Second New DIY Two Part Recipe with Higher pH Boost

[trmiv]

Wow awesome thank you Randy! I’m going to switch to the aquaforest because the big bag they sell comes out a lot cheaper than tropic Marin part c.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Wow awesome thank you Randy! I’m going to switch to the aquaforest because the big bag they sell comes out a lot cheaper than tropic Marin part c.

OK, sounds good.

let's us know how things go. :)

 

[Shark.Bait]

thank you.

The DIY recipe in this thread will require 48.6 mL to boost 100 liters of water by 18 ppm.

Thus, the DIY here is 2.06 times as potent as the calcium part of the AF solution described.

Thus, instead of dosing 1 ml of the mineral salt mix for each 1 mL of calcium part dosed, you would dose 2.06 ml of the mineral salt solution for each 1 mL of the calcium part used.

Do you think it would be possible to double the amount of the aquaforest reef mineral salt dissolved in RODI to have a 1:1:1 ratio for all 3 components?

 

[drawman]

Do you think it would be possible to double the amount of the aquaforest reef mineral salt dissolved in RODI to have a 1:1:1 ratio for all 3 components?

If not you could dilute the Ca and Alk

 

[chris_ek]

Do you think it would be possible to double the amount of the aquaforest reef mineral salt dissolved in RODI to have a 1:1:1 ratio for all 3 components?

I asked the manufacturer and below is the answer I got:
"We do not recommend dissolving Reef Mineral Salt in a concentration higher than stated on the package.Theoretically, with a 2x stronger solution, the effect of use should be the same, but it has not been tested by our laboratory and we cannot take responsibility for using the product in a different way than recommended."
So we are left with the option of diluting Ca and Alk solutions.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I asked the manufacturer and below is the answer I got:
"We do not recommend dissolving Reef Mineral Salt in a concentration higher than stated on the package.Theoretically, with a 2x stronger solution, the effect of use should be the same, but it has not been tested by our laboratory and we cannot take responsibility for using the product in a different way than recommended."
So we are left with the option of diluting Ca and Alk solutions.

They are not suggesting it won’t work, just that they do not know. Ignore that admission and just try it. If the solution is clear it is fine.

 

[Shark.Bait]

I asked the manufacturer and below is the answer I got:
"We do not recommend dissolving Reef Mineral Salt in a concentration higher than stated on the package.Theoretically, with a 2x stronger solution, the effect of use should be the same, but it has not been tested by our laboratory and we cannot take responsibility for using the product in a different way than recommended."
So we are left with the option of diluting Ca and Alk solutions.

Thanks for reaching out! If you end up doubling it like Randy suggested let us know.

 

[bozo]

Do you guys use Part 3A or Part 3B?

It’s easy for me to get pure epsom salt. Im Just lazy to buy the mag chloride hexahydrate.

I’m doing to bring up the levels in my saltwater barrel for daily water changes and I’d rather use the 8 cups of epsom salt instead of 3 and 5 of the mag chloride.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you guys use Part 3A or Part 3B?

It’s easy for me to get pure epsom salt. Im Just lazy to buy the mag chloride hexahydrate.

I’m doing to bring up the levels in my saltwater barrel for daily water changes and I’d rather use the 8 cups of epsom salt instead of 3 and 5 of the mag chloride.

I recommend Balling Part C as the best third part, and the Epsom salt alone is the least optimal choice. You can buy magnesium chloride on line.

 

[Shark.Bait]

I've been dosing for about a week now with the 3 part discussed and has been working out great so far. Not much of a pH change so far but only dosing 10ml of each.

I've noticed that when dosing alkalinity portion into a high flow area of my sump, it almost instantly congeals. Once it hits the water it looks like a gel. I have the dosing line out of the water.

Is this normal @Randy Holmes-Farley , anything I can do to mitigate this? If I leave it for a day it accumulates in a thick gel/ paste at the end of the dosing line. I just want to avoid it clumping at the end and then dropping off into the tank all at once.

Thanks!

 

[trmiv]

It’s normal. I have a power head in my sump that is pointed right at where my dosing lines empty to. It does a good job of mixing it all up.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, normal. The gel is magnesium hydroxide. Try to disperse it as fast as possible so it dissolves before one can locally begin to precipitate calcium carbonate, which will not redissolve.

 

[drawman]

Yes, normal. The gel is magnesium hydroxide. Try to disperse it as fast as possible so it dissolves before one can locally begin to precipitate calcium carbonate, which will not redissolve.

I'm assuming diluting would help a bit too?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm assuming diluting would help a bit too?

Somewhat, yes.

 

[bozo]

Hey Randy.

Is it required that we dose the same amount of ALK and CAL per day?

My alk and cal consumption require different volumes to be dosed daily.

Also in regards to peladown calcium chloride, your articule mentions to do use 1/5th less than calcium chloride dihydrate. I calculated that to be 400 grams of anhydrous calcium chloride per 1 gallon of RODI.

Is this correct?

I also can not get it to mix clear no matter how many times I've tried over the years lol.

Is this normal?


Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey Randy.

Is it required that we dose the same amount of ALK and CAL per day?

My alk and cal consumption require different volumes to be dosed daily.

Also in regards to peladown calcium chloride, your articule mentions to do use 1/5th less than calcium chloride dihydrate. I calculated that to be 400 grams of anhydrous calcium chloride per 1 gallon of RODI.

Is this correct?

I also can not get it to mix clear no matter how many times I've tried over the years lol.

Is this normal?


Thanks

it is not required to dose the same alk and calcium volume per day, but that should be the default starting point, based ont eh ened for alk, and only adjust the calcium if it is already too high or too low. Do not assume that if calcium is right on,t aht one should not continue to dose it, which shouild jsut keep it steady.

Peladow is known to have some deposits that do not dissolve. At least historically, that was no problem for users.

The amount of Peladow to use is about 400 grams as you note, thought the amount of moisture in it may vary and if there is any significant amount, that may make a slightly weak solution.

 

[bozo]

it is not required to dose the same alk and calcium volume per day, but that should be the default starting point, based ont eh ened for alk, and only adjust the calcium if it is already too high or too low. Do not assume that if calcium is right on,t aht one should not continue to dose it, which shouild jsut keep it steady.

Peladow is known to have some deposits that do not dissolve. At least historically, that was no problem for users.

The amount of Peladow to use is about 400 grams as you note, thought the amount of moisture in it may vary and if there is any significant amount, that may make a slightly weak solution.

Perfect

Thanks

Do you dose ALK at night to keep the pH up?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Perfect

Thanks

Do you dose ALK at night to keep the pH up?

I dosed kalkwasser 24/7 for 20 years with an ATO. If I was setting the tank back up, I might dose only or mostly during the day. Low pH was never a problem.

 

[bozo]

I dosed kalkwasser 24/7 for 20 years with an ATO. If I was setting the tank back up, I might dose only or mostly during the day. Low pH was never a problem.

Thanks for the response.

I dose kalk every hour 24/7 as well. But the pH in my tank is stupid low all the time.

Even after adding 65 mLs of baked baking soda to the system over 12 hours its still low. My pH went up to 8.1 from 7.87 after adding the ALK. And then it immediately went back down to 7.9 lol.

Salinity is at 1.026 and ALK is at 8.5

I'll double check my kalk saturation again.

Thanks

 

[badchev]

Trying to dose the Sodium Hydroxide with the BRS Calcium chloride and balling part c. I'm finding that my Alkalinity keeps dropping no matter how many mil I dose per hour. The PH definitely rises but the Alkalinity will not rise. I'm having to dose Bicarbonate to keep the alkalinity up. Currently I'm dosing 40ml a hour and my alkalinity is at 5.3! Has anyone else experienced this? My system is 70gallons heavy sps. I have been testing hourly and watching the alk drop, so I add 5ml every hour and now I'm getting worried that the ph is hitting 8.3-8.4 and the alk will not rise and Im dosing 40ml per hour! Any advice?

mag 1550
cal- 450
PO4 - .06
No2 - 28.0
Alk 5.3