DIY Balling Method Recipe

[oli986]

Thanks thats actually really handy!

The Reef Chemistry calculator has an entry for anhydrous (top most choice under calcium), and my DIY two part recipes have modifications for using anhydrous (use ~20% less).

Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing. :)

 

[Miami Reef]

I use three 1.1mL dosing heads for this three part.

Can I drip the Calcium Part with the Balling Part simultaneously? The lines are next to each other in a high-flow area.

I wonder if calcium will precipitate with sulfate. What do you think?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I use three 1.1mL dosing heads for this three part.

Can I drip the Calcium Part with the Balling Part simultaneously? The lines are next to each other in a high-flow area.

I wonder if calcium will precipitate with sulfate. What do you think?

That should be ok if they drip a little apart. Even if calcium sulfate initially precipitates, it will redissolve.

 

[Pod_01]

That should be ok if they drip a little apart. Even if calcium sulfate initially precipitates, it will redissolve.

Say what?
I had the impression that PartC and Calcium should not be dosed together. More like 15-30 minutes apart!!!

Maybe I am not understanding the question or the answer…

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Say what?
I had the impression that PartC and Calcium should not be dosed together. More like 15-30 minutes apart!!!

Maybe I am not understanding the question or the answer…

Alk and calcium parts together is the big problem, causing calcium carbonate.it does not redissolve.

Calcium and part C can precipitate calcium sulfate. That material will redissolve in seawater, so a little forming in the tank water is likely no big deal and may be rather like the cloudiness of magnesium hydroxide that forms and redissolves when high pH alk additives get added.

I would not mix those two outside the tank because a mud will form in the container, but a few drips from a 1.1 mL per min doser separated by some space when added to moving tank water is not likely a problem.

Watching for any precipitate is a fine plan.

 

[Pod_01]

Alk and calcium parts together is the big problem, causing calcium carbonate.it does not redissolve.

Calcium and part C can precipitate calcium sulfate. That material will redissolve in seawater, so a little forming in the tank water is likely no big deal and may be rather like the cloudiness of magnesium hydroxide that forms and redissolves when high pH alk additives get added.

I would not mix those two outside the tank because a mud will form in the container, but a few drips from a 1.1 mL per min doser separated by some space when added to moving tank water is not likely a problem.

Watching for any precipitate is a fine plan.

Thank you,

 

[Ken S]

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: Converting Baking Soda (Sodium bicarbonate) into Soda Ash (Sodium carbonate) at home:

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 to make 1 gallon total of Soda Ash.
Source


If you purchased pre-made Soda Ash, it is 375g per gallon.


Option 2: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)


Add 283 grams of food-grade sodium hydroxide to 1 gallon of fresh water. 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.


BE CAREFUL WITH THIS SOLUTION: IT HAS A pH ABOVE 14. Do not get it in your eyes or on your skin. Keep all reef chemicals, especially this alk part, in a way that children or pets cannot access them.
Source


*You can add Tropic Marin A- Trace Elements to either Alkalinity part.

Calcium:​

Dissolve 500 grams (about 2 ½ cups) of calcium chloride dihydrate (such as Dowflake 77-80% calcium chloride or ESV calcium chloride; see below for substitutes and sources) in enough water to make 1 gallon of total volume. You can dissolve it in about ½ gallon of water, and then pour that into the 1 gallon container and fill it to the top with more freshwater. This solution has 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.

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 are for concentrations 50% weaker, so I’ve appropriately doubled it 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 10:1 Ratio:​

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.


Dosing Instructions for Magnesium:

Dose at 5.4% of the volume used for the other parts. For every gallon of other solutions used, add 203 mL of the magnesium mix.

Update 3/8/25
You can add this magnesium part (203mL) into the Balling Part. It will dissolve, which makes this a true three-part.

We must supplement the extra magnesium because The Balling Method only has enough to offset ionic imbalance, not consumption.

The 10:1 ratio is the chloride-to-sulfate ratio of normal seawater, which is necessary for this recipe.




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

To be clear, 7 scoops of Balling C, 7.25 cups Magnesium chloride hexahydrate & 3/4 cup Epsom salt will all dissolve into 1 gallon of RO/DI water?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

To be clear, 7 scoops of Balling C, 7.25 cups Magnesium chloride hexahydrate & 3/4 cup Epsom salt will all dissolve into 1 gallon of RO/DI water?

I think it should. Let us know if there is any issue. Keep in mind that combining mag sulfate and chloride sometimes shows a little calcium sulfate precipitate that is not important.

 

[Miami Reef]

To be clear, 7 scoops of Balling C, 7.25 cups Magnesium chloride hexahydrate & 3/4 cup Epsom salt will all dissolve into 1 gallon of RO/DI water?

No.

You need to make the magnesium solution separately (7.25 cups Magnesium chloride hexahydrate & 3/4 cup Epsom)

Take 203mL from that solution and add it to a separate gallon with 7 scoops of Balling; use this solution as the three-part solution.

 

[Ken S]

No.

You need to make the magnesium solution separately (7.25 cups Magnesium chloride hexahydrate & 3/4 cup Epsom)

Take 203mL from that solution and add it to a separate gallon with 7 scoops of Balling; use this solution as the three-part solution.

Got it, thank you.

So for my 240 total system volume, I've been dosing right around 1 gallon of the 7 scoop Balling C every month or so (exact same amount as my BRS soda ash).

This solution being discussed (203ml MCH + 3/4 cup Epsom) to the Balling C will provide enough magnesium to the tank to keep proper levels?

 

[Miami Reef]

Got it, thank you.

So for my 240 total system volume, I've been dosing right around 1 gallon of the 7 scoop Balling C every month or so (exact same amount as my BRS soda ash).

This solution being discussed (203ml MCH + 3/4 cup Epsom) to the Balling C will provide enough magnesium to the tank to keep proper levels?

Yes, that extra magnesium will maintain your levels without ever needing to test it. :)

 

[Ken S]

Great! One last question. I have 15 each of the one gallon mix of BRS soda ash and calcium chloride. Can I use this with the DIY part C/magnesium were discussing without causing any kind of imbalances?

If you could skim through the thread linked below and take a look I'd appreciate it. That is a thread on my first ICP test. It shows a critically high level of sulfur that could be attributed to the sulfate in the BRS magnesium mix I'm currently using. Randy said in his opinion he didn't think it is a huge problem, but I'd still like to bring it down just a bit if I can.

Thread 'First ICP Test Results' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/first-icp-test-results.1101852/

Thank you Miami Reef!

 

[Miami Reef]

Great! One last question. I have 15 each of the one gallon mix of BRS soda ash and calcium chloride. Can I use this with the DIY part C/magnesium were discussing without causing any kind of imbalances?

That’s how it should be done.

1 gallon of the soda ash solution for alkalinity
1 gallon of the calcium chloride solution for calcium
1 gallon of the balling + magnesium mix

If you could skim through the thread linked below and take a look I'd appreciate it. That is a thread on my first ICP test. It shows a critically high level of sulfur that could be attributed to the sulfate in the BRS magnesium mix I'm currently using. Randy said in his opinion he didn't think it is a huge problem, but I'd still like to bring it down just a bit if I can.

Mine was even higher because I used the incorrect magnesium chloride-to-sulfate ratio (which inspired this thread). This thread has the magnesium ratios to prevent high sulfate from happening again.

Do you change the water regularly? If so, the sulfate will naturally trend back down. I agree with Randy that your current sulfate will cause no issues.

You can also only use magnesium chloride for the extra mag part step. You’d use 8 cups of magnesium chloride and add 203mL with the balling, but it’s really not necessary.


I hope this helps.

 

[Ken S]

That’s how it should be done.

1 gallon of the soda ash solution for alkalinity
1 gallon of the calcium chloride solution for calcium
1 gallon of the balling + magnesium mix



Mine was even higher because I used the incorrect magnesium chloride-to-sulfate ratio (which inspired this thread). This thread has the magnesium ratios to prevent high sulfate from happening again.

Do you change the water regularly? If so, the sulfate will naturally trend back down. I agree with Randy that your current sulfate will cause no issues.

You can also only use magnesium chloride for the extra mag part step. You’d use 8 cups of magnesium chloride and add 203mL with the balling, but it’s really not necessary.


I hope this helps.

This helps a lot Miami Reef. I was using the BRS mag & Balling C in seperate containers & dosing all four parts separately. I am a frequent tester & adjusted Mag dose until it hovered around 1350-1450 (Salifert) but it would always creep up, I'd adjust down, it would creep up again. I guess it was the higher ratio of the BRS mag chloride to sulfate solution or just too much of it, probably a little of both.

I do change water with a 4 bank Versa doser, 2 water in, 2 water out. I vacuum gravel with the hose routed into the sock chamber every 4-6 weeks. I can change out 50g in two days with that thing cranked up. I just started a 50g awc on Wednesday. It will finish up Sat, I'll fill & mix Sunday & start another 50g on Monday to try to bring it down. Then I'll go back to the standard 6g/day and maybe do another icp test in a few weeks.

I have ordered straight mag chloride & Epsom from Amazon & will give your ratio a try. Thanks for taking the time to walk me through this, much appreciated.

 

[Miami Reef]

This helps a lot Miami Reef. I was using the BRS mag & Balling C in seperate containers & dosing all four parts separately. I am a frequent tester & adjusted Mag dose until it hovered around 1350-1450 (Salifert) but it would always creep up, I'd adjust down, it would creep up again. I guess it was the higher ratio of the BRS mag chloride to sulfate solution or just too much of it, probably a little of both.

It could also be test error. Magnesium kits are notorious for throwing false readings across a large spectrum.

Magnesium moves very slowly. I’m glad you started this now. It will save you a lot of time.

Magnesium kits are generally awful. The only test I trust is ICP MS Oceamo. That’s it.

 

[Ken S]

I have another ATI kit. I am going to pick up the kit you mentioned. In a few weeks after I get the new dosing regimen some time to settle in & get some water changed out, I will send samples to both and see what they come back with & I'll post the results here.

 

[Miami Reef]

I have another ATI kit. I am going to pick up the kit you mentioned. In a few weeks after I get the new dosing regimen some time to settle in & get some water changed out, I will send samples to both and see what they come back with & I'll post the results here.

I don’t think there’s a need. The magnesium is on the higher side, but it’s still within an optimal range.

It won’t cause issues, either. Some people like it that high. I personally would opt out of the extra 203mL magnesium step. The consumption will slowly bring it down, and you already have enough.

Magnesium moves extremely slowly, so don’t believe a test that says it changed drastically within a few days or even weeks.

 

[rishma]

The only test I trust is ICP MS Oceamo. That’s it.

Ya, I figure my ATI ICP is good enough for Mg. There is a wide range for good Mg. I believe Oceamo is better overall and could be important for other elements, but for Mg I wouldn’t spend the extra $

 

[Miami Reef]

Ya, I figure my ATI ICP is good enough for Mg. There is a wide range for good Mg. I believe Oceamo is better overall and could be important for other elements, but for Mg I wouldn’t spend the extra $

Yes, ATI is good to get a general range. I also wouldn’t bother using another ICP for magnesium.

ATI is accurate enough for our purposes.