What brands of alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium are you using?

BRB · Aug 25, 2016

redfishbluefish said:
Limewater, also known as kalkwasser or kalk, is calcium hydroxide and supplements your alk and calc only.....up to a point.

THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING... WOULD YOU SUGGEST A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF LIMEWATER PER GALLON? AND WHAT WOULD YOU USE FOR MAG AND STRON OR ANYTHING ELSE?

BRB · Aug 25, 2016

NEVERMIND I SEE THE ANSWER FOR BRS

JimWelsh · Aug 25, 2016

BRB said:
WHAT BRAND IS BRS?

BULK REEF SUPPLY. WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?

BRB · Aug 25, 2016

JimWelsh said:
BULK REEF SUPPLY. WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?

BECAUSE IT'S MORE FUN TO SHOUT... =)

JimWelsh · Aug 25, 2016

Hans-Werner said:
To answer the question of Jim Welsh. We added 100 % of all trace elements some time ago and it already worked very well. Making the same assumptions as you we only add a proportion of the normal sea water concentration of most trace elements now, usually between 30 and 75%. Only the trace elements that are consumed by the organisms in the reef tanks are still added by 100% since they are depleted anyway.

In the case of iodine Randy is right but for many other trace elements the same is not true. For some essential trace elements (trace elements of vital importance to organisms) there is only a small consumption like e. g. for molybdenum. I agree with him that a good sea salt mix is only one prerequisite for the running of a reef tank, it should be complemented by a well balanced and well calculated trace element addition. This is why I calculated and published a method of trace element addition only a short time after publishing the Balling method in 1995 and 1996. Assuming that the most severe depletion of trace elements in a reef tank with fast growing SPS is created by the skeletal growth of the scleractinians I calculated it from the analyses of skeletons of corals and calcareous algae that where available to me at that time. You can find an article about this theme here.

@Hans-Werner thank you very much for the response. I must say I'm impressed that you would go to all that trouble to source and dose things such as thorium and platinum and other really obscure elements. However, you have only answered one of my three questions. How do you know how much of each of the 70 trace elements is already present in the salts that make up the bulk of the mix so as to ensure you are not exacerbating a pre-existing excess from impurities in the NaCl, CaCl2, etc., and do you test for all 70 elements after you have added them to ensure you do in fact have proper levels in balance with NSW?

BRB · Aug 25, 2016

What do you guys use along with limewater/kalk?

ReefingwithO · Aug 25, 2016

BRB said:
WHAT BRAND IS BRS?

Its Bulk Reef Supply. They sell their own brand of 2 part products.
They sell a full range of products now but years ago they starting by sourcing and selling 2 part solution.

Hans-Werner · Aug 26, 2016

Jim, the process of adding all these elements in a homogenous distribution is much too complicated to adjust it after each batch. After a batch is mixed it is too late to alter it anyway. Having long term relationships with our suppliers we have calculated the trace element supply using the data we have of our raw materials. Of course we test our salt mixes for trace elements from time to time. And we have aquaria where we develop, improve, test and control our products.

In my experience with trace element additions over two decades now the ratios of the trace elements are at least as important as the absolute concentrations. Trace elements show antagonistic and maybe sometimes synergistic behaviour. Different major, minor and trace elements are in competition for the same biochemical uptake sites, meaning ion pumps, gates or channels. There is a lot of interaction between different nutrients and trace elements. For example manganese oxides, especially the ones formed by bacteria, precipitate and bind copper. In my eyes we cannot say that some elements may be useless so we add them all with our decades of experience as manufacturer in the best possible way.