Wow, this is so hard to decipher, in such detail, on the forum. I wish we were all sitting at a table and discussing this. It would be so much easier. I will try to clear up a couple of things here. If any of you would like to chat personally about this, please give me a call in the office. That would be so much easier!
1) I agree with
@Randy Holmes-Farley, that the concentrations of NaCl in sea water are so high, it is not a good indication of an ionic imbalance. The NaCl concentration can easily be elevated enough, without being able to measure that increase effectively, that would significantly lower the trace element concentrations (also almost impossible to measure accurately with current ICP methodology).
2)
@Dr. Jim Tropic Marin Balling Part C DOES contain all 70 trace elements found in natural sea water. It also contains things like magnesium and potassium that we do not class as "trace". In fact it contains everything in complete natural sea water, with the exceptions of Ca, carbonates, and most importantly NaCl.
3)
@LadyTang2 While it is true that the TM Balling Part C contains all the things I have mentioned above, you are correct when you say that it "adds those components, but DOES NOT supplement those things". In other words, you are technically "adding" them to your tank. But you are not adding enough, or in the correct concentrations, to "supplement" for used or consumed trace elements or Mg.
4) You are all correct that the TM Balling is not meant to be used as a trace element "supplement". One correction on a statement by
@Dr. Jim , the trace trace elements and other components of The TM Balling Part C are NOT there to "balance what is in the Part C." They are there to balance the excess NaCl created and left over by the addition of the Parts A & B.
5) In the theory of the perfect Balling Method, The molar concentrations of the solutions are calculated to meet the relative demands of those compounds by the process of calcification of the coral polyps. So in theory, your tank would use equal volumes of all three. In practice, many coral tank systems use more alkalinity, per unit of Ca, than the corals use in this process. This is because there are very few things besides calcification that can take Ca out of the water column. However, there are quite a few things, other than calcification, that can take alkalinity out of the water column. So the result is that many reef aquarium systems use more alkalinity in relation to the Ca than the corals are using. Since the solutions are designed to the coral ratios, some systems will need more or less of the perfect one to one ration of Parts A & B. The variation of the quantities of Part A and Part B are usually quite small. But it is one of the advantages of the 2 part or 3 Part Balling Methods, that you can adjust for that difference.
6) Since the variation, of the necessary volumes of Part A & B are usually quite small, I like the option of adding the Trace elements into the solutions. This makes sense to me for two reasons. First, the incorporation of the trace elements, and consequently the demand for supplementing them, goes up with an increase in calcification of the corals. So if they are added to the A & B solutions, you are automatically getting more, if you need more. Secondly, the concentrations of these traces are so small, and the differences of demand for the Part A and PAart B are usually relatively small as well, that this very rarely, if ever, causes any kind of trace element imbalance. The result is then supplementing Ca, alkalinity AND trace elements, in 3 solutions instead of 5.
7) There is some debate about the amount of sodium related to alkalinity in the sodium bicarbonate solution in comparison to the sodium carbonate (soda ash) solution. This is where the differences in the quantities of the corresponding recommended amount of the Part C comes in.
Lastly, as I have said above, this is really difficult for me to do in forum format. If I have answered a few of the questions here, great! If there is more detail desired, I'd be happy to speak personally with any of you.
