B-Ionic

[MsReeReee]

Hi i just started using B-Ionic yesterday and was wondering how much do u put in a 125 i just put in about how much i was putting for the C Balance aound 35 ml each

[Rick O]

The instructions say to start with 1 ml per 4 gallons of tank water of each part. Don't exceed 1 ml per gallon of water. I would continue with the dosage you're using for a couple weeks then test alk and ca. Afterwards you can adjust the dosage as needed.

[tdwyatt]

When using B-ionic alone for Ca and Alk supplementation in the display tank (around 200 gal total water column) I was using around 90 ml/day to keep the levels at 450 Ca/12 dKh Alk, but that was with a large number of Ca consumers. At that rate, it is much more cost efective to go with a Kalk reactor, and you avoid the issues with shifting the proportions of the conservative elements at high levels of B-Ionic use. At 4ml/gal and bi-weekly water changes, I wouldn't worry about the shift in sodium and chloride concentrations.

[MUCHO REEF]

The size of your system and the uptake of calcium per day will determine the amount of additives per day. I have found the best way to determine just how much to add is to test your PH, ALK & Cal in the morning before adding B-ionic for the first time to get a rested reading of all three. Starting with the 1:4 ration as recommended by ESV, add your A & B . Then test 6 hours later to see just far your readings have gone. On the second day, add a little more or a little less depending on where you want your reading to stay. Repeat if necessary on the third day. At the end of the third day, with a very good test kit, you have determined the amount you should add per day based upon the uptake of the previous days.

I recommend Salifert test kits. A weekly test of all three will make sure that your parameters are always consistant. I always test my system on Saturday morning to adjust my readings if they are slightly off.

Good luck

[RJ]

I'm looking to start dosing my 29 gal....Is B-Ionic a good plan?...my cal is high right now...but my alk is very low...I'm just hoping for some balance...I keep mostly softies but I'd like to see my corralline pick up a bit...plus the brains that I have could use it...I've been told that the halimeda that I have in the system is a real calcium eater...true?...I have no sump...just a bakpak and powerheads...everything is great but I'd like to add some hard corals at some point...thanks!...RJ

[Doug1]

Rob, halimeda will consume calcium, even the softies use it to some degree to form schlerites. The brains will definatly benefit. The calc/alk thing is tied together, so you might want to do a water change or two and remeasure, maybe adjust alk then use the B-ionic to maintain. On a 29 it shouldnt be prohibitive

[RJ]

Thanks Doug,

I have been lacking in water changes in that was a route I was going to go first....and hope that it stablilized...then maintain with the B-Ionic...makes sense I think...RJ

[Rick O]

Originally posted by RJ
Thanks Doug,

I have been lacking in water changes in that was a route I was going to go first....and hope that it stablilized...then maintain with the B-Ionic...makes sense I think...RJ

The longer I'm in this hobby the more I believe in the importance of regular water changes. Ever since I've been on a regular schedule of 10% water changes every other week my tank has been healthier and I've had fewer problems. I've got it to where I can do a 12 gal change in about 15 minutes.

[MDT]

This is a great recipe to correct and maintain alk and calcium

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

[hamburglar]

I use 40 ml per day of each in my 70 gallon. Never had a problem with it except for the cost.

[thebigblue]

i started with 35ml on my 125 too....then i got lazy adding everyday and never testing levels (i still dont very much )...i upped my daily dose to 60ml a day and last time i checked calc and alk were great...

now that i add it daily, ive really noticed a growth of corraline...and i really gotta prune back my halimeda cause that stuff eats it up...

HTH

brad

[MsReeReee]

Well i have a lotttttttttttttttttt of growth but ran out and couldnt find any more C Balance so decided to try B-ionic

[Doug1]

Thanks MDT, I added that article in the water chem links section