Making Randy's Recipe #1 with metric measurements and products available in the UK

The Opinionated Reefer

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I'm in the UK (Scotland) and have been reading up on http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#1

If I was to make Recipe #1 could I just use SODIUM CARBONATE instead of having to bake the sodium bicarbonate?

Also over here, we use the metric system, not gallons so I would need to work out how much to add per Litre rather than per us gallon.

I think I can get everything I would need from this site https://www.bluebayaquatics.fish/12-chemicals apart from epsom salts.

So I could use this for the alkalinity part https://www.bluebayaquatics.fish/24-sodium-carbonate
and this for the calcium part https://www.bluebayaquatics.fish/ca...calcium-chloride-dihydrate-0632016306335.html

Correct?

For the magnesium part, I have leftover bottles of the red sea magnesium liquid which states MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE on the bottle. Would this mix with epsom salts? I also have tropic marin bo-magnesium lying around, could I not just use that for the magnesium part of the solution?

I guess what I really need help with is the math on how much to use to make a balanced two-part that you would dose an equal amount of each in Grams and Liters? 1 us gallon is equal to 3.78541 Liters so whats the amounts of each to add to 1 Liter of RO?


Also what about trace elements?
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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If you can get adequately pure sodium carbonate, yes, it's perfect. That is not always easy, hence the bicarbonate usage. The material you post may be fine, but "standard grade" doesn't say much, if anything, about purity.

The calcium material is good.

Divide my recipes by 3.78 to fit them in 1 L.

Use 375 grams of sodium carbonate 9per gallon) in place of 594 grams of baking soda that gets baked.
 
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Thanks

So:
375/3.78 = 99.2 grams of sodium carbonate per litre
500/3.78 = 132 grams of calcium chloride dihydrate per litre

for the magnesium portion, you say Epsom salts (3 cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (5 cups). But how many grams are in a cup? lol
 

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So:
375/3.78 = 99.2 grams of sodium carbonate per litre
500/3.78 = 132 grams of calcium chloride dihydrate per litre

for the magnesium portion, you say Epsom salts (3 cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (5 cups). But how many grams are in a cup? lol

The recipe was designed to use a whole 64 oz container of epsom salts, common in the US:

" Dissolve a 64 ounce container of Epsom salts (about 8 cups) in enough purified fresh water to make 1 gallon total volume. "
 

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So:
375/3.78 = 99.2 grams of sodium carbonate per litre
500/3.78 = 132 grams of calcium chloride dihydrate per litre

for the magnesium portion, you say Epsom salts (3 cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (5 cups). But how many grams are in a cup? lol
google will help you with such conversions
 
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The recipe was designed to use a whole 64 oz container of epsom salts, common in the US:

" Dissolve a 64 ounce container of Epsom salts (about 8 cups) in enough purified fresh water to make 1 gallon total volume. "
" Dissolve Epsom salts (3 cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate sold by the Dead Sea Works company (5 cups) "

I was talking about Recipe #1, Part 3A and the cups as a unit of measurement means nothing to me. A cup could be any size.
 

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I was talking about Recipe #1, Part 3A and the cups as a measurement means nothing to me. A cup could be any size.

The recipes are all the same: 8 US cups total. 64 ounces total.

A cup cannot be "any size", but I gave the exact weight for 8 cups, so you should be good to go for any version you want.

To make it very clear: the exact number is not definitive. It is an estimate of the amount of different types of consumers (coralline uses relatively more magnesium, for example).

So as an estimate, use 3/8 x 64 ounces of the sulfate and 5/8 x 64 ounces of the chloride if you do not want to measure by US cups.
 
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ok so 8 US cups are equal to 64 US ounces I see. I have never heard of anyone using the term cups as an actual unit of measurement. And to further, confuse things there is a difference between what an old British imperial gallon is and a US gallon. And a UK ounce is probably different from a US ounce..
 
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Does this maths look correct?

So my tank uses 1.95dhk per day

stock alk solution is 99.2g in 1000ml of water
and I would need 13 grams of sodium carbonate to meet 1.95dkh demand

Therefore scale factor from 99.2g to 13g is 99.2/13 = 7.62
Apply scale factor to our 1000ml of stock solution = 1000/7.62 = 131

So I would need to dose 131ml of both calcium and alk solutions per day?

Seems like a lot.

Although i suppose its not considering i currently dose 100ml of carbocalcuim and 13.6ml of each ati essentials pro per day just to keep at 8 dkh
 

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ok so 8 US cups are equal to 64 US ounces I see. I have never heard of anyone using the term cups as an actual unit of measurement. And to further, confuse things there is a difference between what an old British imperial gallon is and a US gallon. And a UK ounce is probably different from a US ounce..

8 cups is 64 ounces of those particular dry products.

You never heard of cups for volume measurement? lol you need to get out of that European bubble more.
 

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According to google 1 US cup is 201 grams but one US ounce is 28.35 grams. Doesn't really make sense.

I hope I am not wasting my time on a troll.

CUPS MAN! CUPS. Volume of 236.588 mL.

The number of ounces or grams or metric tons of weight in that 236.588 ml cup will vary by what you put in it.
 

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According to google 1 US cup is 201 grams but one US ounce is 28.35 grams. Doesn't really make sense.

Not true. What you googled is 1 cup of white sugar. lol
 

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Does this maths look correct?

So my tank uses 1.95dhk per day

stock alk solution is 99.2g in 1000ml of water
and I would need 13 grams of sodium carbonate to meet 1.95dkh demand

Therefore scale factor from 99.2g to 13g is 99.2/13 = 7.62
Apply scale factor to our 1000ml of stock solution = 1000/7.62 = 131

So I would need to dose 131ml of both calcium and alk solutions per day?

Seems like a lot.

Although i suppose its not considering i currently dose 100ml of carbocalcuim and 13.6ml of each ati essentials pro per day just to keep at 8 dkh

This calculator shows what you need to dose to attain any particular boost:

 
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I hope I am not wasting my time on a troll.

CUPS MAN! CUPS. Volume of 236.588 mL.

The number of ounces or grams or metric tons of weight in that 236.588 ml cup will vary by what you put in it.

Not a troll buddy and I think you guys need to start using metric like the rest of the world lol. If you tell anyone in the UK that your using cups to measure they will imagine your just using any old coffee cup or something and not an accurate measuring device lol

That is the calculator i used to get the 13 grams.

I am just trying to work out the cheapest way forward for me to keep dosing my tank as the dkh consumption just keeps rising. I don't really have the money for a calcium reactor any time soon.

It's a toss up between keep going with all-for-reef, switch to using ATI Essentials pro for 100% of my dosing as you can get it in 10L bottles or make my own solutions similar to what you outlined in your article.

ATI Essentials pro seems tempting since it claims that its an all in one and you don't need to add trace elements but is this really true or is it the trace elements are added to compensate for dilution due to the removal of water to compensate for increasing salinity?
 

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Not a troll buddy and I think you guys need to start using metric like the rest of the world lol. If you tell anyone in the UK that your using cups to measure they will imagine your just using any old coffee cup or something and not an accurate measuring device lol

That is the calculator i used to get the 13 grams.

I am just trying to work out the cheapest way forward for me to keep dosing my tank as the dkh consumption just keeps rising. I don't really have the money for a calcium reactor any time soon.

It's a toss up between keep going with all-for-reef, switch to using ATI Essentials pro for 100% of my dosing as you can get it in 10L bottles or make my own solutions similar to what you outlined in your article.

ATI Essentials pro seems tempting since it claims that its an all in one and you don't need to add trace elements but is this really true or is it the trace elements are added to compensate for dilution due to the removal of water to compensate for increasing salinity?

Cheapest way forward is certainly DIY two part, and All for Reef is likely the most expensive. In between are many commercial two parts.

Two parts like B-ionic or the Balling method are only compensating for dilution.

Some two parts, such as ATI essentials may add more. But is it the more you need? Or an averaged "more" that may not fit your needs?
 
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Bottled All for Reef would definitely be the most expensive but the powdered All for Reef works out around the same as the 10L ATI Essentials Pro bottles for me.

Its an averaged "more", I just want to cover all my bases. What puts me off the DIY is that I would still need to buy additional trace elements and go to the bother of mixing it all up myself whereas perhaps with ATI essentials pro I just hook it up and not need to add anything else apart from doing the monthly water changes. Is the hassle saving and trace worth the difference in cost?
 

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If you can get adequately pure sodium carbonate, yes, it's perfect. That is not always easy, hence the bicarbonate usage. The material you post may be fine, but "standard grade" doesn't say much, if anything, about purity.

The calcium material is good.

Divide my recipes by 3.78 to fit them in 1 L.

Use 375 grams of sodium carbonate 9per gallon) in place of 594 grams of baking soda that gets baked.
Evening Randy! My 400 gallon system is newer and is currently in my basement. The ph stays low because of its location and my house is sealed up tight, with no windows open. I currently dose 8500 ml of kalkwasser using a reactor and my PH stays around 7.8 to 7.9. As my tank matures, it will need more kalkwasser and I still have lots of room to dose because of evaporation. I was reading over your alkalinity suggestion to help raise the PH. What would you do? It’s a big system and SPS will take a lot of 2 part at some point. Would you dose your alkalinity ph boaster and run kalkwasser at night? I also have lots of BRS alk and calcium that I could use. But that gets expensive longterm. Just not using it currently. Do you have a good video or thread for your system for 2 part in US? And is there any health issues to cooking baking soda inside my house? Can I cook enough to make 5 gallons at once? Lots of questions I know, but I’m interested. Thanks John
 

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There are no health issues baking baking soda. It does release some CO2 so you might use the exhaust fan while baking if that’s a concern. I’d bake it hotter or longer than the initial recipe suggests. Like a turkey, it can take a while to get hot in the middle.

A combo of kalkwasser and two part is a good choice that many use. You can also make a two part with sodium hydroxide for even more pH boost.
 

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Evening Randy! My 400 gallon system is newer and is currently in my basement. The ph stays low because of its location and my house is sealed up tight, with no windows open. I currently dose 8500 ml of kalkwasser using a reactor and my PH stays around 7.8 to 7.9. As my tank matures, it will need more kalkwasser and I still have lots of room to dose because of evaporation. I was reading over your alkalinity suggestion to help raise the PH. What would you do? It’s a big system and SPS will take a lot of 2 part at some point. Would you dose your alkalinity ph boaster and run kalkwasser at night? I also have lots of BRS alk and calcium that I could use. But that gets expensive longterm. Just not using it currently. Do you have a good video or thread for your system for 2 part in US? And is there any health issues to cooking baking soda inside my house? Can I cook enough to make 5 gallons at once? Lots of questions I know, but I’m interested. Thanks John
Hi Randy. Thanks for helping me with my questions from yesterday. I’m working on your higher PH version. I’m buying all the additives from one company. For the calcium chloride dihydrate plus, is that the same thing as Calcium Carbonate? And for the magnesium chloride hexahydrate, is that the same as Magnesium Sulfate? Lastly, do you suggest purchasing a scale that measures in grams?
 

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