Most concentrated 2 part

B's Reef · May 11, 2018

Im currently dosing BRS bulk 2 part, have been for about a year now. My tank is doing awesome with it, but my consumption is still climbing. Im up to 174ml per day of both. Im using a Neptune DOS for dosing all day. That being said, I am running through a gallon of 2 part rather quickly. It is starting to become a pain keeping containers filled and mixing new solution so frequently.

My question is, is this the best bang for the buck all the way around? Cost is super cheap on this stuff, but im going through it so fast. Just wondering if there is anything stronger that would require significantly less in the amount that I dose....

chipmunkofdoom2 · May 11, 2018

The BRS stuff, which is similar to Randy's DIY two-part, is pretty highly-concentrated. I don't think you can increase concentration too much without having to worry about precipitation and crystalization (see this really cool video from Jim Welsh on what happens when you super saturate a soultion with CaCl2).

How much space do you have? Can you mix up a 5 gallon bucket of each part? Have you considered adding calcium hydroxide to your topoff water to maybe take the edge off the demand for the two-part?

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 11, 2018

My diy using sodium hydroxide can be made more concentrated than any commercial two part, but I’m not really sure what the advantage is to super high potency except storage for long term dosing. [emoji3]

B's Reef · May 11, 2018

I guess the biggest issue I have is from mixing it a gallon at a time. If I got 5 gallon buckets and mixed it 5 gallons at a time... would that work? What would be the best way to do that?

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 11, 2018

B's Reef said:
I guess the biggest issue I have is from mixing it a gallon at a time. If I got 5 gallon buckets and mixed it 5 gallons at a time... would that work? What would be the best way to do that?

Sure, you can make a whole Brute can worth at a time if you want. It doesn't go bad.

A powerhead in the bucket can might be a good way to dissolve it.

LobsterOfJustice · May 11, 2018

I use the BRS raw materials and mix them up to my own more concentrated solutions. I don’t dose equal amounts but doesn’t bother me to have the dosing pumps set independently.

I use 3.25 cups soda ash per gallon of RO and 5 cups of CaCl per gallon RO to make my solutions. A few years ago I experimented with how concentrated I could make them and this was about it, if I remember correctly.

I also make several gallons at a time and refill my dosing containers from the bulk solution.