 

[curiousphil]

[quote author=Poseidon link=topic=7673.msg79835#msg79835 date=1391650224]
correct me if im wrong guys but arnt the 3 channel dosers programmable themselves? (internal timers)
which would make your diy controller obsolete...

Ya they are but I mainly use my controller for my DIY LEDs, an outlet for fans to turn on/off (again for LEDs) and an outlet for a broken LED driver that won't turn off fully when dimmed all the way down so still useful to me.

I think I might start off manually dosing anyways but just trying to plan everything out.

I'm using Kalk in my ATO until it can't keep up with the growth, which probably won't be for a while... It's easy and cheap to set up.

I was considering Kalk but was worried about variants in evaporation and it sounds like 2 part is the step up from kalk. Again totally new to dosing so correct me if I'm wrong.
[/quote]

Dosing is the "step up" from kalk, but if you're corals aren't at the point where they are consuming vast amounts of calcium and alk then kalk will suffice just fine.  This is where I am at currently and is why I have not yet set up a doser.  If you are worried about evaporation messing with the dose variation, that was debunked by Randy Holmes-Farley in this article:  http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rhf/feature/

im running the kameor doser and its the same looking as the BM one. its been rock solid for over a year now, i only use 2 of the 3 pumps, but its nice to have a spare i can use if one ever fails. brs pumps are also supposedly very reliable and long lasting..so i don't think you can go wrong with either, the menu on a stand alone is nice tho, pick the hours, the intervals, the delays between each pump.. and set your amount, it does the rest for you. i have mine dose each cal/alk/ 24 times a day with 8 minutes between the cal and alk,

Interesting note: I read a review where they actually ripped the two dosers apart and while the Kamoer appears the same on the outside it's actually built much better and uses higher quality components internally.  In actual tests the dosing accuracy was pretty much a wash between the two but the Kamoer may last longer due to higher quality construction.

 

[Victoss]

Where's everyone buying their 2 part from, right now I'm looking at http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-2-part-calcium-alkalinity-total-package-with-dosers.html but with everything else (test kit refills mostly), shipping is $41 for the 1/2 gal kit and $59 for the 1 gallon. I'm wondering if I should just buy the dosers and grab the 2 part somewhere else.

On that note how long does a gallon or 1/2 gallon of unmixed 2 part last you?


Looking at it now it seems there's only a ~$13 difference anyways with the 1/2 gal kit compared to without any 2 part.

 

[spyd]

Reefsupplies.ca also sells bulk additives, however, they dont sell bulk mag. I find if you purchase additives through the BRS group buy, it will be cheaper than buying anywhere else. Even including shipping costs. I highly suggest buying more than half gallon at a time though. Purchase at least a full gallon of each cal, mag chloride, mad sulphate and alk. The cost of shipping doesnt increase too drastically when moving up to larger volumes.

 

[Duke]

Big als has some good pricing on bulk additives, just as good as brs if you arent getting free shipping or group buy pricing. Aaron can get this all for you iirc. i will probably go this way in the future

http://www.bigalspets.ca/calcium-chloride-cacl-2-8-8-lb.html

http://www.bigalspets.ca/alkalinity-kh-ph-booster-sodium-carbonate-soda-ash-8-8-lb.html

http://www.bigalspets.ca/magnesium-supplement-magnesium-chloride-hexahydrate-8-8-lb.html

its 19$ for 7 lbs at brs and 24$ for 8.8lbs at big als.

 

[davesolo29]

Another trick I have learned is that if you leave something in your cart and don't checkout for a couple days they send u a 5$ coupon to help you decide. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Victoss]

Ya I normally get the $5 off, put stuff in my cart yesterday and got $10 off for the next 24 hours but I don't think I will be able to use it Monday if I get in the group buy.