randys 2 part

usmc121581 · Sep 17, 2013

I want to find out how much of each I would add ( cal, alk, and mag). I am just nervous about screwing up or maybe putting something that is used on your sidewalk to melt ice etc. Also how do you store the excess, and who actually uses it and what were the results.

Pittsburgh · Sep 17, 2013

Randy has approximate dosing and mixing instructions outlined.

I use driveway heat (HomeDepot sells it here year around, Model # 50B-HEAT) for Ca, baked Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (walmart sells it in 4lb boxes in the detergent isle, item# 0003320001170) and Epsom Salt and Road Runner 20 Lbs. Pet-Friendly Ice Melt (Lowes carries them locally, Model #: 20B-MAG) for Mg.

Baking soda is in a small enough container to keep in a plastic jar. Ice melts are in 5gal buckets I have left from my reef crystals salt orders, older buckets had nicer screw on lids with rubber seal to keep things air tight and dry inside.

Don't remember my Mg mixing numbers, but for Calcium I do use 2.5 cups of driveway heat pellets and 2 cups of baked arm and hammer soda for alkalinity.

disc1 · Sep 17, 2013

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

Read that if you haven't already. Even if you want to use the stuff that BRS or someone else sells, this read is important. Read it and understand it.

To figure out how much to use there is a handy calculator on the links page over on the chemistry board.

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html

Go there and put in the relevant info and it will tell you how much to dose. To figure your daily dose once you get the levels right, watch them drop for a few days and figure out how much they drop in one day. Put that amount into the calculator and use what it gives you to set a daily dose for the tank. As you add more corals and demand goes up and alk starts to drop, keep going back to the calculator and putting in two numbers as far apart as how ever much alkalinity you need to add and see how much to add to the dose.

The biggest secret to 2-part is to set it off your alkalinity. Use equal parts for the first while and see what happens to calcium. If it starts to climb significantly then you can decrease the calcium part. But if you try to set the dose over short term trends the changes can be too small to see with a test kit. So you have to trust that if the alkalinity is gone the calcium MUST have gone with it. At least for the first few weeks or months.

downbeach · Sep 17, 2013

The uptake of Ca and Alk, by "œstony" type coral, coralline algae, etc. in a reef system is 20 ppm Ca to 50 ppm(2.8dKH) Alk(CaCO3), which is a ratio of 2 pts Ca to 5 pts Alk (2:5). Equal doses of any two part supplements are designed to provide the same ratio's. So, they will all work but, I have found that the brand name products are going to be more expensive. I use one of the BRS (Randy's) recipes. I considered using the Dow flake, etc., but just can't get my head wrapped around the fact that something that is used in your driveway to melt snow and ice is going to be pure enough to add to an aquarium. So I buy both the Calcium Chloride and Soda Ash from BRS, although I have used A&H Baking Soda as well.

Saturated kalkwasser also contains this same ratio, @ ~ 800 ppm Ca(2pts.) to 2,000 ppm CaCO3(5pts.). It also has the added benefit of utilizing some of the CO2 in your system, which may help keep your pH in line. Even though I'm using a two part recipe, I also still use the kalk in my dosing regimen. The problem with kalk is that it's limited in its ability to keep up with a high demand due to the fact that you're limited to how much you can add to RO/DI water(2tsp.), and your evaporation rate. You can boost that to 3 tsp. with the addition of vinegar, but that also adds a carbon source, and potentially other issues.

If you're using a "reef" grade of salt mix, i.e. Reef Crystals, I'd make sure the salinity is right, by measuring it using a calibrated (@35ppt) refractometer, or metering device. This will ensure you are adding enough Ca, Alk and Mg when you do your WC's. With normal WC's mixed to a salinity of 1.026, I've never had to add Mg, using this type of salt mix.

Calcium MIXING DIRECTIONS
Add 2Â½ dry measuring cups of calcium chloride to a gallon jug and mix with RO/DI or distilled water to create a full gallon of solution.

Alkalinity MIXING DIRECTIONS
Add 2 dry measuring cups of soda ash to a gallon jug and mix with RO/DI or distilled water to create a full gallon of solution.

Once you have your solutions made, fill in the blanks using this calculator, and Randy's recipe #1 in the drop down to get your dose for both Ca and Alk.
I would use these solutions to get your numbers where you want them, i.e. Ca @ 420 Alk @ 8, etc., and I would start testing for a few days to see what your demand is. Once you see what you need over a period of time, you can determine what you should be dosing on a daily basis, and start dosing equal part of both solutions.

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usmc121581 · Sep 18, 2013

Very informative now it all makes sense to me.

randys 2 part

usmc121581

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Pittsburgh

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disc1

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downbeach

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