What does reef2reef suggest for manually dosing? Do you prefer generic 2-part or something pre-mixed?

squidsreef · Dec 29, 2020

Anyone have any suggestions for manually dosing 2-part or similar? My corals have started consuming more alk/calc than I can reasonably replace with water changes, but I don't want to set up a dosing pump yet.
I've read that ATI essentials pro and Tropic Marin all-for-reef is a pretty easy solution, but I'm not sure what to go with.

60g tank, ~20g sump, LPS dominated tank.

More info found in my build thread found here.

Dempsey941 · Dec 29, 2020

Esv B-Ionic has been my go to 2-part for a long time.

NeonRabbit221B · Dec 29, 2020

Kalk drip might be your best bet but this can raise pH which I have never seen as a problem. Air line tubing with a valve allows you to set a small number of drops each minute. They also make an all in one alk/cal which is called "all for reef" or something similar.

Super Fly · Dec 29, 2020

Dempsey941 said:
Esv B-Ionic has been my go to 2-part for a long time.

+1

homer1475 · Dec 29, 2020

Plain jane arm and hammer baking soda for ALK, BRS Calcium chloride for CAL. WC's are enough to keep MAG up so never needed a supplement.

Google Randy's DIY 2 part for the ALK part. I have found for myself the CAL supplements in Randy's recipe are hard to find, so I just use the BRS chemicals.

blasterman · Jan 2, 2021

Grocery store baking soda and generic calcium chloride.

The pre mixed stuff is for kids who missed grade school chemistry because the short bus was always late.

burningmime · Jan 2, 2021

Started with all-for-reef, switched to https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/carbo-calcium-powder-calcium-alkalinity-additive-tropic-marin.html because of the cost.

Only thing to note about one parts like this is that the alk is impossible to test for.

New tank is gonna be kalk until I can't kalk it up any more; gotta hit that 8.3 pH.

squidsreef · Jan 2, 2021

blasterman said:
Grocery store baking soda and generic calcium chloride.

The pre mixed stuff is for kids who missed grade school chemistry because the short bus was always late.

Thanks for your input, but I chose to buy the BRS Kit because I'm still new to the hobby and would rather use the kit that comes with all the containers, measuring tools, and the exact chemicals I need to dose. Maybe in the future I'll move onto cheaper chemicals like baking soda and generic calcium chloride rather than the pharmaceutical grade

!

Spieg · Jan 2, 2021

Super Fly said:
+1

Another +1 for B-Ionic. Alk, Cal, and minor/trace in easy 2-part dosing. And it's been around forever.

PatW · Jan 2, 2021

I use BRS 2 part. Even with an SPS dominant system, water changes keep magnesium stable.

HB AL · Jan 2, 2021

I've been manually dosing my current tank for the last 5 years. I've been dosing the Seachem powder for calcium, alk and magnesium it works great and literally takes seconds and I dont have to worry about a dosing pump malfunctioning and dumping all its contents which happened a little over 5 years ago. I was out of town for a few days and all the corals were dead when I got home . I was really bummed and went back to manually dosing everything to eliminate that issue. Tank is looking pretty good for a simple setup with no controllers and such.

vetteguy53081 · Jan 4, 2021

I like tropic marin "all for reef"

Cell · Jan 4, 2021

Kalk and/or arm and hammer.

FLReefer101 · Jan 4, 2021

HB AL said:
I've been manually dosing my current tank for the last 5 years. I've been dosing the Seachem powder for calcium, alk and magnesium it works great and literally takes seconds and I dont have to worry about a dosing pump malfunctioning and dumping all its contents which happened a little over 5 years ago. I was out of town for a few days and all the corals were dead when I got home . I was really bummed and went back to manually dosing everything to eliminate that issue. Tank is looking pretty good for a simple setup with no controllers and such.

That’s an amazing tank you should be proud! This is my goal.

BaysEndReef · Jan 4, 2021

I have used both. One of my tanks does better with brs 2 part. Another does better with Red Sea pre mixed. I would suggest finding what is easiest for you and what does best for your tank.