2 Part increases ratio of NaCl in tank relative to other elements

[CJ Monty]

So I was watching a MACNA presentation and I found the water chemistry very interesting. It was by the CEO of Tropic Marin (linked below). Paraphrasing hear a bit but with 2 part dosing a by product is NaCl which is salt (raising the salinity). So over time as we keep our salinity at 1.026 (or whatever you chose) with water changes the ratio to NaCl and other trace elements is increasing. We know corals use 17 different trace elements. Does this sound reasonable to anyone else? Best solution other than buying their magic solution in a bottle. Maybe this is why doing 3 40% water changes is recommended?

Lecture if you are interested:

 

[drawman]

Look into the balling method. It utilizes NaCl free salt (the 3rd part) to make up the difference. With regular water changes this raise in NaCl by using 2 part is not as big of a deal as you could think.

 

[CJ Monty]

Look into the balling method. It utilizes NaCl free salt (the 3rd part) to make up the difference. With regular water changes this raise in NaCl by using 2 part is not as big of a deal as you could think.

Yup Part C of it. BRS did a video of using Tropic Marin Part C with their 2 part. Then I watched a video with the same CEO saying dont do that. Use their A- and K+ trace elements. But I never like to dose anything I am not testing.

 

[LadyTang2]

So I was watching a MACNA presentation and I found the water chemistry very interesting. It was by the CEO of Tropic Marin (linked below). Paraphrasing hear a bit but with 2 part dosing a by product is NaCl which is salt (raising the salinity). So over time as we keep our salinity at 1.026 (or whatever you chose) with water changes the ratio to NaCl and other trace elements is increasing. We know corals use 17 different trace elements. Does this sound reasonable to anyone else? Best solution other than buying their magic solution in a bottle. Maybe this is why doing 3 40% water changes is recommended?

Lecture if you are interested:

According to ESV B Ionic 2 part does not contribute to ionic imbalance and there are several companies offering 3 part dosing systems that do the same ie balling method. Carbocalcium and allforreef will not disturb ionic balance nor will calcium acetate containing products like salifert all in one but those come with carbon dosing and potentially a few other minor issues. A calcium reactor using calcium carb, or using kalk will not contribute to imbalance either so there are a lot of options if ionic imbalance worries you, it worries me too!

 

[CJ Monty]

According to ESV B Ionic 2 part does not contribute to ionic imbalance and there are several companies offering 3 part dosing systems that do the same ie balling method. Carbocalcium and allforreef will not disturb ionic balance nor will calcium acetate containing products like salifert all in one but those come with carbon dosing and potentially a few other minor issues. A calcium reactor using calcium carb, or using kalk will not contribute to imbalance either so there are a lot of options if ionic imbalance worries you, it worries me too!

Right I am using BRS 2 Part which I thought was fairly popular and did not know it suffer from this issue. Is there something I should do if I want to continue using the 2 Part? Is this as big of a deal as I am making it out to be?

 

[PatW]

Randy has talked about this issue before. Two part will cause an imbalance. But doing regular water changes should keep the imbalance from becoming an issue. I use two part and so far so good.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So I was watching a MACNA presentation and I found the water chemistry very interesting. It was by the CEO of Tropic Marin (linked below). Paraphrasing hear a bit but with 2 part dosing a by product is NaCl which is salt (raising the salinity). So over time as we keep our salinity at 1.026 (or whatever you chose) with water changes the ratio to NaCl and other trace elements is increasing. We know corals use 17 different trace elements. Does this sound reasonable to anyone else? Best solution other than buying their magic solution in a bottle. Maybe this is why doing 3 40% water changes is recommended?

Lecture if you are interested:

Thus is a marketing ploy that is not true in the slightest for a complete two part like B-ionic, and is only partly true if you follow the proper directions for my diy that also adds magnesium and sulfate (as from BRS).

it is true that a diy may slowly depress things like potassium or bromide, depending on how much is present in the main ingredients.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Right I am using BRS 2 Part which I thought was fairly popular and did not know it suffer from this issue. Is there something I should do if I want to continue using the 2 Part? Is this as big of a deal as I am making it out to be?

“suffer” is perhaps a bit strong. lol

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yup Part C of it. BRS did a video of using Tropic Marin Part C with their 2 part. Then I watched a video with the same CEO saying dont do that. Use their A- and K+ trace elements. But I never like to dose anything I am not testing.

Of course they want you to use their products, but no matter the ceo claim, the science says that calcium chloride and sodium carbonate do not know which company is selling them. It’s ok to use the sodium chloride free salt if you consider this important.

 

[CJ Monty]

Of course they want you to use their products, but no matter the ceo claim, the science says that calcium chloride and sodium carbonate do not know which company is selling them. It’s ok to use the sodium chloride free salt if you consider this important.

Thanks for chiming in Randy. I agree that's why I said magic product . In your experience is using BRS 2 Part ok or should I do something different/in addition?

 

[LadyTang2]

Thanks for chiming in Randy. I agree that's why I said magic product . In your experience is using BRS 2 Part ok or should I do something different/in addition?

I get the feeling Randy likes B Ionic. Switch on over!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

B-ionic and Balling are both great products. The two part from BRS or other diy seems to work well even though it is less perfect.

I’ve really not seen any apparently consistent claims of superiority in terms of tank appearance when folks report switching between any of them, but I’ve done no careful study of this issue.