Balling light

[KevBodd]

Hi guys, I’m new to reefing and when I bought my set up I was given balling light products. I want to increase my KH slightly. I haven’t got a dosing pump yet. Am I right in thinking I just mix KH with 3 litres of RO water and then add 25ml of trace 3. Or is that completely wrong. Then how do I know how much of the diluted solution to add to my sump. Thank you.

 

[exnisstech]

Any chance a #moderator can change the title to balling light for the OP. @Crabs McJones ?

 

[KStatefan]

If you are just wanting to adjust dKH I would just use a baking soda solution.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Any chance a #moderator can change the title to balling light for the OP. @Crabs McJones ?

done

 

[KevBodd]

If you are just wanting to adjust dKH I would just use a baking soda solution.

Oh ok might just do that. Any idea how much I have to add. Also shall I add it to RO water before I put it in the sump?

 

[KStatefan]

Oh ok might just do that. Any idea how much I have to add. Also shall I add it to RO water before I put it in the sump?

Use this calculator.
https://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
I keep a gallon of Randy's recipe #2 mixed up to have on hand which is 300 grams baking soda to make 1 gallon of solution.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Balling Lite is kind of a vague description. What company makes it?

 

[KevBodd]

Balling Lite is kind of a vague description. What company makes it?

Sorry it is a bit vague. It’s made by Fauna Marin it’s a German company.

 

[MiltonMMLN]

If your only goal right now is to raise KH slightly (rather than running the full Fauna Marin Balling Light method), you don’t need to mix the full Part 3 solution — that’s intended for ongoing, balanced dosing with a pump.

For a manual correction:

• Dissolve plain baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in RO/DI water - about 1 tablespoon (~15 g) per 250ml/~8,45oz of water is a good stock solution.
• Use a reef chemistry calculator (like the one KStatefan linked) to figure out exactly how many ml of that solution you need to raise your tank’s dKH by the desired amount, based on total system volume.
• Add it slowly to a high-flow area of your sump or display to avoid localized pH swings.

Once KH is at your target, you can let your normal Balling Light routine (or water changes) maintain it, but without a dosing pump, stick to manual adjustments no more than once per day to avoid rapid swings.

 

[KevBodd]

If your only goal right now is to raise KH slightly (rather than running the full Fauna Marin Balling Light method), you don’t need to mix the full Part 3 solution — that’s intended for ongoing, balanced dosing with a pump.

For a manual correction:

• Dissolve plain baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in RO/DI water - about 1 tablespoon (~15 g) per 250ml/~8,45oz of water is a good stock solution.
• Use a reef chemistry calculator (like the one KStatefan linked) to figure out exactly how many ml of that solution you need to raise your tank’s dKH by the desired amount, based on total system volume.
• Add it slowly to a high-flow area of your sump or display to avoid localized pH swings.

Once KH is at your target, you can let your normal Balling Light routine (or water changes) maintain it, but without a dosing pump, stick to manual adjustments no more than once per day to avoid rapid swings.

Thank you for this. I’ll definitely do this. My plan is to get a dosing pump in the very near future. But for now I will try your method. Thanks again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The Fauna product seems to have some issues with potency not being necessarily what it claims, but if you use it, I’d add all the parts in balance even if alk is all you need.

If you just go the baking soda route, that’s fine too for a one time correction.

 

[KevBodd]

The Fauna product seems to have some issues with potency not being necessarily what it claims, but if you use it, I’d add all the parts in balance even if alk is all you need.

If you just go the baking soda route, that’s fine too for a one time correction.

Thanks. It seems a bit complicated. I’m only using it because it come with the set up. I might just leave it and buy something else after I try the bicarbonate method.