How to properly dose brightwell code 2part?

Cnidoblast · Aug 10, 2017

About a week ago I had picked up my first stony coral (a $10 two head frag of Caulastrea curvata) and was told that it would need dosing of two part to properly grow in the long run - unlike the soft corals I normally have been keeping.. The place I purchased this frag from said they were using brightwell's code A/B and Magnesion to accomplish this in the system my frag was kept in - this frag now resides in my first ever reef system - a 32 gallon (2017 model) coralife biocube. The last time I had my calcium checked was at an LFS with an api test kit and it read 360 PPM - as I currently do not have the ca2+ and dkh test kits on hand I am currently relying on an LFS to test the water. How do I proceed to raise and keep my total free Ca2+ at my goal of 450 ppm using the brightwell products? The store I purchased the chemicals in said to just dose the Magnesion as it says on the bottle and that a test kit would be a good idea but is not essential (for the mag) - If a magnesium overdose were to occur what would happen?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 10, 2017

The first thing is to get an alkalinity kit. How you dose depends on whether you need alk too.

The calcium may just be what is in your salt water and is not an emergency.

Hold on magnesium for now. It isn't depleted yet.

Cnidoblast · Aug 10, 2017

Once I get a baseline KH reading what do I do afterwards?

Martin Kuhn · Aug 10, 2017

It is essential that you can measure Ca Alk and Mg by your own, if you want to keep SPS !

In brief.....
Based on the values of your tank you
A) first "correct" the values. Starting with Mg that has to be 1200..1350.
than you correct Alk and Ca

B) once your values are good, you determine what your tank consumes. If you know that .... you dose what your tank consumes everyday

The brightwell products are one possibility for dosing 2/3 part. There are tons of others also. .... you decide

The amount you have dose according your tanks "correction" and later on "consumption" depends on the contents and concentrations of this recipes.
If you chose one of the recipes , it tells you your dosing

I wrote a FAQ answering tons of questions and explaining the use of 2/3 part dosing in detail.
http://www.mathgame.de/Aqua/Balling_StepByStep_Eng.pdf

Cnidoblast · Aug 11, 2017

I'm sorta stuck with the brightwell code a/b + mag as the shop that sold me the Caulastrea frag sold me the 3 different brightwell mixes dirt cheap ($20 for all three parts)

I ended up dosing a small amount (4ml) of the mag solution today but since the place where I get my water tested only tests for dkh and ca2+ I am wondering if I can know if my mag is okay by looking at those two parameters?

Martin Kuhn · Aug 11, 2017

No, you can't
You need to measure Ca Alk Mg separately

The dosing amounts of the brightwell mixes are

Ca : 16,5 ml to raise 100l by 10mg/l

Alk: 11,9 ml raise 100L by 1,0 dKH

Mg: 10,2 ml raise 100L by 10mg/l

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 11, 2017

I'm not sure how reef Code is actually designed. My 2/3 part system does not need magnesium measurements to know how much to dose, but I'm not sure on it. I'll check later.

Once you know the alkalinity we can know what, if anything, needs to be dosed now.

What is your salinity and salt mix? Boosting it to 35 ppt if it is not there now, will boost magnesium without any additive necessary.