How do you dose BIonic 2 part buffer?

TomToro

The Old Guy
Oct 21, 2006
597
0
0
68
Michigan
s122.photobucket.com
I've been using this stuff forever, but I'm still not sure how to dose. As a general rule I use a 1\8 cup of each every day. The directions are vague at best. Does anybody else use this and how do you dose?
Thanks,
Tom'
 
it all depends on what your tank needs.
You have to test you alk. and CA levels

Then you will know how much to add.
A pattern will start to form as to how much of each you need.

But testing is a must or you can OD on either of them.
your alk. should be between 9-11
and your CA should be around 440

the cloudy stuff when you add it to the tank is the alk.
 
A ca reading of 440 is high and will be difficult to find balance with your alk. Shoot for a ca of 400(natural seawater is around 380) and an alk of about 4 meq/l . The best way to see what your tank is using is check it day 1 then again 4 days later and divide the difference by 4 and that will give you your daily usage. This is the amount you need to adjust to maintain that day 1 level.
 
Hey Lorna,
That's going to work for me. Thanks to you and the others. Time to test.
Tom
 
Be sure to test your magnesium as well. Low Mg will make it difficult to maintain Ca.

How much you need to dose depends on the ammount being used by Coralline, LPS and SPS corals, Clams and Inverts. All these will use calcium.

A couple months ago, my 75 was consuming about 20ml of each part per day and now it's using 40ml per day of each. I keep the Ca at 440-460 and Dkh at 10 and Mg at about 1350.
 
you are supposed to add 1 ml per gallon of total water volume per day is basically what it boils down to by the directions..

I've just found out what my system uses a day (it has taken a lot of checking) until I found out about the right dosage for my system.
 
A ca reading of 440 is high and will be difficult to find balance with your alk. Shoot for a ca of 400(natural seawater is around 380) and an alk of about 4 meq/l . The best way to see what your tank is using is check it day 1 then again 4 days later and divide the difference by 4 and that will give you your daily usage. This is the amount you need to adjust to maintain that day 1 level.

Actually, natural seawater typically averages about 420 ppm. 380 is the lowest range it usually runs in the ocean. On the other hand, an alkalinity that high will promote low calcium solubility, making levels of 380 more typical. Levels between 380 and 450 are acceptable, assuming the test is accurate. Natural surface values for alkalinity average @ 7dKH, but somewhat higher values may be beneficial. A more reasonable amount, IMHO is to shoot for 3-3.5 meq/L or roughly 8-10 dKH. Much more doesn't really promote anything beneficial (and some document issues with higher levels). However, acceptable ranges go from 7-11 dKH
 
AquariaCentral.com