DIY 3 Part

wakeboardgeek · Mar 22, 2013

Does anyone have experience with DIY alkalinity/calcium/magnesium buffers?

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

cdness · Mar 22, 2013

It is my understanding that due to manufacturing changes, an excessive amount of Bromide is now in the ingredients of the Calcium part of this mixture. Specifically Dowflake if I remember correctly. Do a quick search for DIY 2-part and Bromide and you'll get lots of results.

The alkalinity part of this recipe 1 or 2 is safe and generally used. I would recommend looking into a bulk version of the baking soda though as buying the little boxes will end up costing just as much as buying it at BRS or another bulk company.

wakeboardgeek · Mar 22, 2013

Thanks. Maybe I'll try the alkalinity and stick to BRS calcium and magnesium.

SmokeyCFH · Mar 22, 2013

aqua craft makes a good 2 part plus mag...check them out and its probably going to be better quality than BRS.

wakeboardgeek · Mar 22, 2013

SmokeyCFH said:
aqua craft makes a good 2 part plus mag...check them out and its probably going to be better quality than BRS.

Do they have a website?

SmokeyCFH · Mar 22, 2013

Yes they do...www.aquacraft.net. The two part is under "DIY".

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mcarroll · Mar 22, 2013

What grade are they using?

Based on the sources of CaCl generally available I doubt they are selling anything that's more pure than what BRS sells. If they did you could fully expect it to be more expensive as well.

FWIW, I encourage anyone new to dosing to skip DIY ingredients. You'll be dosing very little at first, so cost should not be an issue. It is more important at this stage to learn to correctly test and dose, including being able to calculate your tank's daily consumption rates.

Brightwell Calcion and Alkalin8.3 are my preferred brand for starting out...far superior package instructions that give you all the info and tools necessary. By the time you are using enough product to notice the cost you'll be great at testing and dosing and ready to do DIY if you want.

-Matt

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beaslbob · Mar 22, 2013

I presume you have read this stickie

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-chemistry-forum/39332-do-yourself-two-part-links.html

I used this method for years on a couple of tanks and gave the stuff away at local club meetings with no ill effects noted.

The bromide in dow flake is a non issue as we dose very little amounts.

I also got assays of everything which indicated less the .5% "other stuff".

one redi-mix company here had cal-chlor(?) in 25 pound bag for like $8 or so. That is the anahydrous form which is 92-95% pure. Equilivant to kent turbo calcium. They felt sorry for me or just didn't want to do the paper work and just gave me a bag. LOL

Baking soda and epsom salts are redily available at drug and grocery stores and obviously are food grade the therefore completely safe for our tanks.

Magnesium chloride was the harder to find. I finally found an industrial chemical supplier who charged $30 for a 50 pound bag. Even then they had to ship it in but didn't charge for shipping.

I feel these are so inexpensive, effective, and safe , there is no reason to go with aquarium specific stuff. Especially if you have a club or group to share the costs.

I highly recommend that whatever you do test before you dose. So the calcium, magnesium and alk test kits are mandatory with any method.

my .02