Combining BRS Pharma Calcium and Magnesium

[Elgringodiablo]

After experimenting with a few different two and three parts and watching the analysis BRS did a few months ago, I'd like to give their pharmaceutical grade additives a shot. Rather than just dosing Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride, I'd like to do Soda Ash/KH in one container and Calcium Chloride + Mag Chloride + Mag Sulfate in the other container.

Anyone know the correct measurements to make a gallon of each where the dosing should be pretty even? I saw something @Randy Holmes-Farley posted a while back, but it involved Lye and I wasn't sure if it would be the same ratios.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TheEngineer]

I have no clue....

Let's see if anyone else on #reefsquad has an idea. The amount of magnesium you need to add is quite small by comparison, but I don't know the exact ratios.

 

[Brew12]

After experimenting with a few different two and three parts and watching the analysis BRS did a few months ago, I'd like to give their pharmaceutical grade additives a shot. Rather than just dosing Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride, I'd like to do Soda Ash/KH in one container and Calcium Chloride + Mag Chloride + Mag Sulfate in the other container.

Anyone know the correct measurements to make a gallon of each where the dosing should be pretty even? I saw something @Randy Holmes-Farley posted a while back, but it involved Lye and I wasn't sure if it would be the same ratios.

Thanks in advance!

I'm pretty sure you cannot mix the Calcium Chloride with the Magnesium Sulfate in the same container. You should be able to add the Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride together in a dosing container.

The other difficulty you will run into is that not every tank consumes magnesium equally. If you look at this article you can see that some coral skeletons are a fraction of a percent of magnesium while other can be almost 4%.
Randy has said, with the standard magnesium mix he recommends, that you should at about 16% by volume compared to the alkalinity and calcium.

Let me know if you need or want more help on this.

 

[Ron Reefman]

After experimenting with a few different two and three parts and watching the analysis BRS did a few months ago, I'd like to give their pharmaceutical grade additives a shot. Rather than just dosing Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride, I'd like to do Soda Ash/KH in one container and Calcium Chloride + Mag Chloride + Mag Sulfate in the other container.

Anyone know the correct measurements to make a gallon of each where the dosing should be pretty even? I saw something @Randy Holmes-Farley posted a while back, but it involved Lye and I wasn't sure if it would be the same ratios.

Thanks in advance!

OK, just to be open and honest, I struggle with chemistry.

If you dose soda ash (sodium bicarbonate) rather than sodium carbonate (baking soda) the effect on pH is VERY temporary. I did just that, but the dosing pump I used dosed a couple of drops every 15 seconds and the effect on pH was small but sustained.

Combining CaCl with MgCl may be possible. But not MgSO4 as it will react with the CaCl. IMHO you run the risk of overdosing Ca or Mg. And the level of Ca vs Mg is different over time and from tank to tank. So getting a mix of the two correct over time for your tank will be trial and error at best. Even in a big tank with lots of sps & lps coral colonies I found the need to dose MgCl and MgSO4 was very small while dosing lots of Ca and soda ash and I didn't do many water changes at all so even that couldn't help keep up the Mg level. I dosed Mg levels up fairly high since it's not harmful, and then let it fall to 1300 over time and then dosed it back up. So I only added Mg once every 3 or 4 months!

 

[Elgringodiablo]

The reason that I ask... I want to keep things as simple as possible, while also having a pretty good handle on what is going into my system. Tropic Marin and Aquaforest utilize 3 part where the Mag is combined into either the Calcium or Alkalinity solutions. As far as I understand Part C of the TM Bio-Calcium solution is just trace elements, not positive about the balling salts in the part C of Aquaforest.

If it's not easy and idiot proof, will just do the Mag additions separately.

 

[TheEngineer]

You should only need to add mag maybe once every few months, dependent on two part usage.