B-Ionic Users
- Thread starter 007
- Start date
T
thomas712
Guest
Add it directly to your system, I don't think I would add it to top offs.
You need to test first, then add what you need. some say that you must add a balanced dose of both, that never worked for me. Seems I always ran out of calcium before the alk. Now that I am dripping kalk I occationally use more alk than anything else, and normally just a maintanence dose.
I used to add the alkalinity in the morning and the calcium in the evening. I have also done them an hour apart. I definatly favor adding the alk before lights on during the day.
Thomas
You need to test first, then add what you need. some say that you must add a balanced dose of both, that never worked for me. Seems I always ran out of calcium before the alk. Now that I am dripping kalk I occationally use more alk than anything else, and normally just a maintanence dose.
I used to add the alkalinity in the morning and the calcium in the evening. I have also done them an hour apart. I definatly favor adding the alk before lights on during the day.
Thomas
dflannagan
Member
kip - thanks for the detailed info as I'm also looking into the b-ionic to help raise low alk/calcium levels. My question would be in another thread you posted a link for dripping kalkwasser. Which of the 2 methods would produce best results?
kc36330
Member
IMO its always best to know the daily demands of your system and dose based on that. also B-Ionic isnt going to be cheap if you have a high demanding system.
lets say you have a system with 100g total system volume (not tank size but system volume) and the daily demand of Ca is 25ppm. for B-Ionic you'd need to add 150ml per day to meet those demands.
for kalkwasser the same tank would need 3 gallon per day dripped.
a CaCO3 reactor is by far the better choice on large systems or mid sized systems with moderate demands of Ca/Alk.
on 75ish and smaller tanks with a low/mod demand personally i prefer the Kalk Slurry.
kc
lets say you have a system with 100g total system volume (not tank size but system volume) and the daily demand of Ca is 25ppm. for B-Ionic you'd need to add 150ml per day to meet those demands.
for kalkwasser the same tank would need 3 gallon per day dripped.
a CaCO3 reactor is by far the better choice on large systems or mid sized systems with moderate demands of Ca/Alk.
on 75ish and smaller tanks with a low/mod demand personally i prefer the Kalk Slurry.
kc
scottbythesea
Member
I 'm up to 38ml a day to maintain level in my 55g reef also had to boost cal. and carbonite to get where I needed first.........
I drip Kalk usually but have only small evap of half gal. a day.
I like B-Stuff for when I go on the road the other half isn't mixing anything wrong......Keeps it easy......But you gotsa to know what your needs are Daily by being at the right parameters first then replenshing a known amount until you zero in on your final dosing.....They give good direction on bottles.........Don't geuss keep log and be patient ,ask again if need be were all hear to help....
Who mentioned lower Ph stuff could you elaberate
Thanks ScottbythSea
I drip Kalk usually but have only small evap of half gal. a day.
I like B-Stuff for when I go on the road the other half isn't mixing anything wrong......Keeps it easy......But you gotsa to know what your needs are Daily by being at the right parameters first then replenshing a known amount until you zero in on your final dosing.....They give good direction on bottles.........Don't geuss keep log and be patient ,ask again if need be were all hear to help....
Who mentioned lower Ph stuff could you elaberate
Thanks ScottbythSea
kc36330
Member
Originally posted by Kip4130 i have read both bornemans and calfos info about the slurry method and they say its best used on a large tank
i got my information on the Slurry directly from Anthony, he's always more then willing to answer any questions anyone has to ask of him. The slury can be used on any size tank. i use it on systems with a volume of 8g up to 300g with great results.
the slurry=a very highly concentrated kalk mix that must be dosed at your tanks lowest pH point...
the slurry is a known amount of kalk powder mixed into a cup or so of RO/DI water that matches the demands of your system on a daily basis.
the slurry method can drive your pH thru the roof and spike your other levels too
if you know what your doing (and you should before you use the slurry) you'll never get more then a 0.2 spike in pH. it also doens't effect any other levels.
to do the slurry the correct way you need to own (or at least borrow) a pH monitor as a test kit will not be accurate enough.
first you have to find the daily demands of your system, this is done by testing the Ca levels of the tank and then not adding anything to the tank other then RO/DI top off water. after 3 days (the longer you wait the more accurate the test) and retest Ca to see how much it dropped. divide that drop by the # of days to get the daily demand.
no with the pH monitor on, you want to watch the pH as you add the slurry to the tank. start with a small amount 1/4 tsp in a cup of RO/DI water slurried around til it's mixed compleatly. then dump the slurry into a high flow area of the tank (not the sump)
you dont go by the initial spike but the total rise in pH after the tank gets a good mix (about an hour) at that time you dont want more then a 0.2 spike in pH. i've had as high as 1.9 initial spike and never had any problems from corals or fish from it.
with testing of your Ca levels you'll find the exact amount that is required to meet the demands of your tank. the limit is the 0.2 pH spike but even on heavy demanding Ca systems i've not run into that problem.
IME with the slurry you can get more Ca/Alk to your system with the same amount of kalk that you'd drip. about 2 to 1 more.
hth
kc
i got my information on the Slurry directly from Anthony, he's always more then willing to answer any questions anyone has to ask of him. The slury can be used on any size tank. i use it on systems with a volume of 8g up to 300g with great results.
the slurry=a very highly concentrated kalk mix that must be dosed at your tanks lowest pH point...
the slurry is a known amount of kalk powder mixed into a cup or so of RO/DI water that matches the demands of your system on a daily basis.
the slurry method can drive your pH thru the roof and spike your other levels too
if you know what your doing (and you should before you use the slurry) you'll never get more then a 0.2 spike in pH. it also doens't effect any other levels.
to do the slurry the correct way you need to own (or at least borrow) a pH monitor as a test kit will not be accurate enough.
first you have to find the daily demands of your system, this is done by testing the Ca levels of the tank and then not adding anything to the tank other then RO/DI top off water. after 3 days (the longer you wait the more accurate the test) and retest Ca to see how much it dropped. divide that drop by the # of days to get the daily demand.
no with the pH monitor on, you want to watch the pH as you add the slurry to the tank. start with a small amount 1/4 tsp in a cup of RO/DI water slurried around til it's mixed compleatly. then dump the slurry into a high flow area of the tank (not the sump)
you dont go by the initial spike but the total rise in pH after the tank gets a good mix (about an hour) at that time you dont want more then a 0.2 spike in pH. i've had as high as 1.9 initial spike and never had any problems from corals or fish from it.
with testing of your Ca levels you'll find the exact amount that is required to meet the demands of your tank. the limit is the 0.2 pH spike but even on heavy demanding Ca systems i've not run into that problem.
IME with the slurry you can get more Ca/Alk to your system with the same amount of kalk that you'd drip. about 2 to 1 more.
hth
kc
dburr
Active Member
then dump the slurry into a high flow area of the tank (not the sump)
Why not the sump?
You MUST is a high quality product. This means no Mrs. Wages or Balls Pickling Lime.
And, why is this? I thought that the differance between Mrs. Wages and the "good stuff" is only like .3/.5 pure.
Why not the sump?
You MUST is a high quality product. This means no Mrs. Wages or Balls Pickling Lime.
And, why is this? I thought that the differance between Mrs. Wages and the "good stuff" is only like .3/.5 pure.
kc36330
Member
Why not the sump?
in most (if not all) cases the tank will have more flow and volume then the sump and it distributes the mix more quickly and evenly.
You MUST is a high quality product. This means no Mrs. Wages or Balls Pickling Lime.
And, why is this? I thought that the differance between Mrs. Wages and the "good stuff" is only like .3/.5 pure.
it is suggested that you use the purest grade of kalk that you can because any impurities in the kalk it's self is added to the tank. FWIW I've used Ball's sense last year and the tanks have never looked better.
the whole dosing to the tank and not the sump has something to do with precipitating po4 i think
that's one of the draw backs to the slurry, the kalk looses some of its' ability to bond with PO4 and precipitate it out because it's in such a concentrated form and quickly dispersed throughout the system.
it also doens't effect any other levels
that all depends on how careful you are with pH...
what was meant was if you follow the proper procedures for use of the slurry you will not effect any levels in the tank other then giving your Ca/Alk a balanced boost.
I'll agree that if you over spike pH with high Alk you can cause a snowstorm, that is the reason for starting with a minimal dose and working your way up while testing till you find the proper amount. there after weekly testing of levels will tell you when you need to bump up the dose a little.
... (not that my opinion matters)... but want ya to know i am not trying to contradict you.
your opinion does matter, as does everyone's on the board. I didn't post as a response to any contradiction but to simply give a more informed explanation of the subject.
as I'm sure allot of people who have never used/heard of the slurry here are a bit skeptical of it I myself had these same concerns and I had extensive conversations with Anthony Calfo about it before I tried it on a test system. I used the test system for quiet some time before I gained the trust to use it on my reefs. I just wish I had known about the slurry long before I did.
I for one hated the mixing of kalkwasser and dripping. it took up considerable space with a dedicated 24/7 drip system and with kids you cant just sit a bucket out and let it drip when needed. the slurry took an all day job (I have 7 systems) and turned it into a 10 min job.
if dripping works for you then stick to it, I only suggest the slurry for people like myself that are fed up with the hassle of mixing/waiting/dripping.
I hope you understand the postings now as they are not meant as any sort of flame or contradiction.
kc
in most (if not all) cases the tank will have more flow and volume then the sump and it distributes the mix more quickly and evenly.
You MUST is a high quality product. This means no Mrs. Wages or Balls Pickling Lime.
And, why is this? I thought that the differance between Mrs. Wages and the "good stuff" is only like .3/.5 pure.
it is suggested that you use the purest grade of kalk that you can because any impurities in the kalk it's self is added to the tank. FWIW I've used Ball's sense last year and the tanks have never looked better.
the whole dosing to the tank and not the sump has something to do with precipitating po4 i think
that's one of the draw backs to the slurry, the kalk looses some of its' ability to bond with PO4 and precipitate it out because it's in such a concentrated form and quickly dispersed throughout the system.
it also doens't effect any other levels
that all depends on how careful you are with pH...
what was meant was if you follow the proper procedures for use of the slurry you will not effect any levels in the tank other then giving your Ca/Alk a balanced boost.
I'll agree that if you over spike pH with high Alk you can cause a snowstorm, that is the reason for starting with a minimal dose and working your way up while testing till you find the proper amount. there after weekly testing of levels will tell you when you need to bump up the dose a little.
... (not that my opinion matters)... but want ya to know i am not trying to contradict you.
your opinion does matter, as does everyone's on the board. I didn't post as a response to any contradiction but to simply give a more informed explanation of the subject.
as I'm sure allot of people who have never used/heard of the slurry here are a bit skeptical of it I myself had these same concerns and I had extensive conversations with Anthony Calfo about it before I tried it on a test system. I used the test system for quiet some time before I gained the trust to use it on my reefs. I just wish I had known about the slurry long before I did.
I for one hated the mixing of kalkwasser and dripping. it took up considerable space with a dedicated 24/7 drip system and with kids you cant just sit a bucket out and let it drip when needed. the slurry took an all day job (I have 7 systems) and turned it into a 10 min job.
if dripping works for you then stick to it, I only suggest the slurry for people like myself that are fed up with the hassle of mixing/waiting/dripping.
I hope you understand the postings now as they are not meant as any sort of flame or contradiction.
kc
scottbythesea
Member
Heres what I do and I believe this works for us drippers as well as Dumpers,,,,,,,,,,,You must watch the ph to know when you have the right amount of Vinager also, I'm Doing 28ml per gal of R/O DI using Two Fishes Brand Marine Grade Kalk mix for my 55g.Heres a link if it works...
***DELETE***
ScottbytheSea
***DELETE***
ScottbytheSea
