What the Heck are we balling about??

[Aqua-Digital]

After various emails and calls about the balling method I thought I would re post this amazing concept.

So to start what the heck is the Balling light method?.

The Balling light method has been used in Europe now for quite some years and has been developed to create a more easy balling system, and 80% of German reefers now employ this method over the calcium reactor.

WHY?? Well it is a heck of a lot cheaper than a calcium reactor and does so much more than the old one trick poney better known as the calcium reactor can ever do - please read on.

The balling system.

So we all (or most of us) have a calcium reactor what does this do? Well not a lot really other than add DKH (carbonate hardness) to your water and of course a level of calcium, but never to the degree a system really needs, its deployment of these crucial elements is also very crude and difficult to balance.

So the Balling method goes a whole lot further and has been said once established a lot easier to use and maintain in terms of cost and efficiency. This method does not just add calcium at an average rate over time but also adds all the mineral trace elements your system could need, once you have calculated your systems draw requirements on the minerals. So you are adding all the mineral nutrients in a controlled manner not just dosing DKH.

This then goes one step further, the minerals used in the balling method are lab pure, so you only get what you require, no hitch hiker minerals not required. This also eliminates the needs for CO2 bottles, regulators, drip feeders etc etc, all you need is a 3-4 buckets and a 3 stage dosing station, and of course the balling salts.

Here is a copied part of the manual that explains a bit more

The classic balling-method is meanwhile one of the most popular methods for providing your reef-tank with calcium. Fauna have adjusted this method to today's needs and have created the balling-lightmethod. Balling-light works without calculating and the need for wasteful gram-precise mixing of chemicals.

For this method, you need four different chemicals. We will not confuse you with exact chemical formulas, but show you a simple but effective way of providing your animals with calcium and other minerals.

Balling-light means adding the needed minerals like calcium, magnesium and
carbonates separately and to the exact requirement of your tank. For that, three different solutions are prepared and added to the tank. As the requirement of each tank is different, it has to be tested in the course
of a week to work out what your system requires.

Instruction:

You need three solutions in three separate 10-liter (2,5 gallons) containers:

1. can:
2 kilogram Calcium Chloride-Dihydrate in 5 liter reverse-osmosis water

2. can:
2 kilogram Magnesium Chloride-Hexahydrate in 5 liter reverse-osmosis water
250 gram Magnesium Sulfate-Heptahydrate

3. can:
500 gram sodium hydrogen carbonate in 5 liter reverse-osmosis water
Now, all three cans can be connected to a GHL ProfiLux dosing station with built in controller or if you have a ProfiLux computer then just the 3 station doser.

Each solution has to be dosed according to the size of the tank. At the beginning, CA, MG and alkalinity have to be checked daily.and the dosing quantity has to be adjusted at the controller. The ProfiLux dosing station controller is very suitable for that, as each channel can be adjusted individually and the solutions can be dosed twice a day at 5 minutes intervals.
You can do this also by hand.

After two weeks, ones personal need will be detected and adjusted. The quantities in each can can now be calculated and varied by you. Through Balling-light a small quantity of sodium chloride will arise in your tank.

To avoid accumulation it should be compensated by periodical water change
(10% each week). Also, always check the salinity of your water and adjust it if necessary. Essential trace elements needed for the growth of corals can be dosed automatically. Therefore we have developed the Ultra Trace B solutions. Add to can 1 (to the Calcium Chloride-Dihydrate) 25ml of the strontiumcomplex and 25ml of the heavy-metall-complex. To can 2 (to the magnesium) you add 25ml of the Iodine-Fluorine Complex.

And that is it.