Randy's Two-Part
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62323
Printed Date: June 24 2025 at 7:50pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Randy's Two-Part
Posted By: thathiep
Subject: Randy's Two-Part
Date Posted: February 21 2013 at 1:59pm
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I was planning to switch over to Randy's two-part cal and alk. Who on here have success with it and what kind of system are you running it on? Thanks Duy |
Replies:
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: February 21 2013 at 2:28pm
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I have it on my 29 display with 20 sump. I like it. Haven't seen any problems. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: February 21 2013 at 7:00pm
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Been using it for 6 years on sps-dominant systems. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: 96slowbra
Date Posted: February 21 2013 at 7:04pm
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Finally got mine dialed in! Cheap and easy, with no bs ------------- 105 rimless |
Posted By: thathiep
Date Posted: February 21 2013 at 7:23pm
| Thanks guys. Where is the good place to buy CaCl and MgCl locally? I'm in West Valley. |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: February 22 2013 at 6:56am
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I order mine in huge quantities from bulk reef supply. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: 96slowbra
Date Posted: February 22 2013 at 9:55am
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It is so easy to order from brs. Their 2 part is pharmaceutical grade ------------- 105 rimless |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: February 22 2013 at 3:54pm
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I use ice melt for both. Haven't seen any issues. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Fatman
Date Posted: February 22 2013 at 4:38pm
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Lewy, what ice melt do you use? I have used Prestone driveway heat with success for the Ca portion.
------------- February 4: Winter Banquet at the Living Planet Aquarium Tickets: http://utahreefs.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=36 |
Posted By: thathiep
Date Posted: February 23 2013 at 1:42pm
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ReefdUp, what's the different between CaCl and MaCl from BRS compare to the one from Home Depot? Thanks Duy |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 23 2013 at 1:47pm
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i think it has to do with purity, some of the driveway salts have been know to have other types of metals, or other things in it. but on that note i know costco has a 50lbs bag of salt that is 100% MaCl, but i still order from bulk reef supply also |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: February 23 2013 at 3:42pm
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I use the one from Costco for my MgCl and Epson salt for magnesium then based on http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=45800&KW=CaCl&PID=399011&title=i-found-it-cacl2#399011" rel="nofollow - this post I use "Safe T" salt, I get it from WalMart for my calcium. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: thathiep
Date Posted: February 26 2013 at 3:45pm
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Thanks guys. I'll order from BRS as well.
With recipe #1, how long would a gallon of CaCl or Alk normally last for
a 65g-SPS dominant? Undecided if I want
to start out with 1g or 5g. Duy |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: February 26 2013 at 4:16pm
| Prob little less than 2 months. I am currently dosing a little more than 1 mls a gal per day on my sps dominant 120. A gallon of recipe 1 lasts me a little less than a month. |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: February 26 2013 at 4:18pm
| I think the gallon of chemicals makes about 10 gallons of solution. |
Posted By: Melissa
Date Posted: February 26 2013 at 4:32pm
Make sure you get in on Ann's group buy. I have now ordered 2 of their 1 gallon 2-part packages in the past year, (there is probably half of the second order left to use) and an extra gallon of the calcium (I only started using lime in my top off a few months ago and used to dose CA like crazy) This is on a 72gal with 20 gal sump with mostly softies
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thathiep wrote:Posted By: kellerexpress
Date Posted: February 26 2013 at 5:17pm
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Randys recipe is the cheapest way for 2 part dosing that Ive found. ------------- IM 30L Kessil A160we x2 |
Posted By: JayTee
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 9:56am
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I just heard of this from a new friend that stopped by to buy some frags. I was oblivious to the fact that I can use something other than the LFS, $40 per gallon stuff. I have been adding the max recommended dosage based on the label of the Kent 2 part that I am currently using, and cant keep levels high enough. Can anyone tell me if this 2 part system will save me money? I am seeing the previous posts, stating that a gallon would last about a month in a 65g (mine is 55g). Im a bit confused because the Kent product I am using now lasts me somewhere between 2 and 3 months, and I am dosing the maximum that they recommend. Also, considering the BRS dosing pump system, mainly to make things easier on my tank sitter when they are needed. Does anyone have any experience with them? ------------- Jeremy |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 10:55am
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it saves me money. here is the http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php" rel="nofollow - link ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: lskurys
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 11:00am
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This is the dosing pump that I have been using for my 2 part dosing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marine-Magic-aquarium-dosing-pump-Triple-/271161747834?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f227fe97a" rel="nofollow - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marine-Magic-aquarium-dosing-pump-Triple-/271161747834?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f227fe97a I have not had any problems with the pump so far. I have been using it for about 2 months. Each pump has 16 timers and it has 4 speeds so that you can give as much or a little as you would like on each dosing. Yes it has saved me lots of money over the Kent’s. I perched the 2 part mix 1 Just under a year ago. and I just mixed up the last of my Cal and I can get one more gallon of Alk. I am dosing about 4oz of ALK and 5oz of Cal per day. This is on a mixed Reef so as my SP's start to grow out I will need to add more time to my dosing pumps. ------------- 220g , large elite aquatics sump. 3 Radion Pro Gen 3 lights 3 Mp 40's |
Posted By: JohnnyHeavens
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 11:17am
What parts/items? ------------- @Home 300g System 150g-Cube Reef+60g Frag+WaterChange 150g Tall FOWLR RIP @Work RSM 130D w/LEDs txt anytime @ eightO1-seven5five-eighteen99 Scuba! PADI Pro DM/AI/TecDeep NSS/CDS-Full Cave Diver |
Posted By: thathiep
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 12:42pm
I was wondering the same thing. Anyone top off your tank with kalkwasser and added two-part as the tank needed or just the two-part and mag? Wanting to find a cheaper way to supplements my tank. Thanks Duy |
Posted By: lskurys
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 12:53pm
------------- 220g , large elite aquatics sump. 3 Radion Pro Gen 3 lights 3 Mp 40's |
Posted By: JohnnyHeavens
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 1:39pm
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I was wondering what she is using/ordering exactly. ------------- @Home 300g System 150g-Cube Reef+60g Frag+WaterChange 150g Tall FOWLR RIP @Work RSM 130D w/LEDs txt anytime @ eightO1-seven5five-eighteen99 Scuba! PADI Pro DM/AI/TecDeep NSS/CDS-Full Cave Diver |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 3:20pm
| That's what I used to do was kalkwasser and calcium/alk as needed. It was dirt cheap, it will be the way my next tank is set up also. Cause alk/cal can get expensive, using all 3 will be cheap. With adding lime, make sure and watch your ph, you may need to go with sodium bicarbonate, instead of sodium carbonate( or baking soda, vs "cooked" baking soda/soda ash) |
Posted By: JayTee
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 4:02pm
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Has anyone tried both BRS and Randy's and proven to themselves that one is cheaper than the other. Also curious of results. Im a bit nervous about making a switch from the LFS pre-mixed jugs. And, I have next to no chemistry skills or understanding, other that what directions on a bottle and my test kit tells me. Looking to make a change soon since I am almost out of my Kent 2 part. Also, I am reading about lime, kalk, etc. Would someone be willing to give a dumbed-down explanation of how they might benefit a 2 part system? ------------- Jeremy |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 4:04pm
BRS two part will save you tons of money versus kents, bionic etc. What I was saying was that in my heavily stocked tank a gallon of the solution I make lasts about a month on a 120g tank. Each gallon of cal cl or soda ash ingredients you buy from BRS makes about 10 gallons of solution. So even at buying the ingredients one gal at a time a $15 bottle lasts nearly a year and that is without using kalkwasser. Just straight 2 part. Buying a 5 gallon bucket of ingredients is even cheaper but $15 a year is cheap enough if you only want to buy it in small quantities. |
Posted By: Fatman
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 4:08pm
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I have been dosing kalkwasser and supplementing with two part (home brew using the Randy formula) but stopped the kalkwasser for two reasons: 1) The kalkwasser was building up in my pumps and causing them to lock up. My skimmer pump locked in two week (new pump). I don't see this as badly with the two part. 2) I was mixing and dosing two part anyway so it was just easier to not have to mix the messy kalkwasser and bump up the two part a bit. Since I was making my own it was dirt cheap (like me). Fat ------------- February 4: Winter Banquet at the Living Planet Aquarium Tickets: http://utahreefs.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=36 |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 4:13pm
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I think a gallon makes 7 gallons of alk, and 6 gallons of calcium.... could be wrong but I think that was what I got when I did the math, a few months ago. I will do the math again tonight when I get home Kalk, lime water, calcium hydroxide = cal/alk at the same level your corals will intake them. I talked with a chemist that used to be on the boards and that is what he told me. Fully saturated mix is 2tsp a gallon. When my tank was growing like crazy I was only at 13tsp for 10gallons. The trick is to figure out how much your tank is uptaking. And its used to maintain levels, not raise levels |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 5:19pm
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Ok so -1 gallon of alk mix makes 8gallons of liquid alk 1 gallon of calcium makes 6.4 gallons of liquid calcium |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 6:35pm
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Sorry never looked into exactly how many gallons of solution it makes. I assumed around 10 causr thats what it seems like. Haha.. Ethier way buy in bulk or small quantities is cheap from BRS. Just for shiz and giggles lets crunch some numbers for the OP. So there is 3785 mls in a gallon. Assuming your tank is heavily stocked and you need to dose around 1 ml per gal per day. In a 65g tank that would be 65 mls of each per day. 3785/65 = 58.2 So a gallon of solution will last 58 days. So pretty much 2 months. So a gallon of cal cl salt will last 372 days. ( 58.2x 6.4 =372.48 ). Then a gallon of soda ash will last 465 days ( 58.2 x 8 =465.6 ). So yeah a long time. Haha IMO the best thing about buying the 5 gallons of ingredients. Is saving on shipping . So thats what I may do next time I order. |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 10:14pm
| Ohh and as far as brs dosing pumps. They have been awesome one of the best investments I have made for my tank. Dosing manually gets tedious and personally I think the key to long term success in this hobby is automation. The less you have to do and just sit back and enjoy is what keeps people from selling their tanks when they get bored. I think the hobby goes in spurts where you want to buy everything you see and then times where you dont even notice your tank is there. Automation gets you through the ruff patches hehe.. The reason I went with brs pumps is of course the obvious they are pretty cheap compared to some of the other dosing pumps out there. But more importantly they are reliable. I researched a ton when I bought dosing pumps and brs had by far the best reviews I could find. |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 10:38pm
| Wicked, what timer are you using for the pumps. |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: February 27 2013 at 11:27pm
| I bought my digital timers from lowes. I belief the brand is utilitech. It has like 20 different on/off you can set a day and a battery backup if your power goes out. |
Posted By: JayTee
Date Posted: February 28 2013 at 11:47am
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This is all great info. Im going to place my order for the BRS 2 part tonight. I will probably have to wait until after payday to get the pumps. But regardless, I cant wait to start saving money over the pre-mixed stuff. And, its always fun to add a mechanical piece to my tank. Wickedsnowman is right. My interest kind of comes and goes in spurts. It will be nice to spend some time getting the pumps tuned in, etc. One last question (I think), what kind of containers are people using to put the CA and Alk in for the pump? I have limited space under my tank. ------------- Jeremy |
Posted By: Melissa
Date Posted: February 28 2013 at 11:54am
If I were you I'd get in on Ann_A's BRS group buy. (It's in the sale forum somewhere) You'll get a good deal on their 2-part stuff. And I ended up using a 2 liter coke bottle (for Alk) and a large apple juice container (for CA) with holes drilled in the lids because I didn't have enough room in my stand for anything bigger.
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Posted By: thathiep
Date Posted: February 28 2013 at 3:48pm
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Great inputs guys. Chad, do you have any problem when dosing kalkwasser like Fatman is having? Thanks Duy |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 28 2013 at 8:24pm
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I didn't have those problems with kalk, but I also didn't dose cal/alk everday like I do now without dosing kalk I am going to try just cal/alk on my new tank for a few, until I deem its too expensive maybe it wont be to expensive but I am willing to give it a shot. All I know is I loved kalk in all of my top off water, so easy, so cheap. But I do hear from alot of people its soooo much easier to adjust dosing with 2 part. |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: March 01 2013 at 12:09am
| I think kalkwasser if used correctly can be a super easy way to maintain a reef. I personally have never tried it. I even bought a bag of it from BRS planning on using it. However the guy I bought my 120g from scared me out of it. He was adding in his top off water and had a float switch fail.... And it pumped like 10 gallons of it into his reef. Needless to say it killed everything. In the end it was great for me though. I got a 120g and super nice knotty alder stand and canopy for dirt cheap ;). This dude had thousands invested in coral, clams and fish. I felt really bad for him. He wanted nothing to do with the hobby after that. |
Posted By: wickedsnowman
Date Posted: March 01 2013 at 12:15am
| I dont want to scare anybody out of it through. It can be a great way to replenish calcium and alk. Just make sure you do correctly to prevent nuking your tank . |