question about balling

[jwalters103]

the balling light guide says to start out adding 20 ml of salt solutions/ 100 l of tank volume. i assume this is the amount to add per day?

[AQD_ottawa]

well yes and no, here is the advise i give clients starting out which works very well

Take tests of your paremeters. record them

Dose 50ml of each solution into the tank (forget how many litres the tank is)

Wait two hours

Repeat test and see how much 50ml has raised your results, you then can work out how much 50ml in your volume of water raises the results, adjust from there.

[jwalters103]

sine ca, alk, and mg play a balancing act, should i dose 50 ml of all 3 at once and then remeasure all params, or should i do one per day until we get it figured out.

also, just how sensitive are the solutions to light? can i use clear tubing going to and from the doser or should the tubing be tinted/colored? i like the look of black tubing but would like clear to be on the lookout for clogs, airbubbles, etc.

[AQD_ottawa]

I would suggest using dark tubing and canisters and keep a lid on the ca canister.

Dose 50ml of each staggered over two hours then remeasure the first one after two hours and so on.

[jwalters103]

would you suggest i put check valves on the lines that are leaving the containers going to the dosing unit?

also, should i try to make sure that the lines inside the containers stay away from the bottom of the containers so as to prevent them from sucking in the salts that have settled on the bottom of the containers?

[AQD_ottawa]

check valves are always a good idea it takes the back pressure off the pump

Yes also have at least 1inch clearance off the bottom

[jwalters103]

well i finally got fed up enough with my ca reactor causing problems that i decided to dust off the dosing pump and get it up and running

i added the 50 ml of each solution and saw no measurable change in my levels. so where do i go from here?

[AQD_ottawa]

so then increase your dosing further as your tank is drawing more than you are dosing at 50ml.

baby steps do not get impatient, slowly increase, you will know when you are dosing enough as the readings will rise.

Keep close eye on the relationship between Ca and DKH, too much ca will supress the DKH, and visa versa

[DML08]

I have a question.... is it safe to use MB7 and Vodka along with Balling light method?

[C. Schuhmacher]

hI

Fauna Marin Balling light is safe for "systems"

The Fauna Marin salts are special mixes which only control the chemical stability in the tank and do not affected on the bacterial grow.

Vodka is not safe for the long time use but that is another story

rgds claude