dosing B Ionic

[koolaid]

I have been using the Bionic two part system for over a week now, trying to get my calcium to 450. I started out using both parts but when I noticed the dKH over 14 I stoped using the No. 1 and just used the No. 2. I started out with a cal of 350 before I started dosing. I started dosing 1ml/4 gal per instructions daily. My cal got up to 390. Then It started to drop, so I increased to 1.5ml/4gal. My cal today is 360. Should I increase?
29 gal
amm, ite, ate = 0
PH 8 at 8:00pm
cal 360
dKH 11.8
RO/DI water
5% biweekly water changes
plate coral, frogspawn, xenia, green star polps, sun coral, shrooms, & zoos

 

[beth]

IMO, this product is not adequate for raising levels to where you want them to be. It is good for keeping levels where you want them to be.

 

[scarybo]

I agree..b-ionic is better for maintain calcium. I use tubo-calcium to get my levels where i want then use b-ionic to maintain them.

 

[koolaid]

Well, I plan on dosing kalk this week. I am waiting for my doser to come in the mail. But from what I have read, you use kalk to maintain and not to raise. Am I wrong? and besides that, dont respond without giving a solution just kidding. What would you use to raise the cal?

 

[thomas712]

I've been running kalk and have dropped my calcium to 380 before and raised it with the b-ionic, while continuing the kalk drip. check your magnesium levels, this is what was causing my cal to drop, kept falling out of solution.
By the way Kip, Last month I had used three 8 ounce bottles of the kent mag liquid, I would get my mag to about 1300 and then the next week it would drop to the low 1100's. How much of that stuff does it take to get it up and stay up?
Ive gone back to Epsom salt.
Thomas

 

[scarybo]

It is also very slow to raise cal levels with kalk. I would use tubo calcium. USE CAUTION! It is very potent and can do more damage if not used carefully. Once your levels are where you want then use the b-ionic. Because I have a large number of sps, I also use kalk for replenishment.

 

[broomer5]

As I understand it ...
Most balanced two-part calcium/alkalinity products are just that.
When dosed in "equal" appropriate amounts - they will furnish the tankwater with the right ratio of calcium and carbonate/bicarbonate found in natural seawater.
Together they are balanced.
Everything I've read says that these two-part additives will help to restore levels to that found in seawater - but that is a little misleading in my opinion.
Hobbiests normally like to "push" these levels up a little more than what is found in natural seawater. We do this to provide the corals and coralline algae enough calcium and carbonate to build skeleton, and be healthy ... and at the same time ... maintain the tankwater chemistry.
If your tankwater is not balanced to begin with .. I find it difficult to believe that by using a two-part additive alone ... that it will correct this imbalance by iteself.
If your alkalinity rose to 14 dKH ( 5.00 meq/L ) when dosing equal amounts of the B-Ionic ........ then it's pretty safe to assume your alkalinity was higher than it should have been "prior to" using the product ... relative to your calcium at your given pH range.
At high alkalinity - you'll almost always have a hard time raising the calcium level, and run the risk of calcium carbonate precipitation ( depending on your magnesium level )
Personally I don't like to use the ESV B-Ionic two parts to correct for the tankwater imbalance ... by dosing only one of the liquids from the jugs. Some folks do.
I see them best being used together - or not used at all.
Your current levels are still somewhat unbalanced in my opinion.
Alkalinity 11.8 dKH ( 4.2 meq/L )
Calcium 360
pH 8.00
I think your alkalinity is still too high.
As I see it ...you have a couple of choices;
1) Do a series of water changes over the next couple of weeks.
This will most likely lower the alkalinity somewhat to a better ratio to the calcium in the tankwater. Then start dosing the B-Ionic two-part stuff and raise the calcium and alkalinity up "together"
Once you get the levels "balanced" and both up a little higher - dosing kalk ( and reducing the amount of two-part ) would be fine.
This method is "safer" but may take awhile. Weeks to a month even.
2) Dose calcium chloride by itself to shift the calcium level up, and allow the alkalinity to drop on it's own.
This method partly depends on what corals and coralline you currently have in your tank that is "consuming" the calcium carbonate.
It may work faster if you dose heavy on the calcium chloride - and is very common for people to do. But as stated - it has it's own risks if you dose too much calcium ( because of the higher carbonate level )
At a ph of 8.0, many folks would consider alkalinity of 11.2 dKH and calcium around 410-420 ppm to be a good balanced ratio to shoot for.
If your pH rises up to 8.2, you would expect a good ratio to be for your alkalinity to drop down to around 7.00 dKH, while maintaining the calcium up around the 410-420 range. Still a balanced ratio.
Knowing the pH range from day to night will help also.
You may want to consider getting the alkalinity down first by partial water changes ..... then use the two part additives together for awhile.
Continue to test often.
Get the tankwater back to a good balance .... then start dripping your kalkwasser / cut back on the two-part amounts.
Write everything down that you do.
Test results, amounts dosed, day, time of day, and the next set of test results. Keep doing this - and you may start to see a pattern. You may start to see the relation of how the tankwater responds.
That's what I would do.