how much solution does a brs kit make?

[mattgreene22]

Hey, so the small kit has dry media in volumes of 3.5 lbs for ca and 3.5 lbs for alk. How much solution will that make? I'm trying to determine how long i'll be able to go before buying new additives, but I won't know my consumption for a while as I need to dial in. Just trying to estimate the total ml (or gallons) that can be made via one of the smaller Brs kits now. Maybe its just case of fridays, but the conversion doesn't seem clear to me at the moment. Anyone? Thanks

 

[Singlefin]

You might be able to piece it together cheaper on eBay.

 

[redfishbluefish]

According to the BRS website, the 3.5 pound kit each make a half gallon. (Although that doesn't sound right in my little mind....seems like way to much stuff for half a gallon....I'm going back to their website to verify.)


I use homemade alk and calc at a fraction of the cost. For Calc I mix two cups of Prestone Driveway melt to one gallon of RO/DI. With alk, I first “cook” 2 ¼ cups of baking soda at 300 degrees for an hour. This then makes one gallon of alk.

This recipe came for Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley HERE.


EDIT TO ADD: Something is not right with how I'm interpreting the BRS site info. 3 1/2 pounds of either alk or calc would approximately make three gallons of each using Dr Randy's formula. So I'm puzzled on this one as well. Sorry to add confusion to this post!

 

[mattgreene22]

You may be right, but I've already got 2 BRS dosers and the smaller 2-part kit. I need to set things up, but I'm just wondering how often I'll be ordering more two-part and I don't have any real basis yet. Wondering how many gallons people make with the allotted dry material just so I can be planning ahead.

 

[mattgreene22]

last post was for singlefin

redfishbluefish - i was confused by the description as well, the amount they discuss in the instructions for mixing is not lbs and i really can't imagine 3.5lbs is the equivalent of the 2.5 cups needed to make a gallon according to their two-part instructions. Instructions for Bulk Packaged Materials - Instructions - Bulk Reef Supply

If I knew how many cups made a lb I could figure it out. Guess I'll just crack it open when I get home and measure it all out. seems like a great outfit, but I wish they had this info somewhere in the description so you'd know how much you were buying in equivalent units given how you dose it.

 

[redfishbluefish]

The BRS mixing instructions are exactly the same as Dr. Farley’s homemade recipe 1.

2 ½ cups of calc (dihydrate) (I use the anhydrous stuff, so I need 20% less…2 cups) weighs 500 grams, which is equivalent to 1.1 pounds. To restate, 2 ½ cups of calc powder equals 1.1 pounds.

With the alk part, starting with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), by cooking it, it “converts†it to sodium carbonate (which is better at maintaining higher pH.) Starting with 2 ¼ cups of baking soda, after cooking, having 2 cups sounds very reasonable. That’s why the BRS instructions calls for two cups (it's already cooked.) Anyway, 2 cups of BRS alk calculates out to 528 grams which is equivalent to 1.16 pounds.


And so I’m still confused how or why the BRS site says 3.5 lbs is for the half gallon kit??????



I must be an idiot, so I’ll just follow this thread and wait for the smart people to comment. :squigglemouth:

 

[redfishbluefish]

I think I’ve got this conundrum figured out….and I’m an idiot!



The 3.5 pounds of alc or calc powder come in half gallon containers. Doh! Nothing to do with how much they make up.



So the answer to your original question is that each makes approximately three gallons of solution.

 

[mattgreene22]

Wow, thanks! You're a smarter person than I today, despite all the idiot references. I was going to go home and measure out the 3.5lbs ...cup by cup....so you are my hero for the weekend. Cheers!

 

[mattgreene22]

So for giggles if your still reading....

My system has a bit less than 50g total volume. Since its new but will be mostly sps, i'll assume I'll need an average of .5ml of randy part 1 recipe...per gallon...per day. That means I'd average 25ml a day (less now, maybe more than that in a year or so). I'm estimating the 3lb Brs kit will then last me about my first 1.5-2 years if I don't factor in water changes...it was $50.

 

[redfishbluefish]

........3lb Brs kit will then last me about my first 1.5-2 years.......

That sounds about right, give or take a year! :bigsmile:


Your dosing comes with the caveats of the type of salt, frequency and volume of water changes, amount of sps, and number of clams. You will have to test. I really like the Red Sea Pro Alk/Calc and Mg kit. A good start for a 50 gallon would be around 20 mls/day.

 

[mattgreene22]

Haha, yeah....totally back if the napkin on that....but I'd take a year and be happy.