DIY Three Part with Balling Part C Recipe

[Miami Reef]

DIY alkalinity and calcium additives commonly contain sodium and chloride, respectively. Two-part solutions will increase salinity, as sodium and chloride form to make salt.

When salinity is brought back down, other ions, such as Potassium, Fluoride, Bromide, Bore, Sulfate, Magnesium, etc., will depress. The extent becomes more pronounced over time.

A DIY 3-part mix of Magnesium Sulfate and Chloride can help protect Magnesium and Sulfate from becoming suppressed. Still, it does not help preserve many of the other ions found in seawater.

Balling Part C, by Tropic Marin, is a Sodium chloride-free salt that supplies all other ions found in natural seawater. Using this in addition to a Two-Part will not increase major, minor, or trace elements. It prevents them from becoming depressed during the dilution process.


Here is a full rundown of using a complete 3-part system, with magnesium and Balling Part C, so you’ll never have to worry about testing magnesium again or skewing your seawater toward table salt.


Adding Balling Part C is the most optimal solution to a DIY 2-part system but can come with a slight additional cost.


Notice: These DIYs are simple to use. They are all 1:1:1 dosing to maintain alkalinity. For example, if you require 50mL of the alkalinity solution per day, use 50mL of each calcium and Balling Part C solution as well.



——————————————————————


Recipe #2: It contains Sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda) for alkalinity. (It has a very slight pH-decreasing effect when added to seawater.)


Alkalinity:


Sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda):

Fill a 1-gallon container 3/4 full of RO/DI or distilled water and add 1 cup and 2 tablespoons (302 grams) of Sodium Bicarbonate. Arm and Hammer Baking Soda (Food-Grade from a grocery store is a good source.


Calcium:


Calcium Chloride dihydrate:
Dissolve 250 grams of Calcium Chloride in RO/DI to make a gallon solution.

"If you use an anhydrous or monohydrate calcium chloride (such as Dow Mini-Pellets, Kent's Turbo Calcium, Prestone Driveway Heat or Peladow Calcium Chloride), then you should use about 20% (1/5) less solid calcium chloride by volume to make the recipe." Source



Balling Part C:


Dissolve 91 grams or four scoops in RO/DI to make a gallon solution.



Magnesium Part (When using recipe #2:

• Epsom Salt Magnesium Version:

Dissolve Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (¾ cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (7¼ cups) in enough purified fresh water to make 1 gallon of total volume.

• BRS Magnesium Version:

Bulk Reef Supply uses magnesium sulfate anhydrous (a dry form). It is more concentrated than Epsom salt on a dry basis. If using BRS-sourced-ingredients, use this recipe for the magnesium part:


Fill a 1-gallon container half full of RO/DI or distilled water and then add 7-1/4 cups (1,285 grams) of BRS Magnesium Chloride and 1/2 cup (124 grams) of BRS Magnesium Sulfate.



Magnesium dosing once you have made the solution (For Recipe #2):

For the magnesium part, add 101mL of the magnesium solution after finishing a gallon of the other three parts. You can also add 2.7% of the magnesium solution to the dose of the other parts (Alkalinity, Calcium, and Balling Part C parts)

Recipe #2 is 50% less concentrated than Recipe #1!

——————————————————————

Recipe #1: It contains Sodium carbonate (Soda Ash) or Sodium hydroxide (Lye) for the alkalinity part. These additives significantly boost pH, with Sodium Hydroxide having double the boost of Sodium carbonate.



Important Note: The alkalinity, calcium, and balling part C in Recipe #1 have doubled the potency of Recipe #2 because Baking Soda has a low solubility in water. The magnesium solution is the same, but we doubled what we would have added in Recipe #2.



Alkalinity (Pick one):

• Sodium carbonate (Soda Ash)

"Spread baking soda (594 grams or about two ¼ cups) on a baking tray and heat in an ordinary oven at 300°F for one hour to drive off water and carbon dioxide. Overheating is not a problem, either with higher temperatures or longer times. Dissolve the residual solid in enough water to make 1 gallon total." Source

• Sodium hydroxide (Lye):

For the most significant boost in pH (matching the same pH boost as kalkwasser/Limewater per unit of alkalinity-dosed).

The recipe is 283 grams per gallon. This solution is very caustic, will get extremely hot while dissolving, and requires PPE. Read this thread for instructions on mixing and using Sodium Hydroxide: Second New DIY Two Part Recipe with Higher pH Boost

Important note: If using Balling Part C, follow the directions in this article for magnesium. The magnesium suggestion in the linked Sodium Hydroxide thread is not meant for use with Balling Part C.


Calcium Part:


Dissolve 500 grams (about 2 ½ cups) of calcium chloride dihydrate. Bulk Reef Supply carries it.

"If you use an anhydrous or monohydrate calcium chloride (such as Dow Mini-Pellets, Kent's Turbo Calcium, Prestone Driveway Heat or Peladow Calcium Chloride), then you should use about 20% (1/5) less solid calcium chloride by volume to make the recipe." Source


Balling Part C:

Dissolve 182g or eight scoops with enough RO/DI or purified water to make a total volume of one gallon. The Balling Part C recipe for "Recipe 1" is two times more concentrated than Tropic Marin's instructions to match the potency of the Alkalinity and Calcium concentrations.



Magnesium:

DIY Magnesium Version:

Dissolve Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (¾ cups) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (7¼ cups) in enough purified fresh water to make one gallon of total volume.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Bulk Reef Supply uses magnesium sulfate anhydrous (a dry form). It is more concentrated than Epsom salt on a dry basis. If using BRS-sourced-ingredients, use this recipe for the magnesium part:

BRS Magnesium Version:

Fill a 1-gallon container half full of RO/DI or distilled water and then add 7-1/4 cups (1,285 grams) of BRS Magnesium Chloride and 1/2 cup (124 grams) of BRS Magnesium Sulfate.

For the magnesium part in Recipe #1, add 203mL of the magnesium solution after finishing a gallon of the other three parts to account for the magnesium consumption. No Magnesium testing is necessary! You can also add 5.4% of the magnesium solution as the alk, ca, and balling parts dose.




Thank you, @Randy Holmes-Farley, for the recipes and chemistry knowledge.

Additional Sources:
Second New DIY Two Part Recipe with Higher pH Boost
An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System
Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium
Further explanation of Balling Part C and Magnesium by Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks for putting this together, Miami!

I’ll also note that one can use Aquaforest Mineral Salt in place of Balling Part C. I expect the amount needed is likely the same, but might vary a bit based on moisture levels in the two sodium chloride free salt mixes.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If anyone wants to read how these 3 part products work in more detail, this describes them:

How a Two Part Alkalinity and Calcium System Works, and Why it Matters

How a Two Part Alkalinity and Calcium System Works, and Why it Matters By Randy Holmes-Farley This article is intended to help aquarists understand some of the important differences between the great variety of two and three part alkalinity and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Nossatron]

Really appreciate the time and effort gone into this.

Which trace elements do you recommend in conjunction?

I plan to go with the Recipe#1 and from what I can read the trace elements in part C are to keep it balanced but won't allow for consumption?

Currently I've been using Tropic Marin Pro-coral mineral and balancing the dosage from the iodine result. Is this something you could recommend continuing? I did read that this is based on trust in your selected brand. Maybe some blind luck required among water changes.

Tia
Ben

 

[Miami Reef]

Tropic Marin A & K is a good option. You’d add Trace A to the alkalinity solution and Trace K to the calcium solution:

80mL low demand, 160mL medium demand, or 330mL high demand system.


If you use baking soda/sodium bicarbonate for the alk, use this:

40mL low demand, 80mL medium demand, and 165mL high demand.

 

[204Reef]

I'm hoping to get a few things clarified from either Miami or Randy when it comes to using these recipes with Aquaforest products when using the sodium bicarbonate version of the above.

The recipe above for sodium bicarbonate (302grams in 1 US gallon) matches almost perfectly with Aquaforests recommendation for their KH buffer (which is sodium bicarbonate) at 80g per liter (so 302.8gram). That's easy enough.

However things diverge dramatically at the calcium chloride instructions. Randy and Miami suggest 250 grams per US gallon, whereas Aquaforest suggests 50g per liter, or 189.25 grams per US gallon. That's a difference of over 25%, yet both Randy and Aquaforest say their number should be dosed in a 1/1 ratio with the above identical sodium bicarbonate. How can that be?

The issue becomes more problematic when dealing with Part C (reef mineral salt) and trace elements. Aquaforest says to use 25g of reef mineral salt for every 50g of calcium chloride (effectively dosing it at 0.5X of calcium chloride). That would mean, if I use Randy's calcium calculation, I should use 125g per 1 US gallon. But Aquaforest says to use 25g per liter, or 94.6g per US. Gallon. 94.6g vs 125g is once again over 25% difference. Yet Randy also says in one of the above posts that you can use about the same amount of reef mineral salt as tropic marin part C, which is 91g. So how much should I use? the Aquaforest 94.6g or the 0.5X calcium concentration of 125g?

And this gets even more confusing when trying to use Aquaforest Component Strong A,B and C for trace element supplementation. Aquaforest says "5 ml should be added to 1 litre of ready solution of calcium chloride", but that is presumably based on their 50g per liter (189.25g per gallon) calcium concentration mix. So should I use that or increase it by about 25%? And if I should increase that, should I also increase the amount added to the sodium bicarbonate, which is identical to what Randy and Miami recommend?

BTW, I would just use Tropic Marin Part C and Tropic Marin A and K instead, if only to not have to worry about this, but none of my LFSs are able to bring in Tropic Marin anymore and Aquaforest is pretty much the only game in town unless I want to order online, and very few online retailers in Canada stock the large volumes of Tropic marin products (and they tend to be far more expensive here to boot!)

Finally, if I want to add dry magnesium to the Part C/Reef mineral salt and I am adding approximately 205ml of magnesium per gallon of calcium used, does that equate to 69.6g of magnesium chloride and 6.7 grams of magnesium sulfate added to the reef mineral salt or did I calculate that incorrectly? Also, that is for the BRS magnesium sulfate. I haven't found how much magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (epson salt) is required in weight, only in cups. Can you let me know how much the 3/4 of a cup of magnesium sulfate would be in grams in when using epsom salts?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

My recipe uses calcium chloride dihydrate, or 77% calcium chloride by weight. I don’t know the hydration level of their calcium chloride, but it can easily be different.

 

[Miami Reef]

However things diverge dramatically at the calcium chloride instructions. Randy and Miami suggest 250 grams per US gallon, whereas Aquaforest suggests 50g per liter, or 189.25 grams per US gallon. That's a difference of over 25%, yet both Randy and Aquaforest say their number should be dosed in a 1/1 ratio with the above identical sodium bicarbonate. How can that be?

Hmm. That’s an interesting discrepancy. I got the recipe from @Randy Holmes-Farley , so hopefully he can chime in. He posted just before me.

Either Aquaforest is using an anhydrous version or the math is off within the recipe. I’m not sure about this.

The issue becomes more problematic when dealing with Part C (reef mineral salt) and trace elements.

I read this from the Aquaforest website:

Dissolve 25 g in 1000 ml RODI water

That’s 94.6g per gallon

Solution of Reef Mineral Salt should be dosed with the same liquid-amounts as solutions of Calcium and KH Buffer.

That’s great; a 1:1:1 ratio is perfect.

The main question is understanding why Aquaforest recommends adding more calcium.

Fortunately, calcium levels are safe within 400-550 ppm.

If calcium rises with Aquaforest’s instructions, then you can use Randy’s recipe.

Regarding trace elements, I didn't look deeply into potential discrepancies, but they aren't critical. Simply pick a starting dose and monitor your tank. I like to send periodic ICP to see if the trace elements are being maintained by dosing. It’s not a perfect solution, but that’s what I do.

For magnesium, add 101 mL of the DIY magnesium mix to the mineral salt solution, or manually add 101 mL each time you finish a gallon of the three-part mix. Note that 101 mL is the amount for the sodium bicarbonate recipe.