Diy 2 part per liter

[e34stx]

Hi everyone, not been on here for a bit.

i'm looking at mixing up some 2 part, i have tried to work out the ratios of chemicals to water to mix. would someone kindly state if these numbers look good.

100g per liter of sodium carbonate for the Alk.
132g per liter of calcium chloride dihydrate for the Ca.

i intend to use the Tropic Marin part C for the ionic balance at 2x strength or at double quantity dosed.

would this give a 1:1:1?

many thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, the numbers look good. Might need a magnesium supplement along with that long term.

 

[e34stx]

thanks Randy, can i double the dose of balling part C so i can dose 1:1:1? what would you suggest for the mag? or is it better to by something like red sea mag and just dose now and again rather than on a dedicated doser? or even better mix it with the part c?
thanks again

 

[e34stx]

sorry, also will i need to remove tank water to offset the the rise in salinity at all?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

thanks Randy, can i double the dose of balling part C so i can dose 1:1:1? what would you suggest for the mag? or is it better to by something like red sea mag and just dose now and again rather than on a dedicated doser? or even better mix it with the part c?
thanks again

Yes, that Balling dose double is appropriate since the alk and calcium is also about double normal Balling.

Now that people are using Balling Part C more (which is good), I might want to come up with an exact magnesium dose, but one approach is to use a DIY as describe here based on testing (not a huge fan of mag testing, however). Commercial ones are also OK for this purpose.

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

sorry, also will i need to remove tank water to offset the the rise in salinity at all?

yes. unless skimming and other incidental removals do it.

 

[esquare]

I do pretty much what you are saying e34 and just periodically add some rodi to keep salinity in line. This is why I started using the part C

 

[e34stx]

ok thats great thanks. i think i will just monitor mag and dose with redsea mg.
i assume if i use the balling part C i will only need to make up magnesium sulphate @ 450g per liter, or both sulphate and chloride?
thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ok thats great thanks. i think i will just monitor mag and dose with redsea mg.
i assume if i use the balling part C i will only need to make up magnesium sulphate @ 450g per liter, or both sulphate and chloride?
thanks

When using Balling Part C at appropriate doses, the magnesium supplement is optimally nearly all magnesium chloride and only some sulfate. If you elect just one, use the chloride (if you can find it).

 

[e34stx]

ok thanks Randy, i take it 300g per liter of mgchloride is ok? thanks again

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ok thanks Randy, i take it 300g per liter of mgchloride is ok? thanks again

Yes, but it seems unnecessarily concentrated.

 

[e34stx]

Yes, but it seems unnecessarily concentrated.

ah ok, what would you suggest to fall in line with the other additives?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ah ok, what would you suggest to fall in line with the other additives?

Since the typical additions are small, water volume is not critical, and if you make it by the recipes I post, you can use online calculators:

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

All three recipes in it can use this calculator (all are called Randy's Recipes):

Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

[e34stx]

as in
Dissolve Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (3 cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (5 cups)

will this be ok with the above regime? thanks

 

[e34stx]

is there a way to work out how much water to remove for dilution?
thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

is there a way to work out how much water to remove for dilution?
thanks

You mean to keep salinity from rising?

Yes, one can calculate that, but since there are other impacts to salinity, it is usually best to just incorporate it into your general salinity monitoring and control.

from the DIY two part article:

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

After one year of adding 8 ppm of calcium and the accompanying 0.4 meq/L (1.1 dKH) of alkalinity per day (41 mL of both parts per day or 4 gallons of both parts per year in a 50-gallon aquarium, including the effect of the magnesium part #3A, 2440 mL/year), the following residue (Table 2) would remain after calcification and adjustment for salinity (there is roughly a 32% rise in salinity over a year using this addition rate without water changes).

Thus for 1.1 dKH per day use rate, the salinity rises about 0.088% per day.

 

[e34stx]

thanks Randy

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Happy reefing.