Considering Brightwell Aquatics dry chemicals

[joelpeavy]

So I'm looking at beginning to dose my nano now that I have it cycled. Now I grew up on Seachem, Red Sea, etc., and I know how those companies reputation is considered and the quality of their product quite well. But with a 6 year absence from the hobby I'm see many new companies and Brightwell Aquatics is one that has popped up in my searches. One thing I like is that their Dry Reef Building Complex will take the place of kalk but without having to do the solution, set and drip method that keeps the settiments from getting into your tank.

My question is, has anyone used these guys products and what your results are/were? And is this a decent replacement for kalk in reality not just paper? Personally ease of care versus proper care isn't an issue for me. I don't mind a long process and the extra work involved as it pertains to dosing and care of the corals and livestock. Just looking for some decent advice on this one so I can begin testing and dosing to care of my reef.
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[mcarroll]

WHAT I DID
When I started my reef I used water changes, then added Elemental (dry form of their Liquid Reef).

As demand grew, I started dosing their Calcion and Alkalin8.3 (both have liquid or dry versions) for "two-part" in place of the Elemental.

Later, I also added a kalk reactor to cut back my two-part dosing to save costs. (BTW, the Tunze 5074 or something like it is a much better way to dose plain kalk...takes out all the headache and equipment wear.)

My tank ended up a fully-packed (over-packed, really) SPS reef, so I was going through the Brightwell bottles at quite a clip, so I ended up switching to a DIY alkalinity component (plain baking soda) and Bulk Reef Suplpy's calcium carbonate to save more money. Ultimately, I also switched to driveway salt for my calcium component...but this switch is probably not for everyone. The BRS stuff is very competitively priced for all but the biggest/highest-demand reefs and has none of the precipitation issues I see with driveway salts.

They all leave a reddish precipitate when the powder dissolves in RODI water...seems harmless. Probably is mostly harmless. It may be primarily potassium chloride and calcium bromide, but I haven't seen much research on it (just MSDS and spec sheets, etc) and haven't had too much time to dig in that direction myself yet. I mix, let it settle and use a BRS 1-gallon pump to dispense the clear calcium chloride liquid on top as needed.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
I won't say you need to go though that whole progression, but I will say it was a great way to learn dosing and to get very comfortable with your test equipment. Brightwell's instructions on these products are probably the best of any manufacturer - actually worth learning from.

That said, you could comfortably start with water changes, then add their Calcion and Alkalin8.3 products...skipping the other parts (or not) as you see fit. You may or may not feel compelled to switch to DIY components when your tank's demand increases, depending on whether you end up with a lot of stony corals or not. If you never have many stonies, it may cost so little to dose Brightwell that it may not be worth the bother to switch. If it goes like my tank, you may only last a few months on Brightwell...which should be more than enough time to do the learning.

I would resist the urge and peer pressure (it's coming!) to start with DIY reagents unless you feel really confident about your knowledge in the area already.

Hope that helps!

-Matt