Balling method
 

I seen a post here fron Royal Aquariums a while back but didn't have time to really check it out. I am very interested in this method as it says it can reduce the need for frequent water changes. Has anyone tried or using the balling method that can shed a little more light on the subject?

Done some minor reading on this. I have heard people call automated 2-part or 3-part dosing but I think the actual Balling method is dosing different things than just CaCl, Alk and Mg. In true Balling the salts used are different but result in salinity going up so in extreme cases you actually have to take water out of the tank and replace with straight RO/DI in order to maintain steady SG.

My biggest concern with this method at least locally is the steady supply of the dosing salts. This might be better nowadays than when I last looked into it though. I found with other fad-like things though (that sounds more harsh than intended but bear with me) that availability of supplies tends to be bursty - a really good supply with vendors until they run out and then there's that awkward period of time where whatever-it-is-you-need-at-the-moment has to be ordered or its on back-order or yadda yadda yadda you know the drill. So I kind of dismissed this method for myself but I can't deny that those tanks that I have seen were very very nice tanks.

The only tanks I've seen who were using true Balling were TOTM's in Europe and Japan but I would imagine will start to catch on a bit here in North America sooner or later.

http://static.faunamarin.de/manuals/...ethode_eng.pdf

This is the balling dosing method I use, complete with the addition of trace elements. I have not been nominated for TOTM though, so that might tell you something on its effectiveness. Tank is less than a year old and I'm still figuring it out.

Not sure how adding anything dilutes DOCs in the water. pretty sure it just maintains levels of required salts.

I thought it was because when you raise the SG and start using a dosing pump to pull water out (and down the drain) and replacing with RO/DI then it's sort of like a mini water change. I dunno, maybe that's not it.

A raise in the SG would be a good thing for me as I have to put some salt into my ATO in order to maintain my SG, living out in the country our house is super dry and the evap is crazy, you should see how fast the water level drops on the pool.

I have run Balling and close representations to Balling over the years and always run into nutrient buildup issues. I have not spent money on great skimmers though and perhaps this would help address the nutrient issue. Also, as corals grow and get trimmed/other new ones get added consumption rates fluctuate. You can test regularly and adjust accordingly but I have resorted to regular (~30% every few weeks) water changes to address both nutrient buildup and 'drift' in my Ca, Mg and dKh levels. My cost and labour seem to be about the same as I do fewer tests, but in my case the corals seem to be happier. Others will have different experiences to report. I would suggest Balling is fundamentally meeting the need to replace Ca, Mg, Carbonates and trace elements and so is a great starting point to find out what works best for your interests in the hobby. Lots of us have ended up back doing water changes though, and this is continuously one of the most debated topics going :). If I were to speculate, I would say you will end up adapting the balling fundamentals into your own dosing regime (using various brands for supplements etc). Either way, looks like you are asking the right questions!
Dan

That doesn't make sense ... Only water can evaporate leaving the salts behind which would drive the SG up not down. If your SG is drifting down then something else is going on. Do you skim fairly wet maybe?

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+1, although an undetected leak, or coral uptake of Ca, dKh and Mg would potentially drop the salinity. There was a recent post (I think maybe in TOTM??) about skimming very wet and having to add salt to ATO to make up for it. I'd want to figure out what's going on if I were you though.

It has been an issue since day one on this tank & I can't figure it out either. There are no leaks as I check weekly so the wife doesn't freak out. I do have several bad spots of salt creep that drive me crazy & will be addressing with the new tank set up. My skimmer does skim some what wet but I still haven't been able to get it tuned just right, it's a Deltec 702 external recuculating skimmer so not a cheap one.