Dosing question

enzo · Oct 10, 2016

I know there's the Two Part Dosing that you can buy. But can you make your own and if you can is it worth it. What else is there that you can make yourself and to be cost effective?

Downbeach · Oct 10, 2016

Here is a cost comparison I once did using Randy's recipe - Peladadow/A&H Baking Soda vs ESV:

50lbs. of dry Peladow Calcium Chloride is $24.00. Using recipe #1 it yields about 50 gallons of solution which works out to $.48 per gallon.

12 lbs of A&H Baking Soda is $7.57 @ Walmart. Using recipe #1 it yields about 16 gallons of solution which works out to $.47 per gallon.

So, ESV - buy both @ PA for $ 27.98

DIY - both for $ .95

Saving: $ 27.03

The yield for the ESV is 37.5% more than the DIY so the adjusted saving is 62.5% or $16.89.

Here's another one using Randy's recipe - BRS Calcium Chloride/Soda Ash:

1 gallon of dry Calcium Chloride is $17.09 @ BRS. Using recipe #1 it yields about 7 gallons of solution which works out to $2.44 per gallon.

1 gallon of dry Soda Ash is $17.09 @ BRS. Using recipe #1 it yields about 9 gallons of solution which works out to $1.90 per gallon.

So, ESV - buy both @ MD for $ 33.99 for 2 Gal./1 Gal. of each(Ca and Alk).

DIY - both for $ 4.34 for 2 Gal./1 Gal. of each(Ca and Alk).

Saving: $ 29.65

The yield for the ESV is 37.5% more concentrated than the DIY so the adjusted saving is 62.5% or $18.53 for 2 Gal./1 Gal of each(Ca and Alk).

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 10, 2016

There are DIY for most chemicals, but not all are easy to obtain. What else do you use?

enzo · Oct 10, 2016

I'm using Brightness Aquatics calcium
Seachem Reef Iodide and Magnesium. I'd like to start making my own eventually, with some help or alot.

mike007 · Oct 10, 2016

If you do regular water changes with a good salt mix you might not need to dose. I quit myself and have had excellent results. Keep it simple.

enzo · Oct 10, 2016

So now my question is would it be worth it for me with a 30 gal.breeder.

Myka · Oct 10, 2016

enzo said:
So now my question is would it be worth it for me with a 30 gal.breeder.

I think it's worth it on any size tank, but for what it's worth, I usually recommend to my clients to just buy pre-made liquids for nano tanks. It depends if you care about that $50 savings per year or not.

Do you use a doser or do you dose manually? Aquaforest makes a 3-part dosing solution that is about $60 for 5L of each solution, and I bet on your tank it would last 8-12 months. It needs to be on a doser though because it is dosing trace elements too, so big doses less often isn't a good idea. They have to be dosed equally too (you can't buy them singly).