Cost effective way of dosing Mg, Kh & ca in liquid form

[Darren24]

Hi all.

I am looking for the most cost effective way of dosing mg, Kh and ca.

I would like to dose in a liquid form. Not keen on powders.

Any advise. I have never worried to much about cost as I have always run smallish systems 80-500 Lt. My current tank is around 1400 Lt. Dosing is getting expensive.

Thanks in advance.

 

[459b]

Most cost effective way would be to buy bulk diy chemicals, mix them into stock solutions and dose accordingly.

 

[Ben Young]

Tagging along

 

[Henkie]

Bicarbonate for alk (Robertson 500g is about R20)

Epson salt for mg (Robertson)

Calcium chloride for ca (need to buy from chemical company)

 

[Travis1]

Get seachem Calc, KH and MG powder from Marco. Mix with RO water and dose.

 

[Darren24]

Bicarbonate for alk (Robertson 500g is about R20)

Epson salt for mg (Robertson)

Calcium chloride for ca (need to buy from chemical company)

Thanks.

Are there any diy or low cost liquid product.that can simply be purchased and dosed through an auto doser.

 

[Darren24]

T

Get seachem Calc, KH and MG powder from Marco. Mix with RO water and dose.

This is what I am currently using

 

[superfrog]

The terms DIY vs "purchase and dose" are kind of contradictory. I thought the robertsons alternatives were a pretty good response to the original question?

Are you looking more for a cheaper alternative rather than a diy one?

 

[Henkie]

Thanks.

Are there any diy or low cost liquid product.that can simply be purchased and dosed through an auto doser.

That is diy...

You mix it into RO water and dose via doser.

Don't think you will get premixed off the shelf products at this low cost or even close to it

 

[ScubaLover22]

The terms DIY vs "purchase and dose" are kind of contradictory. I thought the robertsons alternatives were a pretty good response to the original question?

Are you looking more for a cheaper alternative rather than a diy one?

I think he is looking for a liquid based (like fusion 1 and 2) but cost effective and a Mg base too. So he doesn't want to have to sit with a calculator and work out how much he must add etc. I assume, it would be very cool if there was such a product.

 

[Darren24]

The terms DIY vs "purchase and dose" are kind of contradictory. I thought the robertsons alternatives were a pretty good response to the original question?

Are you looking more for a cheaper alternative rather than a diy one?

I would like to consider both options.
I am going to look into the Robertson options and may even give it a go. Any idea on the gram to litre mixing ratio when mixing the products with RO water as well as when added to the dt.

I would also like to know what is the most cost effective "purchase and dose" products on the market.
I have looked at the reef fusion 1&2 but would like to know what else is out there.

Apologies if my original post was not clear.

 

[superfrog]

No worries, I've also been looking at cost effectiveness lately. From what I've read Kalkwasser seems the most cost effective for calcium and alk. But not sure if that's what you're looking at.

From a liquid additive perspective I've been using the liquid bottles of Red Sea foundation a, b and c. From my experience these are costly per ml and also aren't as concentrated as the reef fusion 1 and 2. The nice part though is that the mg is separate so more controllable.

Also tagging for more experiences...

 

[Travis1]

T

This is what I am currently using

That is by far the cheapest option to be honest

 

[dallasg]

all depends on tank size and consumption of these params
my general guide is as follows
<500L - DIY or Bottled additives
>500L but soft coral dominated with some LPS etc - DIY, even Bottled
>500L - Mostly SPS and/or Clams - Calcium reactor in the long run

 

[ScubaLover22]

I would like to consider both options.
I am going to look into the Robertson options and may even give it a go. Any idea on the gram to litre mixing ratio when mixing the products with RO water as well as when added to the dt.

I would also like to know what is the most cost effective "purchase and dose" products on the market.
I have looked at the reef fusion 1&2 but would like to know what else is out there.

Apologies if my original post was not clear.

Check out this link. I think its only for magnesium though

http://www.ultimatereef.net/info/calculators/mgcalc.php

 

[viper357]

Some good info for you in this thread - http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/threads/chemical-equivalents.3375/

 

[leslie hempel]

I've just purchased a reactor and looking at getting it going to sort out alk and cal but will be going with bulk powders to dose mag. Will be looking to getting the chemist to mix me some iodine (potassium iodide) I have a dp5 doser so will investigate what else I need and purchase the raw chemicals from crest..

 

[dallasg]

I've just purchased a reactor and looking at getting it going to sort out alk and cal but will be going with bulk powders to dose mag. Will be looking to getting the chemist to mix me some iodine (potassium iodide) I have a dp5 doser so will investigate what else I need and purchase the raw chemicals from crest..

if you using proper reactor media you wont need to supplement as it already has the correct ratios in it, so no need to use a Mg suppliment

 

[zippy]

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Helpful calculators

 

[Petethefeet1]

Randy holmes method works like a treat...
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/