Raising Alk.

[Wheelman76]

That was two years ago , here is what is in C balance

[Myka]

Hunggi, don't quit with the C-Balance, it is a great product! I'm no fan of BRS additives. Especially for a smaller reef like yours where the cost isn't significant.

Originally Posted by Wheelman76

That was two years ago , here is what is in C balance

I know C-Balance is one of the few that have a full load of trace elements in their recipe which is why "back in the day" C-Balance was the awesomest! C-Balance has been around a long, long time.

With the OP wanting an increase of 1 dKH alkalinity and a decrease of 60 ppm calcium we're talking about a 15% change. This is not going to be the be all end all as far as overdosing or underdosing the trace elements in the mix. Especially when the OP is doing regular waterchanges. Julian Sprung is being overly technical. Especially in the case of the OP where his tank doesn't have a real big uptake. If it was a fast-growing SPS tank that was uptaking huge amounts of calcium and alkalinity (and trace elements) then the chances of it getting severely out of balance as much greater. For the average hobbyist with an LPS dominant tank, it's not going to be a problem.

At the end of the day though, a nice big waterchange with good quality reef salt will help balance all the ions better than most people can do with a trace element mix. I've been in the habit of doing a 75-80% waterchange 3-4x per year on my reefs for many years now. It sure makes a difference!

[hunggi74]

Thanks Myka. No, I wasn't going to give up on C Balance yet. For me it's all about ease of use AND affordability. I don't want to add anymore trace elements or amino acids or etc... That's a real slippery slope once you start. Keeping things simple as can be will keep me in this hobby a lot longer there's too much going on with life in general to have one hobby consume all our time. Heck, I haven't even been able to get around to testing my params after my last water change on Saturday I did start dosing A and B at different times so that's a start I guess. Old butts move slow.

On a side note:
7:52AM Wheelman?? What in the world are you doing up at this time??? I don't know if I trust anything coming from you this early in the morning...

[Myka]

7:52 AM is early?

Originally Posted by Wheelman76

What is it about BRS additives that you do not like?

I've had diatom outbreaks on mature tanks when switching from Fauna Marin to BRS calcium. I have also had issues with cyanobacteria when using BRS calcium. My tank has never thrived on BRS additives. The BRS alkalinity seems ok. The BRS magnesium clumps real bad. I much prefer Fauna Marin ... or C-Balance.