Diy calcium chloride (A Little Help)

[Frogger]

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Originally Posted by CHEAPREEF

I switched to a completely different type of product, ATI Essentials is a 3 componant system that doses all trace elements as well as Alk, Ca and Mag. I switched to this as it is like the trion method so no water changes and more stable tank. I still do monthly sump cleanout etc, so it's a small 5-7% WC once a month.
I never saw anything but great results from the dow flake, it's exactly what you get in the bulk reef stuff.
If you look at Randy's new high PH boost recipe it's now using sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda. That should get the na sayers talking.

Us na sayers are only concerned about adding a road salt to our aquariums unchecked. I am sure that Aquaforest would beg to differ on their supplier of cacl. Even Ray from Reef Supplies is always looking for purer suppliers of their calcium and alkalinity components. Dow chemicals makes many different grades of their products all the way up to research grades in bulk. The only thing that changes is the purity of the chemicals.

Sodium hydroxide in its purest form is still only Na, and OH ions. There are reefers that add bleach (NaClO) and Hydrogen peroxide to their tanks successfully. As long as you know what and why you are adding these ions to your tank you can be successful.

The ATI Esentials is basically the Balling method (Randy Holmes Recipe) with extra trace elements. Your choice to not do water changes is only a choice not something the system on its own encourages or benefits from.

The Triton method is basically the Balling Method with a large sump/refugium with reverse daylight algae scrubber with multiple types of different algaes and beneficial organisms. It uses detailed regular testing to determine the exact amount of trace elements to add. It also adds a fertilizer with its 4 part calcium alkalinity component. The Triton System still requires water changes when the values get out of wack.