BRS Hybrid Balling Method?

[ThatPhillyReefer]

Hello All! Im just seeing who has done the BRS Hybrid Balling Method and if you like it? Is it worth doing? How well has your corals benefited from it? I have a Total of about 200g with mostly SPS

 

[rtparty]

Ran it for years. Easily the best system I ever ran IMO.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

Ran it for years. Easily the best system I ever ran IMO.

beautiful tank!

i watched the video and researched as much as i could. i understand the alk, cal and mag part but no so much the tropic marin side of it

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Ran it for years. Easily the best system I ever ran IMO.

Can you outline what you did to accomplish these awesome results?

 

[rtparty]

beautiful tank!

i watched the video and researched as much as i could. i understand the alk, cal and mag part but no so much the tropic marin side of it

You have 3 parts you dose. Alkalinity and calcium from BRS and then Part C from Tropic Marin. You then add TM A Elememts into your alkalinity and the K elements into calcium. The A and K help replenish trace elements

 

[rtparty]

Can you outline what you did to accomplish these awesome results?

It’s all in my build thread I believe.

Strong flow, strong lighting, lots of import and export. Home made food was another game changer. Used Ryan’s Frozen Reef Chili formula and loaded it with extra aminos.

Then everything really ramped up after reading Randy’s thread about ammonia dosing

 

[Ef4life]

It’s what I use, and it works great. The tropic Marin part c is a separate jug and is added at 2x the calcium dosage, and your adding the an and k trace elements to the respective alk or calcium mixes. After going to the hybrid method I’ve rarely had to add magnesium.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

You have 3 parts you dose. Alkalinity and calcium from BRS and then Part C from Tropic Marin. You then add TM A Elememts into your alkalinity and the K elements into calcium. The A and K help replenish trace elements

what about mag. that is just dosed alone correct

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

It’s what I use, and it works great. The tropic Marin part c is a separate jug and is added at 2x the calcium dosage, and your adding the an and k trace elements to the respective alk or calcium mixes. After going to the hybrid method I’ve rarely had to add magnesium.

love the tank! i was asking about mag because ive always had trouble keeping it in range

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

what about mag. that is just dosed alone correct

Yes. BRS had the instructions incorrect until recently. If you use the Balling part C, the mag part of my method (BRS uses it) should only be used at 1/3 of the normal three part recommended dose, or it can be used based just on mag testing (not my recommendation due to inaccurate tests).

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Overall, a two part using Balling Part C or AF mineral salt is an excellent choice. It is similarly good to using the ESV two part.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

Overall, a two part using Balling Part C or AF mineral salt is an excellent choice. It is similarly good to using the ESV two part.

i use the esv 2 part now. ive been using it for 2 years and i like it but i dont feel im getting the growth i should which is why i want to try something new

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i use the esv 2 part now. ive been using it for 2 years and i like it but i dont feel im getting the growth i should which is why i want to try something new

Ideally, these methods are nearly identical and both may benefit from trace element supplements.

This article details and compares these approaches

How a Two Part Alkalinity and Calcium System Works, and Why it Matters

How a Two Part Alkalinity and Calcium System Works, and Why it Matters By Randy Holmes-Farley This article is intended to help aquarists understand some of the important differences between the great variety of two and three part alkalinity and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Cassklar]

Ran it for years. Easily the best system I ever ran IMO.

beautiful tank question how often do you ICP test to check your elements

 

[rtparty]

what about mag. that is just dosed alone correct

In 2 years I never dosed magnesium. Water changes weekly and the magnesium in part c kept it in line

 

[rtparty]

beautiful tank question how often do you ICP test to check your elements

After I quit Reef Moonshiners I tested my tank 3 times in 2 years. Everything was great but I also don’t trust most ICP testing any longer. Oceamo is about the only one I would ever use now and it would be once every 6 months at most.

I just don’t see the benefit when a good dosing and water change schedule handle everything.

 

[Cassklar]

After I quit Reef Moonshiners I tested my tank 3 times in 2 years. Everything was great but I also don’t trust most ICP testing any longer. Oceamo is about the only one I would ever use now and it would be once every 6 months at most.

I just don’t see the benefit when a good dosing and water change schedule handle everything.

So you still do water changes I am on the moonshine method now it’s just getting a little costly I send off oceamo test every month to check trace elements

 

[rtparty]

So you still do water changes I am on the moonshine method now it’s just getting a little costly I send off oceamo test every month to check trace elements

Absolutely. After 20 years there are very few constants in this hobby but one of them is water changes produce results. It’s cheap insurance that solves so many issues before they ever happen. How does RM solve issues when they arise? Water changes. Get some elements way too high? Water change.

You won’t save any money on RM compared to weekly 7-10% water changes. My tank actually looked way better once I quit the RM method and went back to what works. I ran RM for 3 years on 2 different tanks. Was part of the RM group and asked Andre hundreds of questions. Way too much guessing with little scientific fact to back it up.

 

[Cassklar]

Absolutely. After 20 years there are very few constants in this hobby but one of them is water changes produce results. It’s cheap insurance that solves so many issues before they ever happen. How does RM solve issues when they arise? Water changes. Get some elements way too high? Water change.

You won’t save any money on RM compared to weekly 7-10% water changes. My tank actually looked way better once I quit the RM method and went back to what works. I ran RM for 3 years on 2 different tanks. Was part of the RM group and asked Andre hundreds of questions. Way too much guessing with little scientific fact to back it up.

So how do you know how much of K & A element to use and you do weekly water changes I am dosing kalwasser now and 2 part

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So how do you know how much of K & A element to use and you do weekly water changes I am dosing kalwasser now and 2 part

I can’t answer for rtparty, but there’s little evidence that exact values of trace elements are needed, and if it were, we’d be in bad shape since icp is only part of the story. The chemical form of trace elements present plays a big role in bioavailability and toxicity.

In short, some may be plenty, as long as it is not crazy high.