seachem suppliments

[daplatapus]

Who is using these? I've been dosing with BRS Ca, Mg and Alk but am looking at other options. I think I'm going to look at Epsom salts for Mg (I think that's the one that does Mg) but what about Alk and Ca? Does anyone use Seachem's Reef Advantage Calcium or the Reef Builder?
If you do have you ever used anything else? How does it compare?
Right now I'm dosing roughly 55ml/day of BRS Ca and Alk and 45ml Mg/day.
I've got roughly 130 gal water volume, 120lbs LR with a mixed reef of SPS, LPS, softies and 1 clam.

One of the last LFS's I was in was trying to convince me to going with Seachem and some of the math sounded ok but I wanted to get some opinions from people who have used this stuff or what you are using that works well and is economical. Any thoughts?

[Enigma]

I'm using Reef Builder. While it does raise alk without affecting pH . . . it is kind of a pain in the backside. It doesn't dissolve very well (even with a lot of shaking and allowing it to sit for a while), so when I add it to the tank water particles float around. As I've already burned one euphyllia using Reef Buffer, the fact that it doesn't dissolve 100% makes me pretty nervous. The particle cloud does clear quickly.

I'd prefer a liquid alk supplement over a powdered one. I won't buy Reef Builder again (I don't think).

[Coralgurl]

Originally Posted by Enigma

I'm using Reef Builder. While it does raise alk without affecting pH . . . it is kind of a pain in the backside. It doesn't dissolve very well (even with a lot of shaking and allowing it to sit for a while), so when I add it to the tank water particles float around. As I've already burned one euphyllia using Reef Buffer, the fact that it doesn't dissolve 100% makes me pretty nervous. The particle cloud does clear quickly.

I'd prefer a liquid alk supplement over a powdered one. I won't buy Reef Builder again (I don't think).

+1

I'm using this for alk as well, I mixed and let it sit for a day before using, then stirred it again. I just started using this, prior I was using the liquid, but too costly with the issues I'm having atm.

For mag and ca, I'm using Fauna Marin and no issues with it.

What's your ratio for your mix Shelley? (just asking to make sure my math is correct)...

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

+1

I'm using this for alk as well, I mixed and let it sit for a day before using, then stirred it again. I just started using this, prior I was using the liquid, but too costly with the issues I'm having atm.

What's your ratio for your mix Shelley? (just asking to make sure my math is correct)...

I'm adding 1/2 teaspoon to around 3-4 cups of tank-water (not freshwater, as the directions indicate) every other day. The tank-water could be why it doesn't mix well, but I don't want to throw off my salinity. The system is 55 gallons in total. I hadn't dosed for a few days while we were camping, and my alk is back down to six (it was up at nine).

I'm "overdosing" according the instructions I think . . . but something in my system uses alk like crazy and I just can't keep it up. Plus, my salt seems to mix up low in alk: which compounds the issue.

[daplatapus]

Hmmm. Can you not pre-mix it in a gallon jug of RO/DI and dose it with dosers? That's what I'd be looking at doing because of the volume and my tendency to forget

[Enigma]

I don't know if that can be done or not. I'm unaware of anything that could deteriorate or change if it was put into solution, but I don't know for sure.

[Myka]

I really like the SeaChem Reef Advantage Calcium and Reef Builder (or Reef Buffer), however they are quite pricey compared to other options. The trouble dissolving the alkalinity powder is typical since it really just doesn't dissolve easily. Some brands are a sniff better than others, but all in all it will take some mixing. I use a MaxiJet 1200 to mix for about an hour when I make up new solution.

I also really like the Fauna Marin "balling salts". I switched from FM to BRS in the last year, and when I'm done using up my BRS chems I'm going to switch back to the FM as I found I had better results. I can't say for sure it was the chems causing the difference in my corals, but I can say my tank looked better while using the FM balling salts than it does using BRS chems.

You do not want to use epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) as primary magnesium supplement as your tank will get too high in sulfate. Magnesium should be supplied primarily by magnesium chloride with magnesium sulfate making up to 1 in 8-10 parts.

Also, you should be pre-mixing in RO, not tank water since mixing in tank water would cause precipitation with the calcium in the cup of water. That precipitation under normal circumstances is chemically bound which essentially ties up a portion of that newly added alkalinity supplement (and the calcium it stole) as useless. If you add alkalinity supplements too fast to the water you will see a white cloudiness or even flaking which is the precipitation I'm referring to.

[rayjay]

I'm a cheapskate so I use Randy Holmes-Farley's DIY formulae.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

[Enigma]

Myka . . . I tried mixing with just RO last night, and I got the same flakes. I was hoping you were right about what was going on and that it was precipitation. I think I'm just not getting it mixed properly.

How much of this stuff can be mixed up into the top up water at once? Could one do a week's worth with no illeffects or degradation?

[Myka]

Shelley, it takes a lot of mixing to mix up alkalinity supplements. There wouldn't be much calcium in a cup of tank water, so the extra flakes would not be particularly noticeable in with the alkalinity supplement. I mix up 2 gallons of alkalinity solution at a time for my dosers. I store that in a sealed container and use that to add to the actual dosing vessel once a week. The 2 gallons lasts a few months I think.