Exquitas Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Heyho, So I've recently upgraded my Tank from 18G to 65G... Now I want to start the Balling Method which is basically the same as Two/Three Part Dosing. But I'm a little confused right now. The three main ingredients of the Balling Method are: - CaCl2 x 2H2O (for increasing Ca) - MgCl2 x 6H2O (for increasing Mg) - NaHCO3 (for increasing Alkalinity) +several trace elements From my experience (I'm a chemist ... yeah and sometimes I still need to ask *sigh*) Sodium (from the alkalinity) reacts with chloride (from Mg and Ca) to Sodiumchloide (NaCl) which basically remains in the water and is not used in any form. They say that you'll have to do a 30% water change every week (which I do) but the question is, won't the NaCl start building up to the "point of no return"? If I get this right you're adding 4 units of Cl and one unit of Na which would cause 3 units of Cl to remain as Ions in water (considering that the NaCl would fallout and not stay in it's dilluted form in your water column). If I remove 30% of water every week there should remain 70% of NaCl in the water which would still lower the concentration of NaCl in the water but it would still build up until you change 100% of your water. So is there a way how you remove the rest of the NaCl from the water or do the corals actually use the Cl and Na Ions for something? I guess it's something simple that I've overseen here ... Link to comment
nanosaurus Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Well, I'm not a chemist, so somebody slap me if I'm wrong, but the Na and Cl shouldn't be reacting in solution. In seawater, they're just free floating ions unless they precipitate out. Randy's article on DIY 2-part dosing does state that salinity will rise over a year of dosing by about 32% without water changes (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#12). The balling recipe is pretty much the same, as you said, so I assume the general effect is similar. With regular water changes, and given the fact that sodium and chloride are the two most abundant molecules in the ocean besides H2O, I think the overall impact of dosing on Na/Cl should be pretty negligible. Link to comment
atrox Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 If you're doing that large of a water change that frequently depending on salt mix and bioload dosing would seem unnecessary. What's in the tank, what salt are you using and what levels are you trying to get? I've got a heavily stocked system and weekly water changes with kalkwasser in ato keeps me stable. Link to comment
Exquitas Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 Well, I'm not a chemist, so somebody slap me if I'm wrong, but the Na and Cl shouldn't be reacting in solution. In seawater, they're just free floating ions unless they precipitate out. That's what I've meant to say ... Guess I've chosen the wrong words for describing it ^^ If you're doing that large of a water change that frequently depending on salt mix and bioload dosing would seem unnecessary. What's in the tank, what salt are you using and what levels are you trying to get? I've got a heavily stocked system and weekly water changes with kalkwasser in ato keeps me stable. Salt mix: Red Sea Coral Pro Levels to get: 410mg/L Ca 1200mg/L Mg 12° dKH (Alkalinity) Right now there are not many corals in the tank mainly to the fact that I've moved everything from my Fluval Edge in this MUCH BIGGER tank and I'm currently waiting on some orders to arrive (Reef ceramics, etc.)... My target is a LPS dominated tank with a few SPS on the top. ------ I've read something about Sodium chloride free salts which are actually meant to use together with the Balling Method or 2 Part... But which salts are actually "free" and which ones are not? Link to comment
Wiinberg Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 You dose separately, ca and mg, and then you dose for alkalinity. If you dose one time a day, do ca and mg in the morning and alkalinity in the evening. If you do regular water changes, sodium chloride free salt is not necessary. Neither are trace elements if you use a good quality salt and don't have heavy stocking of corals. But again, it depends on your water change. Oh, and i would personally do higher levels than you described. Ca: 430-450 Mg: 1300-1400 Alk: 9-10 dkH Link to comment
Exquitas Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 Thanks, I think I've got it now ... Guess I'm just overthinking everything too much, it was simpler than I thought haha Link to comment
Exquitas Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 One question left ... If my calcium levels are low, around 410mg/L, and I want 440mg/L but my alkalinity and magnesium levels are right as I want them to be, can I only dose one of the 3 compounds or am I supposed to dose everything always? Link to comment
atrox Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Dose individually to bring up. Link to comment
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