What exactly do they do?

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by steve wright, Jan 27, 2011.

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  1. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    that in itself is harmless - its just fine grains of sand
    but the biggest issue is , your wasting money on a bottle of powdered sand with other ions that may not be good news (iodine for example)

    the key ingrediants for both coraline and coral growth are Mag, Alk and Calcium, and you can achieve those in correct ratios by using much better products
    basically the all in ones, dont achieve as much as the individual components can according to many

    its basically what I am trying to find out
    put some figures into the equation
    and hopefully eventually build up a picture of which additives
    would be good if you has a nano set up
    and which ones would be best avoided

    Steve
     
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  3. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    posting a summary - which I may move to 1st post later

    big 3 only after 2 weeks of daily additions

    Aragamilk
    Magnesium - no change
    Calcium = + 50ppm
    DKH = +3.6

    Reef Fusion
    Magnesium = +40ppm
    Calcium = +120ppm
    DKH = +7.7

    Kent Nano A and B
    Magnesium = +80ppm
    Calcium = +70ppm
    DKH = + 7.1

    Brightwell Code A and B
    Magnesium = +30ppm
    Calcium = + 50ppm
    DKH = +5.4

    I will be testing all these products a second time and hopefully eliminate any user error
    if the results on second test, vary greatly from 1st test - a 3rd test will be conducted
    to verify

    Steve
     
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  4. trijam

    trijam Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Which one would you give the nod to at this point.;)
     
  5. m2434

    m2434 Giant Squid

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    Excellent, repeatability is very important.
     
  6. m2434

    m2434 Giant Squid

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    argonite is just a form of calcium carbonate. We talk about alkalinity, but alkalinity really isn't what we are interested in. We are interested in bicarbonate, but we do not have a good way to measure it. So instead we measure alkalinity as a surrogate, as it gives us a reasonable idea of the bicarbonate level. Calcium and bicarbonate however precipitate out of solution, by forming calcium carbonate. This can take various crystalline forms such as agronite. In theory, calcium carbonate can dissolve and will enter solution and form calcium and bicarbonate again. Agronite is one of the least stable forms, so it is the most likely for from which this will occur. Unfortunately, the pH really needs to be around 7.2-7.4 or so for this to happen to any significant extent. This is too low for our tanks. There can be some dissolution at slightly higher pH, but not much.
     
  7. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Tank rinsed and a new batch of second hand Red Sea added today along with a couple of litres spare new water (from the other set up filling

    parameters
    PH - 8.3
    Mag - 1440
    Calcium - 440
    DKH - 8.6


    dosage instructions on this product seem vague

    it states add 5 mil per 10 gallon of water
    it does not state how often ( thus it assumes people adding would be testing)

    Im going to assume the opposite
    but as it does not state add daily
    and as this product requires me to add 2.5 mil to my tank based on volume
    (thus more than any previous product) I am going to add 2.5 mil every other day for 2 weeks and see where I get to

    Steve
     
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  9. alpha_03

    alpha_03 Bubble Tip Anemone

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    Steve I wonder have you come to realize how important mag is with concern to ca/alk? check this web site out for more information- Aquarium Water Testing



    BTW, I tried I/O RA- I didnt care for it. I prefer the kent two part.
     
  10. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Results with Reef Accelerator


    Testing done this morning
    I missed 1 alternate day dosing due to business trip
    I dosed every other day based on the instructions which state 5 mils per 10 gallons - thus I used exactly 2.5 mils

    parameters
    PH - 8.3
    Magnesium - 1460 -1470
    Calcium - 470
    DKH - 10.9

    thus an increase of
    20- 30ppm Mag
    30ppm - calcium
    2.3 DKH

    The instructions are not great IMHO, as it does not indicate the frequency of dosing - thus they would assume people would have test kits and therefore target parameters (which we all agree with)

    next time round with this product I will dose at 2.5 mils daily and see if the increases above are actually doubled as a result
     
  11. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    Any more updates here? This is an awesome thread.
     
  12. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Thanks Peredhil

    the tank was commandeered into being used to hold live rock for a period whilst messing with my 4ft
    I was glad I left the set up running and the last product used had not done anything terrible to the parameters
    thus it proved very useful

    the rock is back out of there now

    not found any new products to test on recent visits to various LFS
    the infamous Purple Up seems to have gone out of Vogue in the PRC
    at one time you could find it in many shops
    never seen it once, since I considered this experiment (thats the definition of irony, right there)

    I am intending to re test all the products previously used , so we get at least 2 sets of figures on what they do/ do not contribute

    I will save the water on weekends water change
    and once again, test the Argamilk product

    Steve