Dosing Disaster

ReefSultan · 08/08/2018, 04:31 PM

Hi All

Tank is 2,5 month old
I set my dosing equipment and went on holiday . AF Component 123 with 1,5 litre x 3 dosing containers those were almost full. 40ml / day from each

When I return I see container 1 and 3 completely empty but container 2 is where it should be as a result I had 6,3 alk , Ca470 ppm , MG 1.500+ some sps frags dead

Before I go holiday alk 7.4 , Ca 380 , mg 1380

I return 2 days ago don’t know when this happened. I suspect my dosing pipes were very close to water and because electricity gone maybe those 2 pipes touch water surface and make a siphon , does it make sense?this can be the case?

I did 15% WC 2 times yesterday and today
and stoped dosing unit

Should I continue WC ? Or just dose some alk to sit between 7-8

I am using AF REEF SALT 35ppt 1.026

Btw , minimum 1,2 liters of comp1 and comp3 dosed to my tank where does this CA and mg go? I should have huge spike but not that much?

Today readings 6.4 ALK , CA 480 , mg 1440

Thank for advice and comments

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ReefSultan · 08/08/2018, 04:41 PM

And just additional info. NO3 increased to 1 ppm after I return this can be the reason of auto feeder even it was set to 1 time minimum feed I have 2 tang 2 clown 1 chromis anyway today I see skinner collecting very light brown before it was very dark , am I loosing bacteria because of 2 days water changes I explained above?

Thank you

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Uncle99 · 08/08/2018, 05:13 PM

The dosing problem is not that bad IMO however, SPS would not like the change.
I would simply bring the Alk up .5 per day until you reach about 8.5-9 (cause the other two are high), then let them all fall on their own performing normal WC until they are in line with whatever you keep them at....I run Alk 8, CA 420, Mg 1350, PH 8 as a reference

Your skimmer runs lighter because of the WC, mostly all bacteria lives in the LR, not water, no worries

Alfrareef · 08/08/2018, 06:12 PM

As per the info given I don’t think it’s a disaster.
In fact from the dosage amount that you say I find hard to relate the changes, but for now you should bring the values to what you want and carry on.
The siphon theory also doesn’t add because with a doser (peristaltic) I cant imagine how can a siphon happen since liquid only goes thru with doser movement.

bertoni · 08/08/2018, 07:17 PM

In the future, you can use two or more syringes to get a reading on the magnesium. Just add all the results together. 1440 ppm should be safe, though, so I think just dosing likely is fine if the surviving animals are doing well enough. I might run a bit of new activated carbon, though, to mop up any organics.

I agree that a siphon is unlikely with a peristaltic pump that is set up properly, but I'd make sure that all the tubes stay above the water line.

08/08/2018, 04:31 PM	#1
ReefSultan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Istanbul Turkey Posts: 92	Dosing Disaster Hi All Tank is 2,5 month old I set my dosing equipment and went on holiday . AF Component 123 with 1,5 litre x 3 dosing containers those were almost full. 40ml / day from each When I return I see container 1 and 3 completely empty but container 2 is where it should be as a result I had 6,3 alk , Ca470 ppm , MG 1.500+ some sps frags dead Before I go holiday alk 7.4 , Ca 380 , mg 1380 I return 2 days ago don’t know when this happened. I suspect my dosing pipes were very close to water and because electricity gone maybe those 2 pipes touch water surface and make a siphon , does it make sense?this can be the case? I did 15% WC 2 times yesterday and today and stoped dosing unit Should I continue WC ? Or just dose some alk to sit between 7-8 I am using AF REEF SALT 35ppt 1.026 Btw , minimum 1,2 liters of comp1 and comp3 dosed to my tank where does this CA and mg go? I should have huge spike but not that much? Today readings 6.4 ALK , CA 480 , mg 1440 Thank for advice and comments Tapatalk kullanarak iPhone aracılığıyla gönderildi

08/08/2018, 05:13 PM	#3
Uncle99 Crab Free Zone Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,906	The dosing problem is not that bad IMO however, SPS would not like the change. I would simply bring the Alk up .5 per day until you reach about 8.5-9 (cause the other two are high), then let them all fall on their own performing normal WC until they are in line with whatever you keep them at....I run Alk 8, CA 420, Mg 1350, PH 8 as a reference Your skimmer runs lighter because of the WC, mostly all bacteria lives in the LR, not water, no worries Last edited by Uncle99; 08/08/2018 at 05:18 PM.

08/08/2018, 07:17 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	In the future, you can use two or more syringes to get a reading on the magnesium. Just add all the results together. 1440 ppm should be safe, though, so I think just dosing likely is fine if the surviving animals are doing well enough. I might run a bit of new activated carbon, though, to mop up any organics. I agree that a siphon is unlikely with a peristaltic pump that is set up properly, but I'd make sure that all the tubes stay above the water line. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

08/08/2018, 04:41 PM	#2
ReefSultan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Istanbul Turkey Posts: 92	And just additional info. NO3 increased to 1 ppm after I return this can be the reason of auto feeder even it was set to 1 time minimum feed I have 2 tang 2 clown 1 chromis anyway today I see skinner collecting very light brown before it was very dark , am I loosing bacteria because of 2 days water changes I explained above? Thank you Tapatalk kullanarak iPhone aracılığıyla gönderildi

08/08/2018, 06:12 PM	#4
Alfrareef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Portugal Posts: 405	As per the info given I don’t think it’s a disaster. In fact from the dosage amount that you say I find hard to relate the changes, but for now you should bring the values to what you want and carry on. The siphon theory also doesn’t add because with a doser (peristaltic) I cant imagine how can a siphon happen since liquid only goes thru with doser movement.