New DIY Two Part Recipes with Higher pH Boost

[jeffp1]

Thanks Randy.

 

[Mindi]

After 3 days on new NaOH recipes I have not measured anything as too soon but am getting a white solid deposit on floor of sump...perhaps 20-25 square inches of it... will scrape off but not vacuum off.

 

[WWIII]

After 3 days on new NaOH recipes I have not measured anything as too soon but am getting a white solid deposit on floor of sump...perhaps 20-25 square inches of it... will scrape off but not vacuum off.

Hopefully Randy will chime in on the white deposit! I would still test alkalinity, personally, even if I changed anything for 1 day. Following this for sure!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It’s either magnesium hydroxide or calcium carbonate. Adding to a higher flow area or more slowly may help.

 

[Mindi]

Well fair suggestion, so I tested Alkalinity and it is 3.56 meq/l after starting at 3.65 meq/l 3 days ago. So well within the Hanna accuracy window so the answer is 'no change' (which is the objective of the current dose level).

 

[Mindi]

OK thanks Randy.. my doser allows lots of small doses so I will spread it more over the 24 hrs.

 

[WWIII]

OK thanks Randy.. my doser allows lots of small doses so I will spread it more over the 24 hrs.

How many gallons is your tank/system?

 

[Mindi]

530 litres of water which is about 140 usg

 

[Mindi]

Would i be right in suspecting the Mg option given my Calcium dosing has not changed and I have started Mg inclusion after never dosing it previously..?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Would i be right in suspecting the Mg option given my Calcium dosing has not changed and I have started Mg inclusion after never dosing it previously..?

You dose the two parts at separate times, right?

The actual magnesium added each day is quite small. The mag hydroxide can come entirely from mag in the tank water when the pH rises locally at the point of addition.

 

[Mindi]

Report after 1 week on NaOH recipe....dosing 43 mls each part daily into 520 litres water volume.

Alkalinity.... no measurable change..Hanna 3.6 to Hanna 3.6 ....excellent result

Calcium....... Hanna 425 to Hanna 410. Not significant IMHO. For some reason when I dose similar amounts of each recipe part my Calcium drops a little relative to Alk and "balanced" for me is more like 43ml/day Alk and 47ml/day Ca. At the moment I am doing 43/43 so while this small drop is not understood, it is probably irrelevant to the exercise.

Magnesium..... Have not dosed it before. Am still getting hard deposit on sump floor which I cannot even scrape off. Dont know what Mg(OH)2 looks and feels like but this deposit is quite hard ... so it doesnt seem like CaCO3 to me. Have altered dosing setup for smaller doses into higher flow area, but too early to be sure of improvement but I think it is building up less. Mg readings not changed in the week.
Salifert 1150 to Salifert 1150...more time..?

pH ( Eco testr pH2) ... noon reading gone from (7.9-8.0) to (8.0-8.1) ...so I believe at least a 0.1 improvement and possibly 0.2...excellent result

So I think this is really good early outcome. pH clearly improving which was main objective and Alk/Calc fine. I probably still need a bit of advice on how to handle my Mg situation correctly....?

Thanks Randy, your work much appreciated. I was going broke buying Soda Lime to scrub the air into my skimmer....lol... All these ingredients easily bought here in Aust.. Caustic Soda granules at supermarket, Sodium Sulphate at any craft/dyeing shop as Glaubers Salt.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Magnesium..... Have not dosed it before. Am still getting hard deposit on sump floor which I cannot even scrape off. Dont know what Mg(OH)2 looks and feels like but this deposit is quite hard ... so it doesnt seem like CaCO3 to me. Have altered dosing setup for smaller doses into higher flow area, but too early to be sure of improvement but I think it is building up less. Mg readings not changed in the week.
Salifert 1150 to Salifert 1150...more time..?
.

Thanks for the update!

The magnesium should not actually rise (or fall) if designed perfectly.

If you want a mag boost, you should make specific corrections for it. :)

 

[Mindi]

OK got it... Reef Chemistry Calculator and very slow additions to turbulent area to bring up from 1150 to 1350

 

[Servillius]

Quick update. According to my pH probe, my pH is ranging between 8.44 and 8.64 over a day.

Not sure if that’s too high, but everything seems quite happy.

 

[TMB]

Here's my update on using the new recipe 2-part. I really have nothing to actually report, everything is staying constant with my prior results.
I'm not exactly sure if there has been a change to PH. The tank average is pretty much the same as before, although it could be too soon to tell.
I've been dosing the new formula for 4 days, and I have not seen the build up that @Mindi is experiencing.

Details:

System is ~50 gallons - 100% SPS.
Daily dose is 30ml
Alk - 9.2 - per Randy's DIY method
Ca - 420 - per Salifert
Mag - 1230 - per Salifert
Po4 - 0.03 - per Hanna ULR
NO3 - .50 - per Red Sea Pro
PH - 7.89 - 8.24 Average = 8.02 - per Apex

So far so good! All corals seem normal and no unfavorable responses to the change.
I'll continue reporting test results as I'm sure a few are waiting to see if the early adopters crash and burn:eek:.

TMB

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the updates! :)

 

[Clownman727]

Can the calcium chloride and magnesium chloride from BRS be used? It doesn't say if they are dihydrate or hexahydrate. Also, how can I make the solution with out as scale, is there a conversion to cups or tablespoons? I have been using the BRS bulk calcium chloride 2 1\2 cups per gallon of water.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can the calcium chloride and magnesium chloride from BRS be used? It doesn't say if they are dihydrate or hexahydrate. Also, how can I make the solution with out as scale, is there a conversion to cups or tablespoons? I have been using the BRS bulk calcium chloride 2 1\2 cups per gallon of water.

Yes, you can use those as they are the hydrates.

Measurement by volume is tricky between different suppliers due to the fluffiness factor.

Maybe someone here can weigh some for you, but as a rough guide:

500 grams of calcium chloride dihydrate occupies about 2.5 cups
500 grams of magnesium chloride hexahydrate also occupies about 2.5 cups

 

[Clownman727]

Thank you. Another question I have is can I use the new calcium recipe with the BRS soda ash solution? Or would I need to use the new alk recipe too?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you. Another question I have is can I use the new calcium recipe with the BRS soda ash solution? Or would I need to use the new alk recipe too?

Why use a different recipe for half of the product? Because you already have it in liquid form?

Jim's recipe is designed to be balanced for equal parts dosing. Using a different concentration of sodium carbonate is fine, you just need to dose more or less if the concentration is different.