3Reef's DIY 2 part

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by Dr.Fragenstein, Jan 17, 2009.

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  1. Dr.Fragenstein

    Dr.Fragenstein Panda Puffer

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    Thanks for brining that up RHorton!! Trust me, up until about 3 months ago I was on the forefront of the anti-DOWflakes movement. Then I did as much research as possible and contacted Randy Holmes-Farley on RC, as well as other people in the industry, whether thats guys who work at the Kent Plant or people that formulate IO....
    RHF, himself, at least up until a few months ago when I stopped going on RC still used DOW and MAG. Not that everyone should do as he does but his 2 part is the one most often used and ripped off i.e internet bulk supply stores....
    BROMIDE IS AND ISSUE!! No doubt hence my disclaimer on the post, BUT there is actually more Br in ocean water than strontium(Sr), almost 10 times as much, BUT people instead on dosing Sr like crazy!! Even though its been proven that elevated Sr levels will cause stunted growth in stony corals and make many of the biological functions of fish and inverts tougher than they should be to complete.
    Many salt manufactors add significant amounts of Br to their mixes.... BUT what is more concerning is the lack of PURITY in commercially produced CaCl2 supplements geared for our hobby... Since we are on the subject of DOW and RHF, dig into his article on CaCl2 purity, granted its getting older now but you will be surprised what is IN CaCl2 that is SUPPOSEDLY PURE!!!
    Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, and Lithium are a few impurities commonly found in salt mixes as well as supplements. Unlike Br which we do not know of a toxicity level, the above mentioned elements ALL have a KNOWN toxicity level!! Cadmium for example can show toxic effects at the 10-100ppb range. So, at the time of RHF's study Kent with its 4ppb Cadmium COULD be an issue of dosing daily!

    So, do I recommend DOW or for that matter any other CaCl2? Well, no not until there is one made without any impurities, until then its use at your own discretion!!

    Thanks again for bringing that up for discussion!!

    Happy supplementing!!
     
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  3. Dr.Fragenstein

    Dr.Fragenstein Panda Puffer

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    Z,
    You dose the Ca and Alk portion EVERYDAY, when you use up the both the one gal of Ca and one gal of Alk(should be on same day as you dose the same amount of each...) you add ONLY 20oz of the Mg that you made. So the 1 gal of Mg you made will last quite awhile. Roughly 6 gals or so each of the other two parts.

    If you need more clarification, feel free to ask!!

    Happy reefing!
     
  4. beaslbob

    beaslbob Plankton

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    Excellent article which I am sure many will find very useful.

    Sorry for this long post which I hope does not repeat anything and does not detract for the original post.


    Unless I missed it, the article does not mention testing alk to determine when to add the equal parts of the calcium and alk solutions. Simple alk test. Just add say 10 drops. if blue don't dose if yellow/green then dose. That's to maintain 10kdh but you get the idea. I didn't do that the first week and blindly just dosed. alk was over 30dkh. ;D

    Calcium chloride is also used to speed hardening of concrete especially in winter. So try the local redimix companies. Ask for calcium chloride not a brand name. One here carried 25 pound bags of cal chlor which is the 94% anhydrous calcium chloride (compare to kent turbo calcium). The bags cost $9. they felt sorry for me or didn't want to mess with the paper work and just gave me a bag. :eek:

    Another had actual dow flake in 50 pound bags for around $22 but that was a couple of years ago.

    Magnesium chloride is the hard one to find. It is used as ice melters for sidewalks in winter (as is calcium chloride) but is more expensive and generally not available. It is also used for dust control and by landscaping firms. But the latter is usually in a wet form not the dry.

    I found both at a local industrial chemical supplier. They also do not add any shipping as opposed to being shipped UPS. Magnesium chloirde is $25-30 for a 50 pound bag calcium chloride is about 3/4 that. A 50 pound bag is enough to literally last a decade. So I take this to the local club meetings and give it away in frag swaps.

    As stated baking soda and epsom salts are grocery store type items.

    One thing to be aware of is that the initial magnesium adjustment to 1300ppm can take a whole lot. My 55g was down to 700-800 ppm after several years running. It took in the order or 3-4 pounds of epsom salts to get it up to 1350ppm. But after that initial dose you just add a little after you use up the gallon solutions of calcium and baking soda. Bigger tanks or higher calcium loads just use the gallon solutions faster.

    I am now mixing the magnesium solution with the calcium gallon solution in an effort to dose the magnesium part with the calcium. Which I hope works but don't have any experience with. Mixing the mag with the baking soda would just participate out both from what I hear.

    Finally, there are on line calculators to help determine the initial adjustments required to get things in balance.

    my .02
     
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  5. jakeh24

    jakeh24 Pajama Cardinal

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    thanks for this thread great read
    atm I just test, dose cal and mag, and make sure to add buffer as needed
     
  6. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    Anyone using this/these methods? HOw about BRS's method?

    TIA