DIY Balling Method Recipe

[rishma]

I use AFR for simplicity, despite the higher cost and potential pH lowering relative to high pH alk methods. But the multi part needs more dosing pumps unless you are all manual, so that helps offset the costs.

I’m not sure what products Rishma used for the cost estimate, but one may also be able to use cheaper alk and calcium brands in the diy.

I used BRS components and prices. It’s been a while but I assume the relative costs are about right. Could definitely be cheaper with DIY components.

 

[gobble]

I use AFR for simplicity, despite the higher cost and potential pH lowering relative to high pH alk methods. But the multi part needs more dosing pumps unless you are all manual, so that helps offset the costs.

Wow, I think that says a lot. I guess I need to consider just using AFR.

I purchased two Dosetronics about two years ago (so 10 heads) but never used them, was planning on auto water changes, plus an awesome two-part dosing process and all the trace elements. It feels like a bit of a letdown to only use one of the extra dosing heads.

 

[ethipelagic]

Just an FYI, AFR is not an American product. It is from Tropic Marin.

I also believe we (I) do know exactly what is in AFR. :)

Ah ha! Well, that's a good point! Still, given how the UK loves to mess about with mainland Europe I'm still keen on taking some precautions. Clearly I need to do some more reading! :)

 

[ScottJazz]

Anyone swap out the A and K elements for the new Tropic Marin Block System in this DIY recipe?
https://www.tropic-marin.com/balance?lang=en

 

[not_eman209]

Makes sense, quite concise, thank you.


This is the magnesium chloride I have. Unsure if it is hexahydrate or not. It's probably not the more expensive anhydrous since it doesn't advertise that.

Another Roseville reefer?

 

[Hallowhead]

I am setting this mix up and have two questions.

- Can I add more magnesium mix to the part C if my mag drops?
- Should I dose each part all at once at 3 separate times of the day? Or should it be broken up throughout the day how my BRS 2 part normally doses?

 

[Ken S]

I am setting this mix up and have two questions.

- Can I add more magnesium mix to the part C if my mag drops?
- Should I dose each part all at once at 3 separate times of the day? Or should it be broken up throughout the day how my BRS 2 part normally doses?

I drip the part c/mag DIY solution continually over 24hrs.

I do add a bit extra mag from time to time if I see it falling. I've seen no I'll effects from doing that.

Edit: To clarify, I don't add more to my dosing container, rather I manually dose the DIY mag solution directly to the tank twice/day spread out over several days.

 

[rishma]

I am setting this mix up and have two questions.

- Can I add more magnesium mix to the part C if my mag drops?
- Should I dose each part all at once at 3 separate times of the day? Or should it be broken up throughout the day how my BRS 2 part normally doses?I d

I am setting this mix up and have two questions.

- Can I add more magnesium mix to the part C if my mag drops?
- Should I dose each part all at once at 3 separate times of the day? Or should it be broken up throughout the day how my BRS 2 part normally doses?

If you determine your magnesium is dropping via ICP testing then I think it would be fine to add some extra to the part C. I would not add more if you are using a home magnesium kit. They are unreliable.

If it were me, I’d dose calcium and part C all at once for simplicity. I’d spread out the alkalinity, especially for the higher pH versions, unless it’s a lower demand system.

 

[Hallowhead]

I drip the part c/mag DIY solution continually over 24hrs.

I do add a bit extra mag from time to time if I see it falling. I've seen no I'll effects from doing that.

Edit: To clarify, I don't add more to my dosing container, rather I manually dose the DIY mag solution directly to the tank twice/day spread out over several days.

What do you do about the Alk & Calcium parts? Do you drop those continually? Or one complete shot a day?

 

[Ken S]

I drip the part c/mag DIY solution continually over 24hrs.

I do add a bit extra mag from time to time if I see it falling. I've seen no I'll effects from doing that.

Edit: To clarify, I don't add more to my dosing container, rather I manually dose the DIY mag solution directly to the tank twice/day spread out over several days.

What do you do about the Alk & Calcium parts? Do you drop those continually? Or one complete shot a day?

I drip CA continually 9am-10pm during photoperiod & ALK continually 10:30pm-8:30am overnight/lights out. I have better luck dripping slowly vs doing all in one shot. Seems things are more stable that way for me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I am setting this mix up and have two questions.

- Can I add more magnesium mix to the part C if my mag drops?
- Should I dose each part all at once at 3 separate times of the day? Or should it be broken up throughout the day how my BRS 2 part normally doses?

Yes, but I am not confident in home mag tests, so be very reluctant to boost magnesium dosing significantly.

Depending on the alk dose, it can be spread out or once a day. Higher doses may benefit from spreading out.

None of the other parts need to be spread out. Some (mag and Part C and maybe even calcium) do not even need daily dosing as long as the total remains the same over time.

 

[Willito]

I have two dosing pumps, one for Calcium with K+ and one for Alk with A- , can Component C be dose manually, say once a week? My mag level stays constant so don't have a need to increase on a daily basis. Any negatives to dosing C just once a week? Currently only dosing 60 ml of CA and Alk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have two dosing pumps, one for Calcium with K+ and one for Alk with A- , can Component C be dose manually, say once a week? My mag level stays constant so don't have a need to increase on a daily basis. Any negatives to dosing C just once a week? Currently only dosing 60 ml of CA and Alk.

Yes, once a week is fine for part C. :)

 

[rishma]

I have two dosing pumps, one for Calcium with K+ and one for Alk with A- , can Component C be dose manually, say once a week? My mag level stays constant so don't have a need to increase on a daily basis. Any negatives to dosing C just once a week? Currently only dosing 60 ml of CA and Alk.

As noted by Randy that once a week is fine. I do want to point out that part C is not for maintaining magnesium unless you have added additional magnesium to it (which you may have).

 

[Val Shebeko]

The Balling DIY supplement recipe utilize a 1:1:1 dosing ratio to maintain proper alkalinity. For instance, if you require 50 mL of the alkalinity solution, you should also add 50 mL of Calcium and Balling.

Alkalinity (Choose One) :​

Option 1: Soda Ash

Add 375 g soda ash to enough RO/DI to make a total volume of a gallon or use the single-use Bulk Reef Supply Soda Ash.

* You can make soda ash at home from baking soda: Spread 594 grams (approximately two ¼ cups) of Baking Soda on a baking tray. Heat in an oven at 300°F for one hour. This process drives off water and carbon dioxide; overheating is not a concern. Dissolve the resulting solid in enough water, which will have the same concentration needed..
Source


Option 2: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)

Add 283 grams of food-grade sodium hydroxide to enough RO/DI to make a total volume of 1 gallon. It will get quite warm. Make sure it doesn't soften your container. This solution will contain about 1,900 meq/L of alkalinity (5,300 dKH). There is no alkalinity additive that has a greater pH boost than hydroxides.

Hydroxide is caustic. Be cautious during usage. Keep out of reach of children.
Source

*You can add Tropic Marin A- Trace Elements to the Alkalinity part. 80 mL (low demand), 160 mL (medium demand), or 330 mL (high demand) to the alk part.

Calcium:​

Dissolve 500 grams (about 2 ½ cups) of calcium chloride dihydrate in enough RO/DI to make a total volume of 1 gallon. Bulk Reef Supplies sells single use one gallon calcium chloride mixes. That is the correct concentration for this recipe. The calcium solution contains about 37,000 ppm calcium.
Source

Note: If you use an anhydrous or monohydrate calcium chloride (such as Dow Mini-Pellets, Kent's Turbo Calcium, Prestone Driveway Heat or Peladow Calcium Chloride), then you should use about 20% (1/5) less solid calcium chloride by volume to make the recipe. Note that the solution will get quite hot when dissolving anhydrous calcium chloride. See the section on substitutions for further information.
Source

*You can add Tropic Marin K+ Trace Elements to the Calcium part. 80 mL (low demand), 160 mL (medium demand), or 330 mL (high demand system).

Balling Method (Choose One) : ​

Option 1: Tropic Marin Balling Part C

Dissolve 182 grams (about seven scoops) in enough RO/DI or purified water to make one gallon total volume.

(Tropic Marin’s instructions were meant for their additive system, which is 50% weaker. I’ve appropriately doubled the required amount to equal 1:1:1 dosing).

Option 2: Aquaforest Mineral Salt

Dissolve 189 grams in enough RO/DI or purified water to make one gallon total volume.

*Aquaforest’s instructions are for solutions 50% weaker, so I’ve appropriately doubled it to equal 1:1:1 dosing.

Magnesium:​

Dissolve 7¼ cups (1,285g) of magnesium chloride hexahydrate and 3/4 cups (128g) of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate) in enough water to make one gallon. You can also purchase the Bulk Reef Supply general adjustment magnesium mix. It has the same ratio.

Add 203 mL of this magnesium mix into the Balling Part to maintain magnesium levels. It can also be added separately, if desired.

*We must supplement the extra magnesium because The Balling Method only has enough to offset ionic imbalance, not consumption. The 10:1 is the chloride-to-sulfate ratio for this recipe.

If anyone has further questions, please feel free to ask in this thread.

So, for instance…. 50 mil. Calcium, 50 mil. Magnesium, 50 mil Balling, 50 mil. Alkalinity.

I thank you for your post and your patience.

Val

 

[Val Shebeko]

So, for instance…. 50 mil. Calcium, 50 mil. Magnesium, 50 mil Balling, 50 mil. Alkalinity.

I thank you for your post and your patience.

Val

I’m sorry, I’m not dense just misread. If adding the Mg separately how is the daily dose of Mg calculated ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m sorry, I’m not dense just misread. If adding the Mg separately how is the daily dose of Mg calculated ?

There are two ways.

One is by testing and dosing, and the other is by RMM. I strongly recommend RMM since it will take a very long time to reliably detect a magnesium drop, and that assumes the kit is perfectly accurate, which is a bad assumption for magnesium kits.

For RMM, you'd add magnesium (in ppm) once in a while at a level matching 5-10% of the ppm of calcium dosed during that time. Use the reef chem calculator to know the ppm values of calcium and magnesium. Use the entries for Randy's recipe 1.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

This explains RMM:

Just say NO to magnesium testing: RMM is born

OK, this thread has been many years in the making, and I'm posting it here since folks in the chem forum are probably already tired of all the threads relating to problematic magnesium testing. I'm going to propose a method, let's call it the Randy Magnesium Method, or RMM for short. All good...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Val Shebeko]

There are two ways.

One is by testing and dosing, and the other is by RMM. I strongly recommend RMM since it will take a very long time to reliably detect a magnesium drop, and that assumes the kit is perfectly accurate, which is a bad assumption for magnesium kits.

For RMM, you'd add magnesium (in ppm) once in a while at a level matching 5-10% of the ppm of calcium dosed during that time. Use the reef chem calculator to know the ppm values of calcium and magnesium. Use the entries for Randy's recipe 1.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

This explains RMM:

Just say NO to magnesium testing: RMM is born

OK, this thread has been many years in the making, and I'm posting it here since folks in the chem forum are probably already tired of all the threads relating to problematic magnesium testing. I'm going to propose a method, let's call it the Randy Magnesium Method, or RMM for short. All good...

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

V

 

[Val Shebeko]

What in your opinion is the advantage of switching to the Balling Method over the various 3 part dosing programs like Red Sea or others?

Currently using Red Sea and the dosing is far from 1:1:1.

Thanks in advance.

V

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The DIY Balling is likely to be less expensive.

Other than that, I have no clear reason to pick among multi part brands. I'd go by which companies you trust.