Correction through the buffer doser

In this mode an external dosing pump connected to the KH Buffer port raises alkalinity when it falls below the band. It is the mode for anyone using 3-in-1 balling, and a good safety net for anyone on a calcium reactor — if the CO2 runs out, the doser holds the fall.

The Buffer Doser screen: mode, reservoir, calibration and limits.

16.1 Choosing the correction mode

Mode	What it does
None	No correction. The doser is never driven
Normal	Doses half of what is needed to reach the target, with a maximum of 0.35 dKH per dose
Fast	Doses the full difference to the target, within the mode's ceiling

16.2 Calibrating the dosing pump

Calibrating the pump is what makes an order to "dose 25 mL" actually deliver 25 mL. Doser tubing loses flow with use, so it is worth repeating this from time to time.

Open Configuration → Buffer Doser → Calibration. Three steps:

Step 1 · Fill the tubing

Click Purge and let the pump run until the tubing is completely full of buffer, with no bubbles. Click Stop when done.

Step 2 · Measure what the pump delivers

Put the end of the tubing into a graduated container — a cylinder, syringe or measuring cup.
Click Start Calibration. The pump will run for 60 seconds.
Measure the volume delivered and enter it in Measured volume, in millilitres.

Step 3 · Check

Adjust the Dosing rate and click Test. The equipment should deliver 5 mL of buffer.

If it delivered	What to do
More than 5 mL	Lower the dosing rate and test again
Less than 5 mL	Raise the dosing rate and test again
5 mL	Done. The pump is calibrated

16.3 Telling it what your product yields

With the pump calibrated, the equipment still needs to know what your product yields. The Volume to raise 1.00 dKH field is what turns "dose 0.25 dKH" into millilitres: it wants the volume, in mL, that raises your whole system by 1 dKH.

To work it out you need two numbers — the product's yield and the real water volume of your system.

Balanced — calcium and alkalinity in one bottle

Product	Solution	For 1 dKH in 100 L
Tropic Marin — All-For-Reef Powder	powder: 160 g to 1 L	16.7 mL
Tropic Marin — Carbo-Calcium	powder: 140 g to 1 L	16.7 mL
Tropic Marin — All-For-Reef	ready-mixed liquid	17.85 mL
Fauna Marin — Ready2Reef	ready-mixed liquid	17.85 mL
Barrak — ONE	powder: 150 g to 1 L	≈ 17.85 mL
Aviv Reef — Total Reef	ready-mixed liquid	≈ 17.85 mL

Alkalinity only

Product	Solution	For 1 dKH in 100 L
Triton — Core7 Base Elements 2	ready-mixed liquid	5.1 mL
Barrak — BUFFER	Barrak solution	6.25 mL
Barrak — Balling B (KH)	ready-mixed liquid	6.3 mL
Brightwell — Alkalin8.3	ready-mixed liquid	8.5 mL
Seachem — Reef Carbonate	ready-mixed liquid	8.9 mL
ESV — B-Ionic Alkalinity	ready-mixed liquid	12.8 mL
Aquaforest — KH Plus	ready-mixed liquid	20 mL
Fauna Marin — Balling Light Carbonate	powder: 100 g to 1 L	20 mL
Red Sea — Foundation B (KH)	ready or powder 100 g/L	29.4 mL
Triton — CO3	ready-mixed liquid	33 mL
Tropic Marin — Original Balling B	powder: 76 g to 1 L	35.7 mL
Aquaforest — KH Buffer	powder: 80 g to 1 L	38.5 mL
Seachem — Reef Builder	powder: 40 g to 1 L	71 mL
MBreda — Reef Basis B	powder: 50 g to 1 L	71 mL

CAUTION

How to read the table

The ≈ marks a derived figure. Barrak ONE and Aviv Reef Total Reef publish no yield; those values come from comparing labels of equivalent products in the same family. Confirm by measuring, as in the box further down.

For a powder, the millilitre depends on the recipe. Where the maker publishes a dilution, the table uses theirs. Where none is published — MBreda Reef Basis B — the table adopts 50 g topped up to one litre, a comfortable dilution well clear of the point where the salt crystallises inside the dosing line. If yours differs: mL for 1 dKH = table mL × table g/L ÷ your solution's g/L.

A starting daily dose is not a yield. Several labels open at 5 mL per 100 L per day — that is the tank's estimated consumption, not the volume that raises 1 dKH. Swapping one for the other makes the equipment wrong by several times over.

16.4 Maximum per day correction

This is the equipment's safety stop: the total it may raise alkalinity within a continuous 24-hour window. The default is 1.00 dKH per day.

16.5 The buffer reservoir

The screen shows the current content in mL and the percentage left. Set Capacity to your bottle's volume and tap Refill every time you top it up — that is how the equipment knows how much remains.

When the level crosses the percentage set in Custom. → Low KH Buffer %, the indicator turns red on the home screen and you get a warning.