b ionic question

G

gavin123

New member
For my calcium and alk needs i'm using b ionic and what i'm doing is using my auto top off to dose it for me. I have a 5 gallon bucket filled with water and i'm putting both the alk and calcium additive in teh same water. I'm curretnly dosing 60 ml of each substance. I'm not sure putting the calcium and alk in the same water keeps the levels high. A thick film lays on the bottom of bucket so i'm not sure.


how much b ionic are people dosing and can you put it in teh same bucket of water the i use for my top off.

gavin
 
I think you have to dose b ionic into the tank, not the make up water. The directions on the bottle give a good idea as to how much to start with then test alot till you have everything balanced. Everyone's tank has a different calk/alk demand. The chemistry Forum's have some great articals on this including a calculator. I would also recommend reading the artical on how to make you own, its very easy and save's a ton of money.
 
well i ahve been testing the levels, i add about 10 ml every week if it's decreasing, but you don't think i can add it to ro/di water and let the float swtch add it.

i've been doing it for about 6 weeks and i've gradually got the calcium to stay but, the alk is still giving me problems.

how much are other people dosing?



gavin
 
I think for simplicity, lets not mix it in your top off. The reason I suggest is that to get the replacement dosage for your tank you will have to have the normal levels in the topoff itself and include the additional mixture for a saturated mixture. Depending on your needs to maintain you levels and how small your top off resevoir is, there is a possibility of supersaturating that vessel causing precipitation. In addition, you add one and then the other in a fashion to completly disolve the two componets. Without a powerhead or water movement in the resevoir it could lead to.....whats the word? Cleat?....... I will assume that it is a two part for a reason that the ionic compounds will mix and for a salt (not NaCl) that will precipitate and become useless, but am not sure on that.

How I dosed by hand:

1. At the same time everyday.

2. Add topoff water

3. Measure Alkalinity

4. Dose per daily needed uptake determined by alkalinity level. (remember biological systems fluctuate)

5. If the system is out of balance vary the ratio.

This took me in total 5 minutes per day.......so its not very difficult nor labor intensive. As I did, I would do a fish head count, look for fallen frags, etc.....

Do this for a few months until you are so sick of it you can't stand it, by then you will be able to run the Alk titration quickly and accuratly and completly understand what you are doing and how to fix and out of balance situation.

Then go buy an independent two channel automatic doser. I say to dose first by hand, because if you set the doser wrong or don't understand completly how it works, you can screw it up a lot faster that could lead to a crash.

Side note: The resolution of Calcium tests are small and moves at a slower visible rate than Alk. I currently test Ca once a month just to double check everything is in balance. More if it isn't.

You may have an out of balance scenario where if your having problems with keeping your alk up you are not adding enough or your Ca is too high.

If you would like advice on that please post your alk and ca test results and the test kit types. In addition Mg affects it also, but lets start with the first two.

I think I was adding about 45mls a day on a stocked SPS tank with Clams.....

Also, I view two parts like B-ionic as daily replacement supplemention methods and before using them, one needs to "set" the Alk and Ca levels with the recommended params using a buffer and liquid calcium such as Kents Turbo Calcium
 
Last edited:
my ca is 400
my alk is 7.8
tested with salifert test kits.

what if i put a powerhead in the topoff tank?

i really don't want to dose my tank everyday by hand, i'm using a 5 gallon jug with a float switch connected to a aqualifter.


gavin
 
If you set on the top off water I would go with hiepatitis, and add kalkwasser/pickling lime. I started with around 1 teaspoon/gal.
 
the only problem is that the aqua lifter adds the liquid a bit too fast. so i'm not sure if i can do it without spending some money. i have a kent doser but it involves me adding stuff to it everyday and i'm looking for the least amount of work.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9102554#post9102554 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gavin123
i'm looking for the least amount of work.
Click to expand...

Wrong hobby, especially when something goes wrong. Your options are pretty simple. Reactors, kalk drips, or 2-parts

IMO I think two parts are a great supplementation method and think you are pretty close to the mark balance wise. You may be slightly out of balance, but very close. I may add some buffer to bring the alk up to about 9.6-10.0 range......I can't remember the balance Ca at that number, but around 400 I believe, so ease up on that cuz your close.

Is there a chart with all the alks and Ca at stoich ratio? Always wanted one myself.

As far as the work thing.....I said it takes less than five minutes daily to preform what I listed.....if thats still too much, then I don't know what to say. I spend about half an hour in front of it a day so I might as well be doing something productive for a few minutes.

You can get out of pretty much ever looking at your tank by automating everything but that takes major money to do correctly to monitor, top off, control etc......Time or money, you will have to choose one. I suggest dosing by hand and purchasing a doser like these, I have the Sentry......

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...aquatics_sentry_admiral_commander.asp?CartId=

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium..._3000_sp3000_niveaumat_reef_doser.asp?CartId=

This is a labor of love......someone once said
"When the day comes scraping algae is too much for me, then that is the day to sell the tank."

Looking down on your info, you looking to get into SPS......man you havn't seen work yet......SPS demands it, or else you get white sticks.
Good Luck!!
 
gavin - I'm dosing 40ml of Randy's mix per day via dual channel dosing pump. My current Ca/Alk levels are: 500ppm/10.0 dkh. Magnesium at about 1400. Specific Gravity (SG) at about 1.026.

Your Ca level (400) looks OK, Alk at (7.8 dkh) is also OK. What are your Magnesium and SG levels?

If you want you could slowly increase how much you dose per day and see how your corals respond.

Easiest thing to do is get ahold of a dual channel dosing pump then does directly into your sump (in different locations or different times) in a high flow area. Then, you can dose separately from your top-off water and then worry less about stuff precipitating out in your RO/DI makeup water.

Scott
 
i've been increasing my dosing amounts everyweek, but i was just making sure i could mix it. i know this hobby isn't easy but i've been doing for 6 years and i realize that.

Does it actaully effect the chemistry of the solution if i mix them together?

does 60 ml of each solution sounds ok for a large monti cap, two dgigtas, pink millie and various other lps. i also have two clams a maxima and dereasa. does that sound low or what? i don't mind adding more per week, i jjust don't want to mess anything up.
 
i love spending time on my tank but the more jobs i can automate the more time i spend on other parts of the tank. i love my tank, and if it came down to it i would defiantly add it daily.
 
Sorry gut the two parts should never be mixed together, the high concentration even in the fresh water top off will make them precipitate as Calcium Carbonate (The sediment you are seeing) which does not dissolve in the aquarium so you are just wasting your supplement. You can add one on the top off and the other one manually but you can not mix both in the same top off water.
 
ok thank you, thats what i was looking for. thanks guys, looks like i'll be adding the calcium manually. thanks

gavin
 
60 ml of two-part per day for a 37 gallon tank is alot. I'm going to assume that a good part precipitated out when you combined them together in your RO/DI makeup water.

Yeah, better to dose separately.

Scott
 
If you install the container higher than the sump you can connect an airline with a plastic airline valve in it to regulate the drip rate, no need to use a pump at all.
 
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