I have heard from a few LFS that I need a buffer and calcium additive. I picked up the B-Ionic but I am not to sure what it is supposed to do. Can someone please help by telling me what it is for.

Also the bottle says to add it daily. This seams a little much but I don't know. Can someone please help me out and just tell me how offten I should add this to a 29 gal tank.

The tank has 3 small soft corals, 3 small snails and one sally white foot.

Thanks
bc

B-Ionic is used to help maintain your calcium and alk levels and in order to do that you will need to test for calcium and alk to determin the amount that is needed. I hate to say this but there are much cheaper ways to do this like for alk you can use baking soda for calcium you can use peleadow and for mag you can use mag flake all 3 of these must be in line for hard coral growth. How often and how much water are you changing when you do water changes and what kind of salt are you useing.

I haven't done a water change but i was planning on doing about 5 gals per water change. The water I am using right now is a premix from the LFS. They say that the scrips aquarium uses the same stuff. I am planning on mixing my own after this start up.

The tank has been cycling for about a week now and everything is working great. I haven't seen the spikes yet so that is what I added a few very hardy (or so I am told) corals, snails and the crab to help jump start.

I hope I haven't messed it up yet.

BC

keep checking your levels for another week. you might see a spike next week sometime. usually takes 2 weeks before ammonia/nitrites to start working themselves into the tank.
wouldn't recommend adding any more critters into the tank until spikes are all gone (2 weeks or so)

and i've had good experience adding the 2 part calc solution 3 times a week. since you only have soft corals (not hard corals) this routine should work well.

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I have used ESV's Bi-Ionic in the past. I found it to be a great product. A caveat- be sure to watch your pH while using it, but you should be doing that already Here's a blurb on it:

The E.S.V. B-Ionic Calcium Buffer is the original, unique, easy to use, two-component liquid supplement system. When using equal volumes of each component, the aquarist can easily maintain calcium and alkalinity levels with no mixing of powders, disruption of ionic balance, or addition of organic chemicals. In addition to supplying highly concentrated calcium and carbonate alkalinity required for calcification, B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System also provides all other important major, minor, and trace elements in the proper ratios to duplicate the composition of synthetic seawater. As a result, the B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System will help restore inorganic ions lost from protein skimming and help maintain the ionic balance of the aquarium water.

The alternatives are to use kalkwasser or a calcium reactor. If you are going with soft corals only, you really shouldn't have to worry about the latter 2 options.

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You didn't say how big of a tank? And what are your plans on corals? Staying with softies or are you planning on upgrading once the tank is established. I would suggest staying with softies for a while to get the kinks out.

IF you are just doing soft corals you probably won't have to worry much about calcium and alkalinity. Because those corals don't require much calcium or carbonate normal levels should be maintained with normal water changes.

[quote=Matthew;10604]You didn't say how big of a tank? QUOTE]




He said its a 29 gal. If only doing soft corals then you should be ok with just regular water changes.

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[quote=maxheadroom;10624]1+

You should always test your levels before adding anything including calcium supplements. When adding B-Ionic btw, wait about 45 minutes after dosing Part-A before dosing Part-B

If using a quality salt mix, thats what I was thinking too.

Why is this?

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Yeah why is this??

It's been awhile and the poster never answered the why question... I've been using B-Ionic for years now and I've always done the doses back to back. The one thing I will add it's best to add it after lights out or before they come on because your PH. will hit the roof. I have seen mine go as high as 9.02 but it comes right back down to 8.2 or 8.3 in a matter of minutes.

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I think you should google dr randy holmes_farley's diy 2 part and read the article.

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I have Bob... And the diy two part is not a bad idea, my only problem is with me running a skimmer I deplete trace elements and minerals. With B-Ionic I don't have that worry. Two part may be cheaper but for overall health I find this is the best way to go.

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If It Is To Be It's Up To Me!!!
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perhaps experts (like you ) can chime in here.

I find this very hard to believe and actually believe diy two part and b-ionic are very similiar.


my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

They are to a point Bob... They both do the main job well, keep your Cal. & Alk in line. I find I can grow coral that a friend mine has trouble keeping. Our systems are basically the same( his is 90gal. mine 75gal.) just about the same light set up(400wattMH with 14k reflux bulbs 220watt vho super actinic ) and the same flow( MP40 vortech) and we both use an additional carbon source his has been running almost 2 years longer but they are both SPS' tanks. He uses a variation of the diy 2 part and I use B-Ionic and I have overall better color and faster growth with the same type of coral.

We put alot of money into these systems and I'm all for saving a buck here and there. The bottom line is I don't see these results with a diy two part.

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I use the B-Ionic 2 part as well, I usually check my tank pH lvls in the mornings waiting for my coffee to brew, then add buffer/supplements if necessary... sometimes just a 2-3 day dosing is all that's required... I do a 25% water-change every 2 weeks which tends to keep things much easier, but the key is maintaining the pH lvls... Stop using and maintain when you hit target pH

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55gal ~ Freshwater
90gal ~ Saltwater
100gal ~ ?

My PH stays between 8.2 & 8.4 for the most part the only time it move is when I add the Alk part of the two part. Like stated above it goes up but comes right back down. My tank is like a junkie needing a fix I have to dose everyday to keep my levels on target cal. 450 alk. 9.6 and I do about 15% water change weekly. If I miss a day my cal drops to about 400 & alk goes down to the low 7's.

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Do you use Purple Up or anything like that?

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55gal ~ Freshwater
90gal ~ Saltwater
100gal ~ ?