2 part solutions??

[chrisb430]

A friend and I were talking about 2 part solutions (C-Balance) the other day. We both seem to have different views on them. He says you have to add Part A one day and then 24 hrs later add part B? Is he correct? I was understanding that you can add them both at the same time as long as the lights are off. He also said to use 1 ml a day 5 days a week instead of 5 mL once a week?
Now another question is does these 2 part solutions have all the cal,mag,stront,and iodine needed or is it better to add each element separate?? I use Reef accelerator on my 10 gal reef tank and notice that i get more purple algae then i do with the C-Balance.

 

[nikesb]

I add 2 part throughout the day. Corals intake both A and B, calcium and alkalinity mostly during the day, as i read in one article. Depending on how much your system uses, the best for SPS tanks is to dose throughout day and night in small increments to minimize ALK swings. This is best done through automated dosers.
For people with mainly LPS and softies, they will be fine with a one time dose during the day. In those cases it would be best to dose alk before the lights come on as commercial solutions usually raise pH. calcium could be added at the same time, but at another part of the tank. calcium could also be dosed at a different time to be sure that the 2 part doesn't precipitate in the water column

 

[chrisb430]

How fast does skimming and media water changes rid the tank of these elements? and how fast do coral use them?

 

[nikesb]

calcium and alk are supposed to be taken in equal amounts
2 part is usually just Caclium and Alk, nothing else.
Magnesium is the 3rd part for a calcium and alk as it helps for more stable calcium and alk levels
as for the other elements...Unless you are testing for other elements like strontium, iron, or iodine, you should not dose. These should get replenished with water changes
skimming is aimed at removing organic wastes, so this is debatable on how much it would take out