Implementing a doser to my setup need help

[jsdancer]

Hey guys,
I am going the route of using a doser for my 180 setup.
I am looking at a bubble magnus and a jabeo.

Both seem to be well used and everyone seems happy with their choice.

Where I seem to need help is in the collaboration department.

What would be the best advice you guys can give me when setting this up for my system.

Should I test everyday until dialed in like a calcium reactor, etc?
Is it possible to use the liquid media right from the bottle source or is it better to use the plastic canisters?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

[toky916]

Start small dose and test every 3 days. And if you get the jeabo make sure check your head some came intalled backwards.

[Reef Frog]

You will need to determine you tank's daily usage rate by testing in order to program your pumps correctly. I would dose by hand until you get your big 3 parameters where you want them. Then don't dose for 4 days and measure again. Divide your drop amount by 4 and you'll know your daily usage & you can set up your pumps accordingly. You should probably do this a few times to ensure accuracy & check after your dosers have been running a while to make sure levels remain stable.

Also I would not purchase the ready mix A & B liquid solutions. It will be very expensive for a 180g. Get a hold of Randy's reef calculator for guidance and buy the calcium & magnesium in bulk, and use baking soda for alkalinity.

[jsdancer]

You will need to determine you tank's daily usage rate by testing in order to program your pumps correctly. I would dose by hand until you get your big 3 parameters where you want them. Then don't dose for 4 days and measure again. Divide your drop amount by 4 and you'll know your daily usage & you can set up your pumps accordingly. You should probably do this a few times to ensure accuracy & check after your dosers have been running a while to make sure levels remain stable.

Also I would not purchase the ready mix A & B liquid solutions. It will be very expensive for a 180g. Get a hold of Randy's reef calculator for guidance and buy the calcium & magnesium in bulk, and use baking soda for alkalinity.

Start small dose and test every 3 days. And if you get the jeabo make sure check your head some came intalled backwards.

Thanks guys!

I just added 31 new acros/lps's to my reef. I will go ahead and test every 3 days and see what kind of consumption is happening in the tank.

The numbers before adding those pieces looked as follows:

Day one - test Ca 450
Day 3 - test Ca 425
Thats 25 less every 3 days

Day one test - Alk 7.0
Day 3 - test Alk 8.2/8.4
Thats 1.2/1.4 less every 3 days

Day one test - Mg 1250/1200
Day 3 - test Mg 1300/1400
Thats 100 to 150 less every 3 days

If I were to setup for dosing at those numbers along with the bio load at that time....

I guess I would divide the 25 by 3 to get daily consumption for Ca
then
1.2/1.4 divided by 3 in order to get the daily dosing for Alk
And finally
100/150 divided by 3 to get the daily dose for Mg.

Am I thinking of this correctly?

I have heard of Randy's calculator. I also thought about buying in bulk the CA/ALk/Mg. I guess those products tell you how much to mix. Would those work in the plastic canisters like the ones bubble magnus has that Marine Depot sells?