Tip of the Day – 4/7/2014

Aquarium dosing doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but in order to be successful, it will require regular testing, tweaking, and patience. Reef aquariums require fairly stable water parameters for optimum coral growth and health, and constantly dosing things like calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity supplements will keep your reef growing. Manual dosing is a common route for hobbyists, but automated dosing will give you the best results. This setup can dose a couple of supplements, and add-on equipment can expand that up to several more. Either route you take, automated or manual, you’ll have to test water parameters on a regular basis just to make sure you’re not dosing too much, and that your dosing is sufficiently providing all the things required for good growth. This step is very important, as overdosing could result in dangerous pH and alkalinity levels, and under dosing could rob your corals of vital nutrients needed to thrive.