I don't understand why Triton isn't more popular in the US, as it makes everything simpler. I know they had the supply issue a couple of years ago and leaky bottles, but that was long ago and issues are resolved. Even if people don't subscribe to the "full triton method" with fuge and no water changes, then there is a tweaked version called "Other Methods", which doesn't have raised trace levels for Chaeto/macro algae. It's very simple. Dose all four elements in exactly the same quantity, only needing to test for alk. :)
Hey guys, these "Mistakes" videos are great! Even for someone who has been in the hobby for 10 years I still found useful information in almost every one of those videos.
17. Not accounting for the rock work when calculating dosing amounts 18. Have the least amount of joins and connections in the lines to avoid siphon breaks My game changer was definitely point 12. Once I started making large batches, I enjoyed the tank much more and definitely had more stable dosing. Awesome video guys!
I think everyone should know the balanced CA number to their target ALK number. You can only fit so many balls in the bag! Thats a simple chart I have it on my white board. 400-5.6DKH 410-7.8dkh 420-8.2 dkh 430-9.8 and 440-11.2. anything too far from that will start issues with stability and precipitation as well. Many people just dump CA 450- 550+ in and don't think of the current ALK level and what it will support in the water column.
Having used both, currently *using* both, you can get the same results with practice. The Hanna I find takes time to load in 10 mL’s, zero out, put the 1 mL reagent, and get the result. Where as I am just as fast titrating for the color change using Salifert. The difference is Salifert takes practice. I use Hanna to confirm if I get a result that’s unexpected with Salifert.
Hanna never matches any other test kit but is great for tracking trending. With a error margin of 0.5 it’s not the best to start dosing but is great after your dialed in and checking for crazy drops or jumps to narrow down
Going to tackle three of these 1. Precipitation - I was told if you see the white cloud when dosing, it's precipitating granted it may not be much but it is some so you're not really dosing the amount you think. I would get this even with a single drop at a time into a high flow area. My solution to this, mix up a half strength batch (twice the water as recommended) and never again saw white clouds when dosing. 2. High flow area of sump- Another option other than putting in a pump into your sump, is simply dose into the skimmer compartment but do so right where the skimmer output is. Now some skimmers have "innovative" designs where water comes out under it, but for those with a more a "traditional" design where there's effectively a tube/hole where the water comes out this actually can be quite a good amount of flow to spread stuff around. 12. Make large batches- I have gotten answers all over the place, even from RHF, but an idea I had was to dump an insane amount of CaCl or Sodium Bicarb into a container, and simply have some method to mix it up. Effectively making a kalkwasser reactor for 2 part, supposedly you won't get precipitation because it's fresh water, it'll simply make a saturated solution until, and you can simply add extra RO/DI water as necessary. Why do this? So you don't have to measure anything at all! Of course I never tested this out to see if it actually would work due to point #1 above, kind of hard to make a half strength solution when the solution is always fully saturated. But would be interested if anyone has tried this. Do note, I'm not saying this works, just the theory that works... in my mad reef scientist mindset.
I wish y’all would add a calculator for saturated kalk dosing so you could get a specific value to start with or to adjust dosing when demand increases
17. Not everyone needs to dose! Water changes might be enough depending on your tank. I’ve never dosed I have a Red Sea reefer 350 full of LPS, softies and some SPS! Water change every week like clockwork corals look great.
If dosing by hand Ive been told to dose alkalinity down the overflow (possibly the emergency overflow pipe since I guess you dont want precipitate in your ball/gate valve on your regular overflow pipe) since its super high flow.
I agree with 14 so much. Baking soda which is about 8.3 ph is great for increasing alk without worrying about ph. Soda ash is great for increasing ph and alk. it is around 11.3 ph I use it every morning to increase ph since it drops about .2 every night. Calcium Hydroxide (ph 12.2 also known as kalkwasser) is what I need now since my alk is starting to raise too high, but my ph keeps dropping every night. It will also dose calcium. Utilizing all 3 of these has been the single most important thing in keeping my ph and alk elevated and stable. ps. I know that a reverse light cycle refugium could help with the ph drop at night but I cannot do that atm.
I used mine for years until I dumped a bunch of water on it. Then it started acting inconsistent. Replaced it with the same thing. Just be sure to calibrate it correctly.
@@BRStv Thanks! I had seen that tank on the webstore but I didn't realize the size until I saw it in this video. I just ordered one to fingers crossed it will fit under the cabinet!
How about your recommendation of adding Tropic Marin part C with BRS 2 part at 7.5 scoops/ gallon? Do you think this is a good addition for Trace Elements when dosing 2 part?
Good day. New to dosing. Heard you say than if your alk is low and calcium is high or even normal equal parts are to be used. So let's say I need 15 MLS to raise my alk, do I have to dose 15 MLS of calcium? And when dosing like that, do I dose hours apart or a few minutes with regards to adding the alk and cal?
You'll usually need more liquid calcium solution to raise the calcium level, but in terms of a daily maintenance dose, 1:1 ratio using BRS two part normally get you pretty close.
Is it safe to add essential elements without an ICP? Can you over do it? How do you know when WC arent enough without ICP they are pretty costly to do several times per year or more especially when you have multiple tanks. Is once a year enough to icp test and just follow what they say if you have a mature tank? I thought of dosing amino acids since I have them and Iodine. How would I know what is a safe amount to dose? All I do Is use your two part and MB 7 on a regular basis like one or twice a week with mb7. I know you guys are all about redundacy why dont you mention that with a doser. I am afraid of one getting stuck in the on postion and crashing my tank with soda ash! Would sodium bicarb be safer? Or should I buy a ph probe or is there certain doser that never fails like you say for ato its tunze. Also one that dosnt cost a lot! i am a budget reefer! All my money goes to coral lol is there a such thing as a dyi doser? Like tying a knot in some tubing lol. Or something? How about Toms aqua lifters I have one and never used it!
I use Tropic marine pro salt but I like to maintain a dkh closer to 10. TMP mixes normally to around 7-8 dhk. I have been using soda ash to increase the dkh to around 10 but should I be using sodium bicarbonate? I mix up 50 gallons at a time and use auto water changes around 3% per day. My 50 gallon norwesco normally last me 2-3 weeks with my 75 gallon total water volume system.
Sodium bicarbonate is a better choice for larger adjustments as it won't spike pH. That said, if you're waiting to use the newly mixed saltwater anyway, the pH likely has a chance to come back down before you use it.
Not a huge fan of massive top off containers as any malfunction becomes much, much worse. Prefer smaller containers with float valves and a breakout box
Given the current global situation we have several items that we're just not able to replenish at the moment. This for sure will be temporary, but currently it's just something we all are experiencing across the globe and well outside of the reefing hobby. :(
Seachem makes a lot of great products, so it's hard to go wrong. That said, a lot of us here at BRS opt for a dry powder and mix two part ourselves so that we can avoid paying for water.
@@RGMLLC you would need to buy an RODI system. They're affordable and worthwhile IMO. Since they already have one that's why they say "avoid paying for the water".
Hey sir I have questions about my tank... I have Redsea 170 I have sps and LSP corals inside my tank what kinds machine dosing for my tank.. How many times I have too dosing..Thanks you so much sir your video so fantastic..
That all depends on what you're dosing I suppose. If you're dosing calcium and alkalinity, check out weeks 29-34 of our 52 weeks of reefing series for a crash course on what calcium/alkalinity is, what it means for your reef tank, and some different dosing methods that you can chose. ua-cam.com/video/Keu12vKZNXM/v-deo.html
Just started dosing with a doser, been doing it by hand up until 3 days ago. I keep getting a white cotton looking substance at the last 2 inches of my dosing tube. When the doser adds the amount in it just comes out like snow. What is causing this?
This sounds like precipitation at the end of your dosing line. Avoiding some of the mistakes in this video should help you avoid this precipitation issue. You may need to replace some of the dosing line depending on how severe it is.
You'd be surprised how little flow there is in the return pump section of your refugium. We're most looking to dose into a chamber that has a lot of surface movement, which the return chamber typically doesn't have.
The Alkalinity uptake absolutely fluctuates depending on the time of day, however not enough to the point where you need to play mad scientist to optimize exactly down to the minute when you should be dosing. For so many years reefers have found success dosing across 6, 12, 24hrs of the day and everywhere in between. To keep things simple, most will dose when it makes the most sense to them.
You could, but dosing weekly means that your alkalinity and calcium levels will spike then slowly fall over the course of the week. If you have a medium to high demand tank, this is going to mean a very large calcium and alkalinity swing (which can stress sensitive corals). If you don't have a dosing pump and don't plan on buying one, then dosing daily by hand would be better to reduce the swing.
Your website calculator only does your 2 part not anything else I bought ESV-B IONIC from you guys but I can’t use your website calculator for it and the other one you mentioned just flat out doesn’t work
If you want a good way to override the success of finally getting that dosing dialed in... don’t wash your hands well after having steroid prescription hand cream lathered on. Took me a while to figure that blunder out.
You certainly can. There are just some fail safes that you'll likely want to put into place to help prevent an overdose should your ATO pump get stuck on.
We're definitely not chemists, but we do our best to share our decades of knowledge and communal knowledge of "reefing" chemistry to the best of our abilities. It may not be perfect, but many of these practices have led to very successful reef aquariums for thousands of reefers over the years. :)
Check out the ICP-MS and ICP-OES testing we did on 2-Part additives used in our hobby!
ua-cam.com/play/PLBaMLrfToJyzBLEKY6k2QE1IJTlH6lbwp.html
I don't understand why Triton isn't more popular in the US, as it makes everything simpler.
I know they had the supply issue a couple of years ago and leaky bottles, but that was long ago and issues are resolved.
Even if people don't subscribe to the "full triton method" with fuge and no water changes, then there is a tweaked version called "Other Methods", which doesn't have raised trace levels for Chaeto/macro algae. It's very simple. Dose all four elements in exactly the same quantity, only needing to test for alk. :)
Did you say spray it in?
Hey guys, these "Mistakes" videos are great! Even for someone who has been in the hobby for 10 years I still found useful information in almost every one of those videos.
17. Not accounting for the rock work when calculating dosing amounts
18. Have the least amount of joins and connections in the lines to avoid siphon breaks
My game changer was definitely point 12. Once I started making large batches, I enjoyed the tank much more and definitely had more stable dosing.
Awesome video guys!
What do you mean started making large batches? Like you just diluted your 2 part in half?
I think everyone should know the balanced CA number to their target ALK number. You can only fit so many balls in the bag! Thats a simple chart I have it on my white board. 400-5.6DKH 410-7.8dkh 420-8.2 dkh 430-9.8 and 440-11.2. anything too far from that will start issues with stability and precipitation as well. Many people just dump CA 450- 550+ in and don't think of the current ALK level and what it will support in the water column.
Picked up a couple key points. I need to change over to Hanna checkers for ALK. Looks wayyyyyy easier than a Salifert test
Is
Having used both, currently *using* both, you can get the same results with practice. The Hanna I find takes time to load in 10 mL’s, zero out, put the 1 mL reagent, and get the result. Where as I am just as fast titrating for the color change using Salifert. The difference is Salifert takes practice. I use Hanna to confirm if I get a result that’s unexpected with Salifert.
Hanna never matches any other test kit but is great for tracking trending. With a error margin of 0.5 it’s not the best to start dosing but is great after your dialed in and checking for crazy drops or jumps to narrow down
Going to tackle three of these
1. Precipitation - I was told if you see the white cloud when dosing, it's precipitating granted it may not be much but it is some so you're not really dosing the amount you think. I would get this even with a single drop at a time into a high flow area. My solution to this, mix up a half strength batch (twice the water as recommended) and never again saw white clouds when dosing.
2. High flow area of sump- Another option other than putting in a pump into your sump, is simply dose into the skimmer compartment but do so right where the skimmer output is. Now some skimmers have "innovative" designs where water comes out under it, but for those with a more a "traditional" design where there's effectively a tube/hole where the water comes out this actually can be quite a good amount of flow to spread stuff around.
12. Make large batches- I have gotten answers all over the place, even from RHF, but an idea I had was to dump an insane amount of CaCl or Sodium Bicarb into a container, and simply have some method to mix it up. Effectively making a kalkwasser reactor for 2 part, supposedly you won't get precipitation because it's fresh water, it'll simply make a saturated solution until, and you can simply add extra RO/DI water as necessary. Why do this? So you don't have to measure anything at all! Of course I never tested this out to see if it actually would work due to point #1 above, kind of hard to make a half strength solution when the solution is always fully saturated. But would be interested if anyone has tried this. Do note, I'm not saying this works, just the theory that works... in my mad reef scientist mindset.
I got the Hanna because of this channel and it's a game changer for me.
I wish y’all would add a calculator for saturated kalk dosing so you could get a specific value to start with or to adjust dosing when demand increases
17. Not everyone needs to dose! Water changes might be enough depending on your tank. I’ve never dosed I have a Red Sea reefer 350 full of LPS, softies and some SPS! Water change every week like clockwork corals look great.
And not everyone even wants a coral in their tank
@@n8nkqrp595 nope, can’t have just one coral, gotta have a bunch !!
Love all 3 of my Hanna Checkers. 👍🏼😎
If dosing by hand Ive been told to dose alkalinity down the overflow (possibly the emergency overflow pipe since I guess you dont want precipitate in your ball/gate valve on your regular overflow pipe) since its super high flow.
Awesome video fellas loads of mental gems
Great video guys!
Great Video with great tips. Defiantly not a reef master, but this video helps!
#17 Forgetting to plug 1 part (calcium formate)! Expensive but great for small tanks because its simple.
The Tropic Marin All For Reef is a fantastic option :)
12 loose fitting lid. 13. bulk head that is pretty close to air tight. Don't worry I still like you guys.
Hanna Alk Checker for the win!
Merci pour cette vidéo !!! 👍👍👍
I agree with 14 so much.
Baking soda which is about 8.3 ph is great for increasing alk without worrying about ph.
Soda ash is great for increasing ph and alk. it is around 11.3 ph I use it every morning to increase ph since it drops about .2 every night.
Calcium Hydroxide (ph 12.2 also known as kalkwasser) is what I need now since my alk is starting to raise too high, but my ph keeps dropping every night. It will also dose calcium.
Utilizing all 3 of these has been the single most important thing in keeping my ph and alk elevated and stable.
ps. I know that a reverse light cycle refugium could help with the ph drop at night but I cannot do that atm.
Thoughts on Jebao 4. Doser
For a 40 Breeder ?? Def do the work or not at all ?
Jrdn 401 I had one on my breeder for years no issues.
I used mine for years until I dumped a bunch of water on it. Then it started acting inconsistent. Replaced it with the same thing. Just be sure to calibrate it correctly.
Hi guys! Great video! Can you share where you found those really slim water containers you showed in the video? Thanks!
I think this is the container you're looking for!
www.bulkreefsupply.com/space-saver-jug-thin-4-liter-1-05-gallon-bundle.html
@@BRStv Thanks! I had seen that tank on the webstore but I didn't realize the size until I saw it in this video. I just ordered one to fingers crossed it will fit under the cabinet!
How about your recommendation of adding Tropic Marin part C with BRS 2 part at 7.5 scoops/ gallon? Do you think this is a good addition for Trace Elements when dosing 2 part?
Eric N same question
Good day. New to dosing. Heard you say than if your alk is low and calcium is high or even normal equal parts are to be used. So let's say I need 15 MLS to raise my alk, do I have to dose 15 MLS of calcium? And when dosing like that, do I dose hours apart or a few minutes with regards to adding the alk and cal?
You'll usually need more liquid calcium solution to raise the calcium level, but in terms of a daily maintenance dose, 1:1 ratio using BRS two part normally get you pretty close.
Is it safe to add essential elements without an ICP? Can you over do it? How do you know when WC arent enough without ICP they are pretty costly to do several times per year or more especially when you have multiple tanks. Is once a year enough to icp test and just follow what they say if you have a mature tank? I thought of dosing amino acids since I have them and Iodine. How would I know what is a safe amount to dose? All I do Is use your two part and MB 7 on a regular basis like one or twice a week with mb7. I know you guys are all about redundacy why dont you mention that with a doser. I am afraid of one getting stuck in the on postion and crashing my tank with soda ash! Would sodium bicarb be safer? Or should I buy a ph probe or is there certain doser that never fails like you say for ato its tunze. Also one that dosnt cost a lot! i am a budget reefer! All my money goes to coral lol is there a such thing as a dyi doser? Like tying a knot in some tubing lol. Or something? How about Toms aqua lifters I have one and never used it!
I use Tropic marine pro salt but I like to maintain a dkh closer to 10. TMP mixes normally to around 7-8 dhk. I have been using soda ash to increase the dkh to around 10 but should I be using sodium bicarbonate? I mix up 50 gallons at a time and use auto water changes around 3% per day. My 50 gallon norwesco normally last me 2-3 weeks with my 75 gallon total water volume system.
Sodium bicarbonate is a better choice for larger adjustments as it won't spike pH. That said, if you're waiting to use the newly mixed saltwater anyway, the pH likely has a chance to come back down before you use it.
Not a huge fan of massive top off containers as any malfunction becomes much, much worse. Prefer smaller containers with float valves and a breakout box
Do you guys think fusion 1 and fusion 2 by seachem would be a good two part
When are you guys going to get more brs 2 part. I had to buy the small packs.
Given the current global situation we have several items that we're just not able to replenish at the moment. This for sure will be temporary, but currently it's just something we all are experiencing across the globe and well outside of the reefing hobby. :(
@@BRStv gotcha. This thing is hitting us from all angles.
Do you dose in the sump or the tank
Most reefers will opt to dose into the sump to keep the display looking clutter free
@@BRStv ok thank you much
Do you guys think fusion 1 and fusion 2 by seachem is a good two part
Seachem makes a lot of great products, so it's hard to go wrong. That said, a lot of us here at BRS opt for a dry powder and mix two part ourselves so that we can avoid paying for water.
@@BRStv I don’t have a ro/di machine though and how do you avoid paying for water Bc you need water to mix
@@RGMLLC you would need to buy an RODI system. They're affordable and worthwhile IMO. Since they already have one that's why they say "avoid paying for the water".
Hey sir I have questions about my tank... I have Redsea 170 I have sps and LSP corals inside my tank what kinds machine dosing for my tank.. How many times I have too dosing..Thanks you so much sir your video so fantastic..
That all depends on what you're dosing I suppose. If you're dosing calcium and alkalinity, check out weeks 29-34 of our 52 weeks of reefing series for a crash course on what calcium/alkalinity is, what it means for your reef tank, and some different dosing methods that you can chose.
ua-cam.com/video/Keu12vKZNXM/v-deo.html
Just started dosing with a doser, been doing it by hand up until 3 days ago. I keep getting a white cotton looking substance at the last 2 inches of my dosing tube. When the doser adds the amount in it just comes out like snow. What is causing this?
This sounds like precipitation at the end of your dosing line. Avoiding some of the mistakes in this video should help you avoid this precipitation issue. You may need to replace some of the dosing line depending on how severe it is.
how about dosing right into the return pump?
You'd be surprised how little flow there is in the return pump section of your refugium. We're most looking to dose into a chamber that has a lot of surface movement, which the return chamber typically doesn't have.
Is it better to dose all day to maintain stable Alk?
The Alkalinity uptake absolutely fluctuates depending on the time of day, however not enough to the point where you need to play mad scientist to optimize exactly down to the minute when you should be dosing. For so many years reefers have found success dosing across 6, 12, 24hrs of the day and everywhere in between. To keep things simple, most will dose when it makes the most sense to them.
Which one is the video, with the 2-part ICP testing?
Here's the entire playlist for you! ua-cam.com/play/PLBaMLrfToJyzBLEKY6k2QE1IJTlH6lbwp.html
Is two part the cheapest way to maintain calcium and alk?
It certainly seems so when you break down the cost like we did in this testing video! ua-cam.com/video/nmg08dbFk2Q/v-deo.html
Could I just dose 2 part once a week? I don’t have a doser
You could, but dosing weekly means that your alkalinity and calcium levels will spike then slowly fall over the course of the week. If you have a medium to high demand tank, this is going to mean a very large calcium and alkalinity swing (which can stress sensitive corals).
If you don't have a dosing pump and don't plan on buying one, then dosing daily by hand would be better to reduce the swing.
@@BRStv thank you
Your website calculator only does your 2 part not anything else I bought ESV-B IONIC from you guys but I can’t use your website calculator for it and the other one you mentioned just flat out doesn’t work
If you want a good way to override the success of finally getting that dosing dialed in... don’t wash your hands well after having steroid prescription hand cream lathered on. Took me a while to figure that blunder out.
Intentional or overflow rider? 2:27
Edit: The shrimp
Intentional. At the time, we had a few aiptasia in that first compartment that he was helping get rid of :)
mistake #9 - OK, busted. Just placed order 1101444345 with you!!!!
Wait so i cant dose kalkwasser through the ATO?
You certainly can. There are just some fail safes that you'll likely want to put into place to help prevent an overdose should your ATO pump get stuck on.
I like how everyone recommends chemicals and yet have no real understanding in chemistry.
We're definitely not chemists, but we do our best to share our decades of knowledge and communal knowledge of "reefing" chemistry to the best of our abilities. It may not be perfect, but many of these practices have led to very successful reef aquariums for thousands of reefers over the years. :)
@@BRStv if you need help you can always ask