Need advice on 2 part dosing
 

I'm using BRS to dose Cal / Alk / Mag, and things are going well so far. I'm just manually dosing because I'm the type who still reads paper books and mails out Christmas cards. Anyway, I'm currently dosing 110 ml of Cal/Alk daily, or about a gallon per month. I got a supply from BRS just before the borders closed so I'm good for the time being, but I've been thinking of alternatives for a little while now. It seems there may be better options out there so I can perhaps pare down the cost and not have to run across the border for supplies.


I don't think I'm ready for a calcium reactor yet? What are y'all using for your dosing?


Thanks for any input.

I was thinking of doing BRS too. But with the shipping and exchange rate, it turn out to be the same with Brightwell if not cheaper if you get bulk. I have limited space so bulking up is not an option. But it turn out brightwell is cheaper if u get it in bulk.

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You have a couple options,

Reefsupplies.ca is a good source for bulk media, calcium and sodium carbonate, it's the canadian BRS.

Or you can go the route of de-icings salts as per Randy Holmes http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

I've gone both directions here but I've gone on the second option for the past 4 years mainly because I was able to get a 20kg bag of sodium carbonate which is more difficult to get (or make) than calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. Ease of acquiring the media dictates the direction I would go.

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J@L sells bulk CaCl, MgCl and NaCO3. You don't purify your water so the bulk quality from J&L is more than good enough quality.

Do you mean the liquid Brightwell? That was the first kind I tried, andI didn’t like it. I do like BRS in that it is straightforward and easy to dial in. If I recall correctly, Brightwell is also more costly.

i was talking about the dry bulk Brightwell.

Wow ,your there $1000 in 2 part a year!
Not including trace elements and coral food .
I was in the same boat , went to Randy’s method. Baked baking sofa is like $1 for 4l.
Calcium is a little harder to soured because buying chemicals in 20+kg bags they think your making s*#t I’m your bathtub!
I use magnisim from seachem in bulk because it’s still reasonable .
Since going to a cheap jeabo doser $70-120 3or4 head and dyi 2 part, things neve have been better.
Hand dosing that much chemical is rough on certain corals.
Or go calcium reactor and never look back.... some of my friends in Edmonton that have the reactor grow beast in very short times .

Whoa - don't scare me like that :lol: Nowhere near $1000 per year. The 7lb bag is US$23.99 & makes 6 gallons. I use a gallon per month each of Cal/Alk and 1 gallon of Mag at US$18 lasts me about a year. So at 12 gallons per year, it's about CA$160ish for the year total for the 3 part. I hope my math is correct (admittedly my weak area). Hey, now that I work it out, it's not that bad :confused:?

I'm not sure how to compare that to ReefCrest product as I can't see how many gallons each container makes etc.

Maybe I'm just flaking out because of the closed borders, who knows. I remember some of you out there make this stuff with baking soda & peanut butter or whatever, lol, so I thought it would be good to get some input. The BRS product has been super easy to dial in from Day 1, and it was always easy for me to pick up with other US online purchases. Not sure how this crisis situation will play out though.

I'm trying to get automated but I'm not the best with that part of the hobby. I bought an ATO and it's been sitting in a box for almost a year. Also, it can't be that bad if BRS does it, haha


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ed24f60e_z.jpg

I'm going to look into this further - would certainly make things simpler for me with JL being 5 mins away. Just out of interest, what's your dosage these days (I know your system is larger).


Haha, don't talk to me about simple. Tap water, no ATO, no auto doser. These days, it's even worse as my stupid LED's clock/timer is not working (don't ask) so I have to adjust my lighting manually!