DOSING RANDY'S DIY CALC, ALK,MAG RECIPE#1

[knotsmart]

hello all!
I've made my 1gl solutions of Alk and the 1gl solution of Mag 3a(dead sea mag pellet and Epsom salt)..

my 1st question is.. I have chosen to use the Mrs wage's pickling lime in lieu of the Dow flake for my Calc .. Am I to use the same 2 1/2 cups of mrs wages per gl or should that be adjusted?

once I make my 1gl solution of calc I am officially ready for dosing.. I wasn't clear on the amount of each solution.. my parameters are good. I have approx. 120gl total water capacity. mostly softies. based on the suggested daily dosing table, i need 30ml of both alk and calc. I am interested in mixing the dose in my top off water. So considering I use approx. 2gl of top off water every 3 days or so, I planned on adding 90ml of alk and calc to my 2gl top off water container.

what would you recommend for the mag dose??

I was thinking of starting off with 20ml of mag then waiting a could weeks, test all parameters, see where the parameters are at and tweek accordingly.. 20ml just seems too little..

any other suggestions appreciated..

thanks jason

 

[JimWelsh]

I would suggest that you follow Randy's recipe as published. Mrs. Wage's pickling lime is NOT the same chemical as Dow Flake; Mrs. Wage's is calcium hydroxide aka kalkwasser, and Dow Flake is calcium chloride -- very different beasts. You cannot substitute one for the other. Calcium hydroxide contains both calcium and alkalinity, plus it is not even remotely as soluble as calcium chloride, so substituting calcium hydroxide for calcium chloride doesn't work, either in terms of function or as a practical matter.

 

[knotsmart]

I would suggest that you follow Randy's recipe as published. Mrs. Wage's pickling lime is NOT the same chemical as Dow Flake; Mrs. Wage's is calcium hydroxide aka kalkwasser, and Dow Flake is calcium chloride -- very different beasts. You cannot substitute one for the other. Calcium hydroxide contains both calcium and alkalinity, plus it is not even remotely as soluble as calcium chloride, so substituting calcium hydroxide for calcium chloride doesn't work, either in terms of function or as a practical matter.

thanks for the heads up.. in that case ive already purchased the Peledow calcium pellets ands will proceed with randy's recipe with regards to that product..

do you have any input with regards to the mag?

and also.. previous to my now trying Randy's DIY recipe Ive always used the Brightwell Kalk+2 (Calium, Mag and strontium mix) combined with vinegar. specifically I used 120ml of vinegar and 4 tsp of kalk+2 mixed in gl of top off water .. the tank has always responded well ..

my question is. do I continue with the vinegar dose with Randy's recipe??

thanks Jim

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I give the recommended magnesium dose in the article, and I'd stick to it unless magnesium is already higher than you want. It will keep magnesium about stable.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There no reason to use vinegar when dosing a two part unless you want to drive bacterial growth and potentially reduce nutrients that way.

 

[JimWelsh]

I am interested in mixing the dose in my top off water. So considering I use approx. 2gl of top off water every 3 days or so, I planned on adding 90ml of alk and calc to my 2gl top off water container.

You can't do that. If you want to supplement calcium and alkalinity via ATO, then calcium hydroxide (kalkwasser) is the way to go, but mixing Randy's Two-Part Parts A and B together will just create precipitation of insoluble calcium carbonate, which will defeat the entire purpose.

 

[Myka]

Be careful with the vinegar if you decide to keep using the kalkwasser - don't be suddenly adding it to the mix or suddenly removing it. As Randy alluded to, it affects bacterial populations, and a sudden start/stop can easily wreck havoc.

 

[knotsmart]

You can't do that. If you want to supplement calcium and alkalinity via ATO, then calcium hydroxide (kalkwasser) is the way to go, but mixing Randy's Two-Part Parts A and B together will just create precipitation of insoluble calcium carbonate, which will defeat the entire purpose.

so what is the proper way to introduce the solution?? I thought you were supposed to put the different parts into a bucket with top off water and drip it..

 

[knotsmart]

Be careful with the vinegar if you decide to keep using the kalkwasser - don't be suddenly adding it to the mix or suddenly removing it. As Randy alluded to, it affects bacterial populations, and a sudden start/stop can easily wreck havoc.

duly noted .

 

[JimWelsh]

so what is the proper way to introduce the solution?? I thought you were supposed to put the different parts into a bucket with top off water and drip it..

For people just starting out, they might add the required amount manually, perhaps dividing the daily dose into a morning and an evening dose, for example, into a high-flow area, such as a sump. Eventually, most long-term users of two-part dosing end up using dosing pumps, such as those that one might discover using a Google search for "brs dosing pumps". Some have a controller built-in, and others require an external controller, such as a Neptune Apex.

If you want to supplement calcium and alkalinity via ATO, then as long as you don't have high demand, using kalkwasser in your ATO is perhaps a viable option for you. I've never done it, but I know that many successful tanks with low to moderate demand maintain calcium and alkalinity this way. Here is Randy's classic article on this subject: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/. If you go with kalkwasser, then you do still have a magnesium demand to address.

 

[knotsmart]

ohh!!! ding ding ding .. I get it... I think.. manual is the way to go for me, at this point I don't have a dosing pump or apex.. so the way I should add the solution to the system is to add each solution individually,both calc and alk in equal amounts, probably at different times to mitigate the possibility of parts 1 and 2 coming into immediate contact and causing calcium carbinate

am I on the right track?

and considering the 120gl total water volume I should be adding 30ml of both the calc and alk solutions and 9.3ml of the mag solution daily..
sound reasonable?

Randy..my interpretation of what you specifically said was that when you finish adding 1 gl of the calc and alk solution(1/2gl Alk and 1/2gl Calc) you should add 2 1/2 cups of the mag solution.. is it ok to add the 9.3ml dose daily rather than the 2 1/2 cups at once?

thanks in advance

jason

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, that all sounds good, and yes, it is even better to add the magnesium slowly like you suggest.

My only question is how you determined the daily dose of the alk and calcium parts?

 

[knotsmart]

based on your "Table 1 " suggested daily dose for a mixed tank , I went with .5ml per gl of total water volume..
my tank is approx. 120gl..
my interpretation of your formula was..
120gl x .5ml = 60ml per day of solution...
60ml divided by 2(calc and alk in equal portions)= 30ml of both calc and alk per day

for mag you said add 2 1/2 cups of mag solution for every gl of calc and alk solution
so.. 236ml in a cup and 3785ml in a gl
3785 divided by 60 = roughly 63
so.. at a rate of 60ml per day it will take 63 days to equal a gl
there are 590ml in 2 1/2 cups
590ml divided by 63days = 9.3 ml per day of mag solution

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

OK, just use that as a starting dose, but you will want to raise or lower the dose (of both calcium and alkalinity) as needed based on measurement of alkalinity and how it is changing. Don't just continue the starting dose without adjusting.