- Today in BRS TV, an update on the E170,
you've been asking for that details.
So today a specific focus
on the Bulk Pharma Hybrid Balling Method,
Tropic Marine and BRS worked together
to bring you something affordable,
flexible, solves real chemistry problems in our tanks.
If this tank looks like access to you
and something that you wanna emulate,
we'll show you how this approach to two parts
solves three major challenges reefers face,
salinity, pH, and a flexible approach elements.
Not only is it easy but it's also one
of the lowest initials costs,
highest quality options out there,
all that's coming up.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Ryan.your host of BRS TV.
The E170 is really coming along,
I'm asked all the time how we manage major, minor
and trace elements in this tank.
The answer is a Tropic Marine Balling
BRS Bulk Pharma Hybrid Method.
Meaning that we're following that balling method
on the E170 but use BRS bulk chems
to make it more affordable
and get a larger boost to tank pH.
This has been up for 18 months now,
and gone from tiny one-inch frags to this.
The approach is certainly producing desirable results,
Bulk Pharma two-part,
one of the lowest cost reliable methods
of achieving it.
So far, the only additional cost of this hybrid method
is a few bucks a month in Tropic Marine's part C.
Looking at this closer, the hybrid approach
that you'll see here today is one of the unique approaches
that acknowledges and accounts
for the excess sodium chloride issues,
common with most two parts.
They also solves the elevated CO2 levels
and low pH levels most reef tanks have
in a flexible approach to minor and trace elements.
I'm gonna explain what the hybrid balling method is
and how it solves those issues in just a moment.
But first many of you already get the value,
see the types of results that it produces
and just looking for the recipe, so here it.
Part A or the calcium part is two and a half cups
of Bulk Pharma calcium chloride,
or one pre-measured tear strip pouch,
between zero and 330 milliliters
of Tropic Marines coral K plus trace one
with enough water to make up a gallon in the solution.
Adding the trace K to the calcium solution like this
will add barium, boron, chrome, cobalt, iron,
copper, manganese, nickel, strontium and zinc
to your Bulk Pharma two-part making it
a more complete solution.
Part B or the alkalinity portion is two and one third cups
of Bulk Pharma soda ash or one premeasured pouch
with zero to 330 milliliters of Pro-Coral A Trace two
with enough water to make up a gallon of solution.
Adding the trace A to the alkalinity
will add bromine, fluorine, iodine,
lithium, molybdenum, selenium and vanadium as well.
Part C Tropic Marine sodium chloride freeze sea salt mix,
four scoops and enough water to make up a gallon of solution
The part C is the heart of the balling method solution
to maintaining balanced chemistry for the longterm.
Something we'll get to in just a moment,
at the end of today's video, I also have some mixing tips
that make this process
a bit more precise and easier as well.
In this recipe, I'm sure you notice that range is zero
to 330 milliliters of the pro-coral traces added
to the respective two-part jug.
So why a range and not a specific number?
The ability to adjust this is one of the clear benefits
of Tropic Marine's approach.
I spoke with Tropic Marine and they suggested using zero
for that first year to year and a half of the tank,
meaning the initial grow out period.
During that period, a reasonable water chain schedule
with a good salt like pro reef is an adequate solution
for most new tanks.
After that if you have a fairly low demand tank,
consider 80 milliliters of pro-coral trace
per gallon or respective two-part.
Medium demand, 160 milliliters.
And heavy demand, the full 330.
The reason for scaling this up or down
is something that we'll dive in today.
There's some considerations here
that I personally haven't addressed before
with previous approaches,
the flexibility here is valuable.
As with E170, we're exiting that first 12 to 18 months now,
and so far have not I've started dosing any
of the trace one or two on the E170 yet,
and currently at the zero end of the range,
I think most people will be inclined to agree
that the water change approach to trace elements
has worked up to this point.
Looking at this tank, you might wonder
why I would start now, but I am starting this week.
I'll share more details as to why in just a moment,
but I believe chemistry solutions
need to evolve with the tank.
One of the greatest tragedies in our hobby
is the ideal solution for year one or two,
or the grow out stage of the tank
might not be the same thing as year three or four,
or the lifespan of a robust tank full of larger colonies.
Without clear guidance as to why it's a fairly big hurdle
for most reefers to consider changing
what is currently working
to solve or preempt tomorrow's problem
with the next stage of the tank.
So if all you came here for is the recipe,
that's the Pharma Balling Hybrid Three-part
Calcium and Alkalinity Solution. But if you want to know
how this Pharma Hybrid Balling Method addresses
and accounts for the excess sodium chloride
or salinity common to all two parts,
elevates the low pH common with most tanks and living spaces
has a flexible approach to trace elements
that matches your specific tank and still works
with the BRS calculator using
the standard Bulk Pharma concentrations
and drop downs, let's dive in.
Now that you know how to make it,
how does the hybrid balling method
solve the challenges discussed?
Starting with the foundation
of the balling method, excess salinity.
We just released a master sodium chloride episode
which dives deep into that relationship
and supporting science and how this works.
It's probably the best resource for understanding,
but also nearly 20 minutes long,
so I won't repeat the entire thing.
Here's the most basic summary.
All two-parts have this solidity issue
from the excess sodium,
from the sodium carbon or bicarbonate
and excess chloride from the calcium chloride.
As the excess sodium chloride build up,
it's essentially the same thing
as adding small all amounts of sodium chloride
or table salt to the tank every single day,
which will obviously raise the salinity over time.
Water changes will mute this point to some degree,
but eventually we will need to dilute the tank back down,
remove some salt water and replace it with fresh water
to get the salinity back down.
When we do that, the sodium chloride and salinity
will get back in line, but everything else
will be done diluted and fall below ideal levels.
It's fairly easy
to independently raise calcium and alkalinity back up,
but everything else is slightly depleted.
Not a huge deal today or even in that first year or two
of the tank, but imagine what years
of that process looks like, there's an inevitable path here.
A good water change schedule will push it out,
but we can do better.
In this case, better is both easy and inexpensive.
This is where the balling method in part C
or sodium chloride free salt mix comes in.
Part C is basically the same as the salt
that comes in the Pro Reef Salt bucket,
except there's no sodium chloride, calcium or alkalinity.
Dosing this alongside, the two-part means this.
Rather than only elevating sodium chloride
with your two-part dose,
nearly every element gets slightly elevated.
Likely only a few percentage points are not something
that would affect the health of the animals.
However, when your tank raises from 35 to 36 PPT salinity
and it comes time to dilute it back down to 35,
most of that takes elements will fall back down together.
So regardless of how you dilute the tank
with manual removal, saltwater and freshwater replacement,
or the net result of your skimmer removing saltwater
and your ATO replacing with fresh water,
or even just mixing your water change water
to a slightly lower salinity,
part C is what maintains a longterm balance
of your tank's chemistry.
Just as a reminder of this sodium chloride
or saline the issue is not the type of thing
that would affect most tanks in that first year or two.
This is a cumulative effect of small but continual changes
to chemistry over multiple years,
a much harder to identify issue.
Knowledge on how this works and related solutions
will go a long way, but confirmation via ICP tests
are probably the main way
someone would actually figure this out.
However if we acknowledge
the nearly inevitable issue upfront
and select a solution, we can avoid it all together.
Like everything, the balling method isn't absolutely perfect
but short of massive water changes
which are likely more expensive and more work,
the balling method is the best solution that I've found
for this chemistry challenge
the most two-part users will eventually face.
Before we move on to the next challenge,
I'd like to demystify maybe one of the most commonly
misunderstood components of the volume method,
that's whether or not part C
is a method of trace element replenishment, and it's not.
Because part C is a pro-coral Salt mix
without the sodium chloride, calcium and alkalinity,
it inherently means you are adding the rest
of the major, minor and trace elements to the tank,
and it would seem like
at least parcel replenishment solution.
This is the reason why it's not,
when inevitably you dilute the tank back down
to fix the salinity issue,
you're going to remove these elements in your equal ratio.
So I think it's most helpful to not think of part C
as a trace element solution.
Part C's only purpose is to maintain balanced chemistry
in an environment where excess sodium chloride
is added daily and needs to be accounted for.
Trace element addition will be done
by adding pro-coral trace one and two
directly to the two-part,
and something that we'll cover in just a moment.
Next challenge also solved,
we just released a master hydrogen and pH episode,
which covers the, of excess carbon dioxide in our homes,
how that reduces the pH of our tanks
often to that 7.8 to 8.0 range,
well below the ocean's levels of 8.2 to 8.3.
And then how that excess acidity can result
in 50% slower growth, brittle coral skeleton,
slow to no coralline algae coverage,
and stress-based mortalities.
That's why the Pharma or balling hybrid method swaps out
that predominantly sodium bicarbonate alkalinity solution
the standard Tropic Marine Balling method uses
with BRS Pharma sodium carbonate.
The alkalinity portion or the standard breakdown
of part B of Tropic Marines Balling method
is roughly 83% sodium bicarbonate and 17% sodium carbonate,
which creates a solution which has close to no efefct
on the pH of the tank.
The neutral pH effect makes it a great option
to dose by hand, make larger changes all at once,
and generally easier to dose.
All things that make it a great option
for something sold on a retail shelf
or guidance and how to use it best is harder to convey.
Or anyone watching videos like this one
is a knowledge seeker and represents
a different tier of reefer who collects
and applies knowledge to a different level of result.
Once you know the harm of depressed pH
and increased acidity in the tank and what it causes,
or the benefits of solving that,
it's hard not to that goal,
and sodium carbonate-based two-part
is one of the most popular options,
sometimes the entire solution.
The only caveat with a sodium carbonate
or soda Ash based two part is it shouldn't be dumped
in all at once by hand, and the results are best achieved
when it's dripped in slowly to a high flow area
of the tank with a DIY dripper,
but more commonly a dosing pump and preferably directly
into an inexpensive power head
to disperse the pH effect rapidly.
The caveat is slow addition with a high pH two-part
is likely why most retail two parts use a lower pH solution
which can be dumped in by hand all at once.
Now the third or may be
the most interesting challenge addressed, trace elements.
The balling method's approach to trace elements
is unique because not only does it add trace elements,
but they also knowledge that trace element uptake
is different between different tank types,
coral species and stages of the tank.
Acknowledging that allows for an evolutionary approach.
When I spoke with the team at Tropic Marine,
they shared like most two-parts trace element consumptions
directly tied to calcium consumption,
and adding the full 330 milliliters of trace one
and trace two to the respective two-part drugs does that.
So if trace element consumption is tied to calcium uptake,
why isn't there a concern ratio
rather than the range of zero to 330?
And why would anyone ever dose less than 330?
This essentially just an acknowledgement
that when your tank is brand new with nowhere limited corals
and nutrient uptake is often just different
than a multiyear robust tank.
Coralline algae and precipitation and past organisms
like algae, dyno, cyano and diatoms consume
and deplete elements, and very likely different ratios
than a multi-year tank full of large coral colonies.
So trace element uptake and replenishment
in this newer take environment is different.
And you may just be feeding
undesirable organism growth as well.
However, maybe more important,
an acknowledgement that in a low demand tank
with minimal coral, a reasonable water change schedule
with a good salt mix is an adequate solution
to trace elements.
At least for that first 12 to 18 months,
it's just not a good use of time or money.
So they suggest adding zero H and K trace elements
for that first year or so, where do you fall in that range
before you start adding trace elements is a judgment call
based on how many corals you have in your tank.
Just for reference E170 is about 18 months old now,
and just now we're going to start dosing trace elements,
the E170 went from a tank full of tiny one-inch frags
to this in a year and a half
with only dosing calcium chloride, soda ash
and Tropic Marine's part C.
So if this is successful so far,
why change it up now?
As element consumption scales up,
there's an inevitable reality that water changes
are going to become an increasingly ineffective solution
at managing trace elements.
Understanding the inevitable chemistry issues,
I can choose to wait for it to become a problem
and then treat that issue
or I can preempt it and skip the problem altogether.
This is part of what I earlier referenced is a difference
between the most successful paths
to get us through those first two years of grow out
and how they may be different than the solutions
that carry us from year three to 10 of robust coral colonies
with rapid uptake and related more rapid changes
to overall chemistry.
As to how much these trace elements are dosed
in a difference between zero and 330 milliliters,
the E170 as of today, I'm gonna start with a quarter
of that max and work my way up over time.
Meaning 80 milliliters of Pro-Coral K+ trace one
to the calcium portion of the two-part,
and 80 milliliters of Pro-Coral A Trace two
to the alkalinity portion.
Effectively shifting my Bulk Pharma two-part
to a more holistic approach
to element and chemistry management for the E170.
We can watch the results over the years together.
I likely scale up over time
towards that 330 milliliters per gallon of two-part.
Most people do this based on the visual assessment
of the corals, but the most engaged
may send in annual ICP test just to confirm
the tanks chemistry trends.
Something wise to do regardless
of the chemistry solution that you use.
If you aren't ICP user,
that allows for another refinement here
that most of the two parts don't have.
If you see a group of elements are rising or dropping
you can simply adjust trace one or two independently.
I don't wanna go chasing numbers, but some flexibility
to match your specific tanks uptake is obviously a benefit.
As I promised earlier, I do have some direct guidance
on how best to mix all this together.
First, it's always best to mix your two-part
in an open top container like a pitcher,
where it's easy to mix the salts while you pour them in.
Second, we're making a gallon of solution here,
not a gallon plus 303 milliliters of trace solution,
which would be more and dilute the calcium alkalinity.
Best way to do that is fill the container two thirds full
of RDI water, dissolve all your powder,
add the trace element solution,
and then top off to a gallon, mix,
and then pour into your dosing vessel.
For those of you you're looking for direct guidance,
I believe everyone will benefit
from dosing the part C of the hybrid balling method.
So if you're not doing that, feel free to start today.
The chemistry supports the decision, and honestly,
it's so cheap and easy to do, it's not worth debating.
As to the Pro Coral Trace A and K trace elements,
if you're tank is in that first 12 months
and you have a decent water chain schedule
with good salt, I wouldn't use any.
After that, if you have a lower demand tank,
consider 80 milliliters of solution
for each respective gallon,
a medium demand tank consider 180 milliliters.
For reference, I think the E170
is currently what I'd call a medium demand tank.
And if you have wall to wall coral,
work your way up to the 330 milliliters,
I'll certainly let you know where the E170 land in the end.
Third, while four scoops in a gallon of part C
doesn't look like much,
it can't be concentrated more than that.
Because of that, you have to dose twice as much part C
as you do A and B.
Meaning if you does 100 milliliters
of each calcium and alkalinity solution a day,
you'll need a dose 200 milliliters of part C daily.
Forth, everything you've heard today is related
to the BRS Pharma Hybrid Balling Method.
If you wanna use the standard Balling method,
make sure to follow their directions,
which have totally different measurements
and a more dilute formula based on sodium bicarbonate.
Thanks to the team at Tropic Marine
for helping us develop this hybrid method,
and for anyone who wants to really dive
into the how sodium chloride effects a reef tank.
And the most reef nerdy take that we've ever done on this,
here is this here is the master chemistry series
on sodium chloride.