Considering moving from 2part to Calcium reactor

[Potatohead]

I am mixing up the Nyos in 3 parts - just combining calcium and magnesium at a 8:1 or 10:1 ratio in the second dosing container.

You can do that? Hmmmm

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Red Sea also has a powder mix which is a lot cheaper than the bottled supplements - but it only comes in 1kg sizes so it's still about +50% more than the same equivalent with Nyos. I assume they're all fairly similar - but as I buy a lot of other Nyos supplements I've just tried to limit the number of brands.

I am mixing up the Nyos in 3 parts - just combining calcium and magnesium at a 8:1 or 10:1 ratio in the second dosing container.

I used the Red Sea a,b, c powders years ago when I had I smaller tank and was dosing by hand. I think they were about double the cost of BRS soda ash and calcium carbonate, but that was long before the prices tripled and I haven’t compared lately to be honest.

 

[blaxsun]

You can do that? Hmmmm

Yep. Just not alkalinity.

 

[rynosreef]

One thing that is helpful is to know what the potency is of each 2-part. For example, if you have one product where ALK is 5300 dKH/L and another is 2500 dKH/L, obviously the stronger product will go much farther. The same goes for Cal and Mag. If CAL is 62,000 mg/L vs 32,000, or MAG is 36,000 ppm vs 20,000….you get the idea.

I always find it comical when guys are comparing how much 2-part their dosing, and one guy has a 500/G system, and he’s dosing a product that is 5x stronger than the other guy with a 40 breeder. One guy will say I’m dosing 150 mL of ALK daily. The other will say I’m dosing 356 mL of ALK daily, but yet both have different products and completely different system volumes.

Haha, I find that hilarious too. It’s like people are having a contest with no clue that every product is different and mLs used is irrelevant. Comparing daily Alk demand in dKH would be fair.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Haha, I find that hilarious too. It’s like people are having a contest with no clue that every product is different and mLs used is irrelevant. Comparing daily Alk demand in dKH would be fair.

I don’t think that’s what’s happening here though. I am completely aware of bulk products, diy recipes and the differences of potency. As I’m sure @blaxsun is as well. I have very little vision left, what’s left isn’t functional. There’s also motor control issues. I have zero interest or capability of going diy, or having to weigh, measure, mix or pour and was limited to the premeasured packs from BRS. I don’t think there was any competition going on about who was dosing more or less, at least I didn’t see it that way. I can say that a reactor once setup and dialed in properly, is pretty much hands off if that’s what someone is considering. A big plus is not having so many powders around that my other pets could get into it I spilled, which happens often.

 

[rynosreef]

I don’t think that’s what’s happening here though. I am completely aware of bulk products, diy recipes and the differences of potency. As I’m sure @blaxsun is as well. I have very little vision left, what’s left isn’t functional. There’s also motor control issues. I have zero interest or capability of going diy, or having to weigh, measure, mix or pour and was limited to the premeasured packs from BRS. I don’t think there was any competition going on about who was dosing more or less, at least I didn’t see it that way. I can say that a reactor once setup and dialed in properly, is pretty much hands off if that’s what someone is considering. A big plus is not having so many powders around that my other pets could get into it I spilled, which happens often.

Oh totally! I wasn't directing what I wrote in any way to you or anyone else in this thread. Just sharing a funny observation generally speaking. Sorry bout any misunderstanding!

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Oh totally! I wasn't directing what I wrote in any way to you or anyone else in this thread. Just sharing a funny observation generally speaking. Sorry bout any misunderstanding!

No worries, I didn’t think that was the case as it was worded as in general…. Which I totally agree with. I just wanted to put it out there to clarify in case my statements were being misconstrued by me.

 

[blaxsun]

Haha, I find that hilarious too. It’s like people are having a contest with no clue that every product is different and mLs used is irrelevant. Comparing daily Alk demand in dKH would be fair.

If you can assist me in this calculation, I’d be happy to figure out my daily demands for everyone so they can make any direct comparisons.

 

[rynosreef]

If you can assist me in this calculation, I’d be happy to figure out my daily demands for everyone so they can make any direct comparisons.

Sure thing! You likely know a lot of this already but, just typing it out regardless:

So the simplest place to start would be to test your Alk at a set time (8pm for instance). Don't dose anything for the next 24 hours. Test again at 8pm the next day. This will give your daily drop of alkalinity, which is a start and useful to know. Although once your corals are growing, the tank can take in more than it would drop, as the more it has, the more it wants (up to a point).

Personally, I've found the printed dosing recommendations on most products to just be ballpark values. Use them as a starting point but then test the results for your application.

To test the potency of your alk solution, dose a set amount (5 mL of xyz solution for instance) wait 10-15 minutes and test again. The tank water dKH should have increase. The amount it increased is the potency of the mL you dosed to your tank volume. This can be done several times over a week or 2 to work out an average. So let's say you dose 5 mL of xyz product and the alk goes up 0.2 dKH, you do it again a day later, it goes up 0.18 dKH, you do it again a week later and it goes up 0.21 dKH. Now you know 5 mL per your tank volume of xyz solution will raise your alk by 0.2 dKH. 10 mL would raise it 0.4 dkH and so on.

For instance, I dose Alkalin8.3 to my tank. 1mL raises my Alk by 0.0533 dKH per 60L. This helps me know exactly how much to increase my daily dose by if it drops, or how much to decrease it by if it rises. I also know that if I dose 20 mL I've dosed the equivalent of 1.066 dKH per 60L.

If you mix your own 2 part solutions, it's worth getting a kitchen scale to measure the water and powder solution. 1g = 1ml. Weigh out your ingredients and write the values down somewhere, so the next time you mix it you can mix it EXACTLY the same, down to the gram.

If you dose kalk you can also use a calculator like this one: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/KalkContribution.php

In my case I dose the equivalent of 2dKH of fully saturated kalk per day, with 1dKH being added to the tank by 2 part dosing. So about 3dKH dosed per day.

Oh and just to reiterate, my original post was in no way meant to be negative to anyone in this thread. Just remarking on how sometimes people will brag about how many mL they dose, when those numbers are irrelevant, given that different products have different potencies. 100 mL of Aquaforest Components 1,2,3 for instance is very different than 100 mL than Triton Core 7.

 

[blaxsun]

Using the Nyos table, I can give you an approximation of how much my daily demands are. With the recommended pre-mixed solution (160g of alkalinity powder to 2000ml of RODI water), it's roughly 0.375 dKH daily dosed as 100ml in a 200-gallon system. Even though I have a fair number of corals, it's probably on the lower side of alkalinity consumption.

 

[Rmckoy]

No - I worked out my supplement costs for my Red Sea 750XXL and it was stupid cheap - including the calcium. 2 years in and I'm still using up the same 4000g container of calcium chloride I started with (it will probably last another year or more at this rate). It's basically working out to less than a dollar per month for my calcium uptake (and I don't do water changes, either). I'm not sure I could recoup the costs of a calcium reactor for that price...

Curious what you’re using for calcium .
I’ve looked for Dow flakes to follow Randy’s recipe but can’t seam to find it in Canada.

I’ve considered a cal reactor for years but still….. dosing esv 2 part

 

[blaxsun]

Curious what you’re using for calcium .
I’ve looked for Dow flakes to follow Randy’s recipe but can’t seam to find it in Canada.

I’ve considered a cal reactor for years but still….. dosing esv 2 part

Very low. The best daily estimate (again) is between 5-7ppm as I currently dose a combined 10ml which is mostly calcium chloride (8-9ml) and some magnesium chloride (1-2ml). I've dialed it back a bit from 16ml (total) since my calcium and magnesium was starting to creep a bit higher than I desired.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Using the Nyos table, I can give you an approximation of how much my daily demands are. With the recommended pre-mixed solution (160g of alkalinity powder to 2000ml of RODI water), it's roughly 0.375 dKH daily dosed as 100ml in a 200-gallon system. Even though I have a fair number of corals, it's probably on the lower side of alkalinity consumption.

That makes a lot of sense given the pricing mentioned earlier. We have the same tank xxl750. Not being competitive in any way here, so please don’t take it as such, just for apples to apples comparison for others whom might be interested, my daily consumption is 3.2dkh which explains part of the cost difference. The premeasured one gallon packs I was using also added a bit as opposed to the larger bulk bags. The one gallon bags are nine bucks us each for calcium and alkalinity, I was using a gallon of each every two weeks. I also used tropic Marin a, k and part c but that was very reasonably priced for the amount I used. That said, I would think that your tank consumed at least 1dkh a day so I’m questioning the conversion table.

 

[blaxsun]

That makes a lot of sense given the pricing mentioned earlier. We have the same tank xxl750. Not being competitive in any way here, so please don’t take it as such, just for apples to apples comparison for others whom might be interested, my daily consumption is 3.2dkh which explains part of the cost difference. The premeasured one gallon packs I was using also added a bit as opposed to the larger bulk bags. The one gallon bags are nine bucks us each for calcium and alkalinity, I was using a gallon of each every two weeks. I also used tropic Marin a, k and part c but that was very reasonably priced for the amount I used. That said, I would think that your tank consumed at least 1dkh a day so I’m questioning the conversion table.

I welcome any apples to apples comparisons! At least if you can compare two exact tanks it narrows the guesswork... It's entirely possible I'm reading the chart wrong. It says ~76ml of the pre-mixed solution will increase my alkalinity by +1.0dKH on a 200-gallon system, so it's possible it's closer to +1.3dKH daily (these are reference values; I'm not sure how the chart seems off because it seems to indicate I need to dose 285ml to get a +1.0dKH increase).

Nyos High Level Reefing

Nyos - High level reefing

www.nyos.info

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I welcome any apples to apples comparisons! At least if you can compare two exact tanks it narrows the guesswork... It's entirely possible I'm reading the chart wrong. It says ~76ml of the pre-mixed solution will increase my alkalinity by +1.0dKH on a 200-gallon system, so it's possible it's closer to +1.3dKH daily (these are reference values; I'm not sure how the chart seems off because it seems to indicate I need to dose 285ml to get a +1.0dKH increase).

Nyos High Level Reefing

Nyos - High level reefing

www.nyos.info

Funny how the chart differs so much. I’m just speculating but I’m thinking the 1.3 is the more accurate of the two. Just a guess as I have come across your posts in the past and I truly can’t believe point three seven five as being valid. I have other inhabitants that take up Alk and ca like larger urchins and pretty huge trochus snails so it’s not all coral uptake.

edit. There seems to be a typo on the link you provided as it states that it raises 100 liters slash 100 gallons by 1 dkh. I can’t read the chart as it’s not compatible with my screen reader but I assume it’s different than the directions

 

[Rmckoy]

I welcome any apples to apples comparisons! At least if you can compare two exact tanks it narrows the guesswork... It's entirely possible I'm reading the chart wrong. It says ~76ml of the pre-mixed solution will increase my alkalinity by +1.0dKH on a 200-gallon system, so it's possible it's closer to +1.3dKH daily (these are reference values; I'm not sure how the chart seems off because it seems to indicate I need to dose 285ml to get a +1.0dKH increase).

Nyos High Level Reefing

Nyos - High level reefing

www.nyos.info

But you wouldn’t want to or need to increase Alk by 1.0dkh
But to spread 285 ml throughout a 24 hour period seams like a lot .
Is it still financially worth it comparing different alternatives to achieve the same result?

 

[Rmckoy]

Funny how the chart differs so much. I’m just speculating but I’m thinking the 1.3 is the more accurate of the two. Just a guess as I have come across your posts in the past and I truly can’t believe point three seven five as being valid. I have other inhabitants that take up Alk and ca like larger urchins and pretty huge trochus snails so it’s not all coral uptake.

edit. There seems to be a typo on the link you provided as it states that it raises 100 liters slash 100 gallons by 1 dkh. I can’t read the chart as it’s not compatible with my screen reader but I assume it’s different than the directions

100L ( 100 gal ) I think they might have typed it wrong .

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

But you wouldn’t want to or need to increase Alk by 1.0dkh
But to spread 285 ml throughout a 24 hour period seams like a lot .
Is it still financially worth it comparing different alternatives to achieve the same result?

If @blaxsun tank parameters are solid, which they are. His dosing regiment is working just fine and is what I would call very cost effective. I can totally see why there is no need to switch things up. It amazes me just how many different ways there are to achieve the same end result. Driveway deicer, lime, lye, baking soda, kalkwasser, aragonite and co2, etc. plenty of options out there for sure.

 

[Reefahholic]

100L ( 100 gal ) I think they might have typed it wrong .

100 liters is approximately 26.4 gallons