BRS two part dosing

alindell21

Cleaner Shrimp
#1
So for my future tank of either 88 gal or about a 110 I was either going to go with the jabao DP-4 doser or the BRS doser. Anyways as far as chemistry i was curious if dosing brs two part calcium, soda ash, and when the jugs are empty dosing the mag in a large amount which is what BRS recommends. I want to know if what BRS recommends is ok to do and if anyways as done it with what success. I dont know if this stuff is just marketing and that I should go with a different product. Basically following what BRS recommends for two part and following that with dosing everyday, and what I plan to do also is changing water with 15% every two weeks with red sea coral pro salt and otherwise maintaining stable basic parameters, will this support a SPS system as far as the dosing goes for the tank or should I do something else?
 

TheRealChrisBrown

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#2
It seems like it is something that you always need to be checking on, your Alk Cal and Mag levels. When you first put some SPS in there your demand might not be very high, but as they grow and use more and more of the elements you'll need to increase your dosing. Eventually you may need to go the route of a calcium reactor to meet your needs. It's definitely not something you can set and forget for like 6 months, I think you've got to check your Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium levels on a weekly basis. ANd when you make a change you'll want to check more frequently to make sure you're not overdosing or under dosing the system. I could be mistaken but I believe BRS recommends 1ml per 10 gallons as a place to start for Calcium and Alkalinity dosing. I have 180 gallons total water volume and I started at 18ml of each per day. Again this can vary widely depending on how your tank is stocked coralwise. I've always needed MUCH less magnesium than Calcium or Alk, you might be able to get by just adding a little bit to your freshly mixed salt water during a water change or dosing it directly to the tank once a week or something like that.

As for the dosers, I have never used the Jabao doser....but I'd do some checks on reviews on it. Worst case scenario is one of the pumps gets stuck on and you dose an entire gallon of alkalinity to your tank. Some of the older Jabao stuff had like a 6 month to 1 year window before it died, bug time reliability issues. Again I can't comment on it now because I haven't owned any Jabao stuff in a long time. The BRS pumps are good, they seems to be really reliable and seem to have a good reputation in the hobby. You can occasionally find them used when people break down a tank.... If you're going to be in the hobby a long time it is better to spend a little more upfront and buy quality stuff that you can count on rather than buying something that will be used as a doorstop a few months later. And dosing pumps are one of those things where if there is a failure you could potentially nuke your tank.
 

Andrew_bram

Tiger Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#3
You can save a bunch of money by making the 2 part yourself. Check out randy Holmes Farley recipe. Very easy to follow and fraction the price. You can get the dow flake at Rio Grande building supply for about 25 dollars in a 50 pound bag. Last forever.
 

alindell21

Cleaner Shrimp
#4
thanks for the feedback, you guys are very knowledgeable. I have seen alot of people use the BRS dosers and plan on using an aquarium controller to control the doser and shut the alk off if the pH goes to high. Also I dont think calcium affects the ph so there would be no need to hook up the calcium doser to the controller as it would not know if it got stuck as the ph would not change, am I right? As far as the actual BRS alk, cal, and mag products, are they still good products for a cheaper price or should I go with the more expensive powder forms from red sea as the the BRS products are strictly alk, cal, and mag not containing other trace elements.I guess what I want to know is the validity of the products and if a brand like red sea would be better over time and also I know that red sea products contain other trace elements like strontium? Are these really that important, should I dose strontium, potassium or other trace elements or is it good enough to use the red sea coral pro salt that I believe contains some of these trace elements. Also I like the idea of buying bulk stuff from the Randy Farley recipe, but can I trust the product because I dont know if it is quality stuff or will hurt or be unsuccessful product overtime as the BRS alk, cal and mag is specifically for reef aquarium marketed as such and I guess has worked? also do you know if the red sea coral pro salt is good brand of salt mix? thanks for the feedback
 

Balz3352

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
Brs is good quality RHF formula would be perfectly fine many MANY people use it with success nationally. You can still overdose on calcium just fyi. Trace elements should be controlled with water changes. Lots of people use red sea salt with success.

Just fyi only use last 2 plugs ( farthest away from the cord) on apex eb8 when plugging dosing pumps. If you use other plugs there is a chance they wont turn off due to electrical stuff someone smarter than me can explain if you want to know why.
 

alindell21

Cleaner Shrimp
#9
http://www.mansionselect.com/magnes...s-har-tru-clay-courts-magnesium-chloride.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...iveway+heat&rh=i:aps,k:prestone+driveway+heat

So I am interested in using Prestone driveway heat and mag flakes for the mag and cal parts of Randy's two part recipe. Any tips and knowledge about these products for reef aquaria? Do you use it, what is your anecdotal evidence? Any warning before I use these products? What other substitutes for products can I use and buy locally for cheap here in Colorado Springs that also work fine? I have yet to go rio grande for dow flake. Do they also sell mag flake, what are their prices.
 
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