Tired of paying outrageous prices for calcium and alkalinity supps.

[Tonyscoots84]

Hey guys I'm tired of spending a ton of money through BRS and the shipping cost that they charge...

I have been researching alternatives
http://www.lesliespool.com/leslies-hardness-plus-pool-chemical/hardness-plus.htm

For alk i would just purchase a huge bag of arm and hammer baking soda.

Does anyone know if the calcium would be safe for our little fishy friends and corals...

 

[ENB]

I think PaulB said somewhere he uses ice melter salt
But I am following this sounds interesting.

 

[Smotz]

Tagging along

 

[ducati335i]

Hey using Randy's recipe look it up.. I was paying 90 a month.. Now it's like 2 bux.. I dose 130 alk/120 calcium daily

 

[Tonyscoots84]

You are using dowflake? They said it wasn't good for aquarium use anymore.

Where are you getting your stuff from and what stuff are you getting.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I'm tired of paying high prices for fish and coral, any ideas on that one tony ?? Jk tagging along as well brotha .

 

[duke62]

Calcium reactor tony. Costs me 20 bucks for media and 20 for fill up every 3 months or so

 

[ducati335i]

Tony I am using brs calcium mix.. Just add ro water.. Pretty inexpensive.. I use a large bag of baking soda for the alk (after I bake it) lasts a good several months.. I think I buy two large bags a year.. The hardest part was figuring out the math going from esv to this new method. Lol I have been doing this for a while and I am no chemist.. Very easy to do guys..

 

[mbg75]

Calcium reactor tony. Costs me 20 bucks for media and 20 for fill up every 3 months or so

+1!
Fill twice a year. Stable as it gets!

 

[Paul B]

I still use ice melter. It cost me about $5.00 a year and another two bucks for baking soda for alk. That is all I dose so I have to save my money for all that. I know you guys like to spend a lot of money on this stuff but that is what keeps the economy going. My corals don't seem to care how little I spend.

 

[Alexm8856]

Calcuim reactor

 

[Tonyscoots84]

i think I'm leaning towards a calcium reactor setup :sigh:

 

[Jaftica]

Cal reactor! You will never look back

 

[marrone]

You are using dowflake? They said it wasn't good for aquarium use anymore.

Where are you getting your stuff from and what stuff are you getting.

Supposely they've been adding something to Dowflakes, so it's somewhat risky to use. You basically need calcium chloride. Try Prestone Driveway Heat, a lot of people use it but you need to use a little less when you're using Randy's formula, as it's more dense.

 

[vio]

I use b 4 doser (list 8 years) I use ice melter (calcium chloride) plus Baking Soda, also Epson salt ( Magnesium) is some kind work for a big system like yours, the main point, if u dose , u need GOOD ,doser, I almost kill everything one time, I dose all bottle of Baking Soda, thanks I don't use big container, now I run the big reactor from MTC (great reactor) + Kalkaw. I go this way ,because give me some help on my PH, PO4, also I use less CO2. For your system I will go w/MTC Calcium Reactor.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

Thanks guys i guess i gotta start looking for a calcium reactor setup

 

[Reef Lobster]

to be honest just try switching salts. ESV salt mix can really save you money on buffers if you follow the directions by weight

 

[lnevo]

Once your consumption reaches a point water changes will never be enough. Even with ESV salt, its not going to eliminate the need to supplement.

 

[Jaftica]

Scoots, Hit up PHILYD1, he has a koralian 1502c calcium reactor for sale.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

Reef i dont do many water changes.

Jaftica im not ready to spend money yet.