Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

The 2-part recipe from Randy Holmes-Farley is in this months Advanced Aquarist. There are two different recipes, one for lowering and one for raising the ph. There is also a 3rd part to each recipe that maintains magnesium, where it calls for Epsom Salts.... UGH! I've heard that epsom salts has some things in it that you don't want in your reef tank..

Anyways here's the link for those interested:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... 4/chem.htm

OK, I'm still ocnfused I guess... is the two-part IN ADDITION TO Kalk, or what? My calc/alk is just fine right now, so do I need to do a two-part?

Is the Epsom salt just a magnesium additive basiccally? So I can test magnesium, if it's low, add the solution that Randy describes?

If you are evaporating enough water so that adding kalk makes up for your calcium/alkalinity depletion you don't need the 2 part. Kalkwasser suplements both calcium and alkalinity. I'm adding both because my evaporation and adding kalk does not make up for my calcium/alkalinity usage.
I think you can just add epsom mixed with ro for magnesium. You have to worry about your sulfate levels though with epsom salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate).
Here is more info on magnesium and mentions using epsom salts to bring it up: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

I personally would go with kent's tech-m or B-ionic Magnesium before using epsom salts, I just don't trust it.

I have most of a 50lb bag of Dowflake available (free of course) if anyone wants some... I used walmart distilled water (TDS: 0!) to mix up a few gallons of each part, plus a gallon of magnesium sulfate. This stuff costs about $1-$2 per gallon to make, I'll keep everyone posted.

If anyone wants Dowflake, or I can premix the two-part for you... let me know.

P.S. Does anyone know if there's a limit to how much you put in at one time?? I've put in 4 cups of each part, and my PH hasn't budged... I stoped for now, so that I can test alk and ca.

P.P.S. Try putting the two parts together in a measuring cup, WOW, what a show!

OK, I stopped adding at a gallon of each, plus 2.25 cups of the magnesium sulfate... my alk is THROUGH THE ROOF, about 7.5 meg/L or roughly 20 DKH... but my calc is still really low. Should I be supplimenting with kalk to up the calc?

P.S. even with two gallons of stuff poured in, the PH was very stable, staying between 8.3 and 8.4.

If it is even close to the same as B-Ionic you have overdosed by about 3.5 quarts. I used to dose 60mL in my 55 gallon to keep it at 360-400. Might try this calculator: http://www.kademani.com/reefchem.htm

Wow! Rome wasn't even built in a day man! Take it easy and try to shift your alk and calcium slowly. I'd hate for you to shock your system.

Did you mix it exactly like the article suggested? Did you 'mix' the two parts together (bad idea if you did)?

I WANT SOME CaCl2! I'll buy 5 pounds from you. I'll come by this weekend and get it.

My calc precipates out if I dose more than 50ml of part-1/alk now..
It didn't precipate out by adding that much? That would explain a low calcium.

Hahaha, I used the calculator, and it reported I needed 73 gallons of kalkwasser or 3.7L of B-ionic part 2 to bring the calc up from 250 to 450. Wow.

Thanks for the calculator Scott.

so I should be keeping additions down to something like two cups per part per day or something like that? Right now I can't add any more due to high alk

Brandon, that's possible... I was waiting 30 seconds - 1 minute for my sump to clear before dumping the other part in, but I did notice a bit of cloudiness even so.

KrazyPlace wrote:I WANT SOME CaCl2! I'll buy 5 pounds from you. I'll come by this weekend and get it.

No need to buy, just come and get it, I have a huge bag to pilfer from This stuff was only $24 for a 50lb. bag, super cheap... consider it thanks for all the dry goods you've been rounding up for us!!!

OK, you bunch of smarty pants people.... riddle me this.... for some reason, the calculator shows that "Seachem Reef Calcium (liquid)" is much more potent than any of the other powders or liquids.... only requiring 450ml (!!) to bring my calc up.... my question is, what is this stuff made of? That's powerful stuff, compared to 73 gallons of kalkwaser

I'm just blabbering today. I read another of Randy's fine articles (as he would put it), and it seems that I need to just dose the calcium chloride (one part of the two-part mixes) until my calc comes back into balance...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

I'm FIRMLY in zone 3 right now.

"shakes all over"...yes this is what Josh does to me when he starts with "I want to buy/try/mix this in the aquarium"...hehe Makes me nervous!!

Yeah, yeah, the crazy guy is at it again.....

My alk is now at 4.0 meg/L (11.2 DKH) and my calc is at 400ppm. I added 200ml of each part tonight, we'll see how that goes.

My alk and calc test kits are about dry!

Jeff don't forget, I have tons of that dowflake here for you.

Are you using the full test or half test...you can cut everything in half and double your results and the kits will last longer.