BRS Two Part

liverock27 · Feb 1, 2011

Has anyone used Bulk Reef Supply's 2 Part kit?

Was thinking about using this for my Biocube, but wanted to see what people's thoughts were on this brand. I have seen good reviews on other forums, but couldn't find much on ARC.

Thanks.

jonboyb · Feb 1, 2011

I use it in mass quantities and love it. While it's not quite as potent as some of the off-the-shelf 2-part solutions (Seachem, Brightwell, 2 Little Fishies), it's price more than makes up for it.

Note that they sell 2 different "recipes" based on your pH levels.....but you'll likely need Recipe 1.

I dose over 130 gallons of system volume for HEAVY SPS and HEAVY clam so my dosing is really high. I have at least 150 lbs of dry BRS 2-Part components in my fish room right now. To get the most out of their 2-Part....pay close attention to your MG levels. To get your Alk and CA stable......MG is critical. I also use their MG supplement which is a great price too.

liverock27 · Feb 1, 2011

jonboyb;607189 wrote: I use it in mass quantities and love it. While it's not quite as potent as some of the off-the-shelf 2-part solutions (Seachem, Brightwell, 2 Little Fishies), it's price more than makes up for it.

Note that they sell 2 different "recipes" based on your pH levels.....but you'll likely need Recipe 1.

I dose over 130 gallons of system volume for HEAVY SPS and HEAVY clam so my dosing is really high. I have at least 150 lbs of dry BRS 2-Part components in my fish room right now. To get the most out of their 2-Part....pay close attention to your MG levels. To get your Alk and CA stable......MG is critical. I also use their MG supplement which is a great price too.

Thanks. I was looking at their starter kit(Recipe 1) that includes the MG as well as the 2 part.

I was just wondering how well it would work compared to the stuff in our local fish stores due to my tank being only 14g and not having to use as much.

Thanks again.

jj ocean · Feb 1, 2011

jonboyb;607189 wrote: I use it in mass quantities and love it. While it's not quite as potent as some of the off-the-shelf 2-part solutions (Seachem, Brightwell, 2 Little Fishies), it's price more than makes up for it.

Note that they sell 2 different "recipes" based on your pH levels.....but you'll likely need Recipe 1.

I dose over 130 gallons of system volume for HEAVY SPS and HEAVY clam so my dosing is really high. I have at least 150 lbs of dry BRS 2-Part components in my fish room right now. To get the most out of their 2-Part....pay close attention to your MG levels. To get your Alk and CA stable......MG is critical. I also use their MG supplement which is a great price too.

For my reference, how much are you dosing daily for your “heavy” 130g system?
 
I’ve got a “light/medium” 340g system and I’m having issues raising above 300-330 CA. My focus right now is MG. I get readings of 1200-1250, one lfs got similar readings and another lfs got 700 (ran it twice to double check). I’m daily dosing via LiterMeter BRS products at 2.2oz Alk 100% strength, 2.2oz Calc 100% strength and 1.0oz MG 15% strength.
 
What is interesting is that my zoas were closed last month and some new chalices faded color. I stopped dosing 2 weeks ago and zoas opened back up and chalices haven’t changed (however, I assume their change will take longer). Current theory is that I was dosing enough, but my MG readings were off and the dosing rates with low MG levels caused the reaction in my zoas/chalices. All other parms are great.
 
Knowing your doses will give me some reference. Thanks!

darcurr · Feb 1, 2011

I've used it a good bit with good results. I talked to my chemist buddy, and he said there was potentially an issue with BRS two part if you neglected to perform water changes. I.E. an increase in sodium and chlorides.

liverock27 · Feb 1, 2011

darcurr;607236 wrote: I've used it a good bit with good results. I talked to my chemist buddy, and he said there was potentially an issue with BRS two part if you neglected to perform water changes. I.E. an increase in sodium and chlorides.

Thanks for the heads up on the water changes.

I placed my order at lunch today for the small starter kit(Recipe 1). I also picked up a Salifert MG Test Kit as well.

Thanks yall.

misu · Feb 1, 2011

I'm dosing almost double Calcium at around 100ml/day in my 150 gal system and I don't consider it heavy SPS

JJ Ocean;607227 wrote: For my reference, how much are you dosing daily for your “heavy” 130g system?

I’ve got a “light/medium” 340g system and I’m having issues raising above 300-330 CA. My focus right now is MG. I get readings of 1200-1250, one lfs got similar readings and another lfs got 700 (ran it twice to double check). I’m daily dosing via LiterMeter BRS products at 2.2oz Alk 100% strength, 2.2oz Calc 100% strength and 1.0oz MG 15% strength.

What is interesting is that my zoas were closed last month and some new chalices faded color. I stopped dosing 2 weeks ago and zoas opened back up and chalices haven’t changed (however, I assume their change will take longer). Current theory is that I was dosing enough, but my MG readings were off and the dosing rates with low MG levels caused the reaction in my zoas/chalices. All other parms are great.

Knowing your doses will give me some reference. Thanks!

jonboyb · Feb 1, 2011

JJ Ocean;607227 wrote: For my reference, how much are you dosing daily for your “heavy” 130g system?

I'm up to about 350 ml per day CA and 310 ml per day Alk. This is purely to maintain at a steady 425 ppm/9 dKh respectively. Max dosing recommended by BRS is 2 ml/gal/day

I dose 60 ml per day MG to maintain at 1400 or so.

As far as the water changes.....I actually dose so heavy that the 2-Part bumps my SG up about a half point a week so I have to be vigilent in my PWC's and I actually swap out about 4 gallons of tank water for fresh per week to maintain my SG at 1.026

jaustin · Feb 1, 2011

Been using BRS two part for two years or so now. Love it! I go through 50ml of ALK a day and 50 ml of MG. My cal and most of my alk are maintained with saturated Kalkwasser in my ATO, also bought from BRS (5g of calcium hydroxide).

markl · Feb 1, 2011

JAustin;607276 wrote: Been using BRS two part for two years or so now. Love it! I go through 50ml of ALK a day and 50 ml of MG. My cal and most of my alk are maintained with saturated Kalkwasser in my ATO, also bought from BRS (5g of calcium hydroxide).

50ml a day?

misu · Feb 1, 2011

MarkL;607282 wrote: 50ml a day?

yep, about the same here for Alk and Mag

jaustin · Feb 1, 2011

yes, a day.

enderg60 · Feb 1, 2011

yup I use the 3 part(as well as their carbon and GFO) love the stuff. But I go through a 5 gal bucket of calc and alk every 6-8 months so Ill be setting up a calc reactor this weekend and using the 2 part for fine tuning.

gnashty · Feb 1, 2011

Im up to about 50ml per day. Never thought about dosing mag though - I really need to as I struggle constantly with low mag.

for the short term, I am out of plugs so cant add another doser. what about supplementing my mag thru my ATO?? it wont be exact but it would help keep my mag up until I get another doser online....thoughts?

maybe 20-30 fl oz of mag to 10 gal fresh ATO water? I know it will impact my SG over time by doing this but can offset by wet skimming...?

jhutto · Feb 1, 2011

With those big tanks. I would use a Ca reactor. BRS two part is great for less than 100 gallon tank with SPS and LPS in it. I found with a 90 Gallon it took a lot of effort to keep it going with steady parameters. I moved to a Ca reactor and now use it on my 210 when I upgraded. For small tanks BRS two part is the way to go...

gnashty · Feb 1, 2011

jhutto;607334 wrote: With those big tanks. I would use a Ca reactor. BRS two part is great for less than 100 gallon tank with SPS and LPS in it. I found with a 90 Gallon it took a lot of effort to keep it going with steady parameters. I moved to a Ca reactor and now use it on my 210 when I upgraded. For small tanks BRS two part is the way to go...

I dont have any issue dosing a 230g system with 2 part, hardly any effort at all actually. I just automate it and all I have to do is change out the jugs every couple weeks. making more solution takes less time than going to get a CO2 tank refilled

jj ocean · Feb 1, 2011

JAustin;607276 wrote: My cal and most of my alk are maintained with saturated Kalkwasser in my ATO, also bought from BRS (5g of calcium hydroxide).

Any details on your process for kalk in ATO? Mix once and let it settle or stir via pump on set intervals? 5g for how much top off water? How long do you use the mix for before replacing? I’m thinking of augmenting kalk … heard good things about using both since chemical composition is different between the two.
 
Btw – got my units of measure mixed up … 220ml ca/alk 100% strength & 100ml mg 15% strength is what I’m dosing. No wonder I have issues!!!

misu · Feb 1, 2011

gnashty;607329 wrote:

maybe 20-30 fl oz of mag to 10 gal fresh ATO water? I know it will impact my SG over time by doing this but can offset by wet skimming...?

Any harm in doing this other than the salinity going up? I can do the same thing, out of outlets and dosers here too

This is a good thread

gnashty · Feb 1, 2011

I just filled up the ATO and added about 30 fl oz to about 8 gal of fresh rodi. I accidently pulled the hose out while trying to pour in the mag and doused my PC4's pretty bad with water :doh:. They never skipped a beat but I unplugged everything and tried my best to dry them off without dismantling the tangled web of wires running all over. I plugged it all back in and all is well.

jaustin · Feb 1, 2011

Any details on your process for kalk in ATO? Mix once and let it settle or stir via pump on set intervals? 5g for how much top off water? How long do you use the mix for before replacing? I’m thinking of augmenting kalk … heard good things about using both since chemical composition is different between the two.

I have a 40gallon container i fill up with RODI, then add kalk, 2 tsp per g. Mix it up once for a few minutes, let the slurry settle and turn ATO on. I evap 2g a day, so the mix lasts me about 20 days. I do not mix it ever again. I have a 4 switch ATO, one primary and 3 back up switches, also my RKE disables the ATO pump when the PH goes above 8.37.

BRS Two Part

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