Been keeping SPS since 1999 and only been using b ionic with great results. People are making keeping reef tanks more difficult than it real is. I have a shop and grow and propagate all different types of corals and we use the KISS method and do ICP test every month on all systems, and we never have problems. It looks like people are just making reef tanks more complected these days.
My question is: if the pH doesn’t increase significantly, does precipitation dissolve back into solution in seawater? It’s frustrating when they provide just enough information to get a basic understanding, but when it comes to the answers that could really clarify things, that information is confidential.
It’s hardly that. It’s a very good system that works extremely well for sps corals. I moved over about 3 months ago and it’s working extremely well. Doug is a very knowledgeable person and is very good at explaining things that many folk who have been doing this for years may simply not fully under. Big whoop whoop for you Doug and frag farm ltd
People turn this hobby into rocket science when they don’t need to. Dose kalk, change water, provide enough light and flow, feed your fish a quality diet. You don’t need to make it any deeper than that. The industry wants it to be complicated, to sell you more crap. My system is FULL of mature sps colonies and a gigas clam the size of a football, I dose gallons of kalkwasser daily. I have a skimmer, a roller mat, and I dose vodka, and trace elements. I change some water every 2 weeks, sometimes monthly. This system is years old. no “death spiral”, no walls crashed into, no mega precipitation event. The same way I ran tanks 15 years ago, but with modern equipment.
Sadly, this is what happens when salesmen try to act like they understand this stuff. Any real chemist can see through the BS of the “Bolus method” and how they are twisting words and ideas to make them sound smart. Randy Holmes Farley is destroying their info on R2R with actual science
Great content, quick question is it normal while doing the bolus to see a big difference initially between your kh dose and your ca dose, mine is currently 10 to 1 kh to Ca. Thanks again.
Can you dose borh fauna bolus and kalkwasser? Primarly dosing bolus in the beginning of the photoperiod and Kalk at night?. The reason im asking is that im a current user of Bolus and yes its working wonderfully to keep the KH stable but my PH take a nose dive at night wheile not dosing anything..
If pH is dropping at night then it’s likely that your bolus dose is insufficient. Try increasing the bolus dose .. let the alk creep up short-term. Once the pH is raised then you should be able to drop the dose (slowly) and the pH should stay where it needs to be.
Raising the alkalinity from 7 to 9 dkh will only result in a pH rise of .1 Kalkwasser will be more effective at raising pH than just raising alkalinity.
Probably goes without saying but this episode and comments seems to have brought out controversy be it here or over on another forum. Bit of a bummer. Hope your day is well. Keep up the good work.
I’m getting the grey stuff from precipitation in my sand bed that I siphon out. I don’t know how to stop it since I don’t dose all I do is water changes in my nano
@ReefBum. I would love to hear your thoughts on what Doug is saying about kalk. Maybe in a future short video? How long have you been dosing kalk? And do you see the negative effects that Doug talks about in your tank? I really enjoyed this one. Doug is well spoken and knowledgeable. Sounds like he also might have a stake in the game, though. Doesn’t mean it’s not working for him. Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Again, really enjoyed this one.
How do you explain all the amazing sps systems using kalk considering what you say are the downsides? What are they doing (whether theyre aware or not) to counteract those downsides
@ReefBum yes, but is there a common thing that successful long term kalk users do that counteracts that or prevents it which would explain why they have success?
There is no doubt that there are amazing systems using kalk. There are so many variables at play that influence the success rate though. The combustion engine has proven itself, so should we just stop all innovation and development of future engineering?
@@ellisbarton2261 thats a strawman. Kalk is significantly cheaper than buying their products. Instead of gatekeeping reef keeping behind paywalls shouldnt we also teach people what they would need to do to avoid the "downsides" without having to buy premium 2 part? Ive been using kalk on my sps system for 3 years. I havnt noticed these downsides as of yet and i would hope if the company cared about keeping the most amount of people in the hobby to potentially buy their products or icps etc theyd be interested in helping people avoid downsides of other methods.
@37:18 Doug - Can you say more or share anecdote/evidence that a pH reduction is going to dissolve precipitates? Christoph from Oceamo was on Frag Garage and I think Adam asked him about this and Christoph said you are not going to see precipitates dissolve back into the water with the amount of pH reduction in a power outage.
I always think the same thing when I hear people express concern over precipitates dissolving back into the saltwater. It seems like it would take an acid to dissolve precipitates quickly. Also, Christoph is actually a chemist, so I would believe him before someone that says " something magical happens."
The answer was actually in the interview. The more deposition onto surfaces the more surface bacteria is encouraged to grow, as they have the nutrients, traces and organic compounds to feed on the precipitation. The answer is more of a biological phenomenon rather than chemistry-related. As this bacteria develops (exponentially) it is producing organic acids that further erode the surface precipitation releasing more of the precipitants.. and in certain circumstances a doom loop is formed where the amount of bacterial growth drops the pH beyond the buffering capacity of the system... here you have a pH crash, where the exponential growth of bacteria drags down the pH and overwhelms the system. Power outages are a particular danger for kalk-based systems that require constant dosing to counter-balance the pH reduction of surface bacteria, when the kalk stops there is nothing to stop the pH from dropping to dangerous levels. I have witnessed this myself in my farm and on many, many ICP clients on both sides of the pond that have experienced the same. The chemistry that is happening on the surface level is often not what you see in overall in the body of water in the tank. Many aquatic biochemists recognise these bacterial processes as it is how trace elements are recycled from oceanic deposits and there is quite a lot of academic work on this subject.
@@fragfarmltd Question for you, you spoke about adding bicarbonate as a powder at the start of the show. I have a small 200L mixed reef tank, softies and easy sps, I don't have much evaporation from, could you add as a powder instead of as a liquid?? Is this possible, used Kalk in previous systems and don't want to go back, also don't want to add large amounts of liquid. Also using miracle mud for trace elements, trying to make my experimental system as simple as possible, just need to find an easy option to stabilise my alkalinity and calcium - magnesium, currently doing water changes but this won't work when the corals take off. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Vodka dosing for nitrate control, using lanthanum for phosphate. No skimmer on system either, by choice. Cheers 👍
@@heronaquatics4661yes, you could a fauna bicarb as a powder. I used to use miracle mud back in the day and have icps that show that miracle mud won’t keep up with trace element additions, so maybe consider dosing the balling traces separately.
@@DJDorratwere you using a protein skimmer at the time?? I am convinced that they skim out many of the trace elements as well as the pollution?? Time will tell on this system but its not like what I have run in the past, not seeing much issues with carbonate demands all the frags are very small, more issues from phosphate and nitrate leaching out of my old live rock, and pests coming off new coral frags. The joys 👍
I love this dude, he explains everything so well. His understanding of the chemistry and how things react with each other is excellent!! Thank you for having him on again!!!
@@raisethereefI am so glad you are here to explain it to us. Perhaps you could start with how it is impossible for bicarb to raise pH, there are now a couple thousand reefers who would like an explanation from you how their pH issues are now fixed. It’s good to know there is someone with the answers.
@@raisethereefoh great. All the answers must be there then.. it will probably explain why all the 200,000 icps from Fauna Marin must be wrong. Thanks for letting me know.
@@DJDorratNice deflection by using big numbers to sound like you know something important. Go read the thread, understand the actual science going on, and then continue the conversation
Great sales man !
Been keeping SPS since 1999 and only been using b ionic with great results. People are making keeping reef tanks more difficult than it real is. I have a shop and grow and propagate all different types of corals and we use the KISS method and do ICP test every month on all systems, and we never have problems. It looks like people are just making reef tanks more complected these days.
My question is: if the pH doesn’t increase significantly, does precipitation dissolve back into solution in seawater?
It’s frustrating when they provide just enough information to get a basic understanding, but when it comes to the answers that could really clarify things, that information is confidential.
So, Bolus is the Balling method rebranded with a side of controversy, bashing other proven methods, and good salesmanship. Got it.
Comes with an accent too
If thats what you want to think
It’s hardly that. It’s a very good system that works extremely well for sps corals. I moved over about 3 months ago and it’s working extremely well.
Doug is a very knowledgeable person and is very good at explaining things that many folk who have been doing this for years may simply not fully under. Big whoop whoop for you Doug and frag farm ltd
@@JimboAmerican1980do you have any scientific evidence about this?
It’s not even the Balling method. The Balling method actually knows their alkalinity concentration
How many dosers do i need for the Balling Light bolus method?
People turn this hobby into rocket science when they don’t need to. Dose kalk, change water, provide enough light and flow, feed your fish a quality diet. You don’t need to make it any deeper than that. The industry wants it to be complicated, to sell you more crap.
My system is FULL of mature sps colonies and a gigas clam the size of a football, I dose gallons of kalkwasser daily. I have a skimmer, a roller mat, and I dose vodka, and trace elements. I change some water every 2 weeks, sometimes monthly.
This system is years old. no “death spiral”, no walls crashed into, no mega precipitation event. The same way I ran tanks 15 years ago, but with modern equipment.
Sadly, this is what happens when salesmen try to act like they understand this stuff. Any real chemist can see through the BS of the “Bolus method” and how they are twisting words and ideas to make them sound smart.
Randy Holmes Farley is destroying their info on R2R with actual science
I really would like to have more information about the way you dose kalk etc
Only the most advanced chemists use the word magic to describe how something works 😂
Thanks for the chat Keith. Superb content as always my man. Appreciate it.
This interview has been very helpful, thanks!
When are you going to have Dr. Randy Holmes on? I’d like him to debate this guys theory 😂
He has been asked but passed on being on the show.
13:11 modern reef also has a coral farm and icp if i am not mistaken
Great content, quick question is it normal while doing the bolus to see a big difference initially between your kh dose and your ca dose, mine is currently 10 to 1 kh to Ca.
Thanks again.
Can you dose borh fauna bolus and kalkwasser? Primarly dosing bolus in the beginning of the photoperiod and Kalk at night?. The reason im asking is that im a current user of Bolus and yes its working wonderfully to keep the KH stable but my PH take a nose dive at night wheile not dosing anything..
If pH is dropping at night then it’s likely that your bolus dose is insufficient. Try increasing the bolus dose .. let the alk creep up short-term. Once the pH is raised then you should be able to drop the dose (slowly) and the pH should stay where it needs to be.
Kalk dosing with bolus will completely ruin it.
I love kalk. I use it at night through ato with all for reef during the day. pH basically 8.4 24/7
Raising the alkalinity from 7 to 9 dkh will only result in a pH rise of .1 Kalkwasser will be more effective at raising pH than just raising alkalinity.
@@intrinsicreef I have no idea what you are talking about.. nor do you.
Probably goes without saying but this episode and comments seems to have brought out controversy be it here or over on another forum. Bit of a bummer. Hope your day is well. Keep up the good work.
I’m getting the grey stuff from precipitation in my sand bed that I siphon out. I don’t know how to stop it since I don’t dose all I do is water changes in my nano
@ReefBum. I would love to hear your thoughts on what Doug is saying about kalk. Maybe in a future short video? How long have you been dosing kalk? And do you see the negative effects that Doug talks about in your tank? I really enjoyed this one. Doug is well spoken and knowledgeable. Sounds like he also might have a stake in the game, though. Doesn’t mean it’s not working for him. Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Again, really enjoyed this one.
My issues with dosing kalk are that I have perpetually high calcium and thus there is some precipitation, which may be sucking up some traces.
You’ve been using kalk for years. Are you thinking about stopping and going to something else?
@@ReefBumhow high is your calcium to cause precipitation?
@@raisethereef 470 to 490
@ReefBum and that’s causing precipitation issues?
Doug - can you use regular bicarbonate (oven baked arms and hammer) in place of the fauna bi carb with similar results?
Baked baking soda is sodium carbonate, not sodium bicarbonate. Sodium carbonate has a high pH
How do you explain all the amazing sps systems using kalk considering what you say are the downsides? What are they doing (whether theyre aware or not) to counteract those downsides
One potential downside is precipitation, which may lead to long term issues/old tank syndrome.
@ReefBum yes, but is there a common thing that successful long term kalk users do that counteracts that or prevents it which would explain why they have success?
There is no doubt that there are amazing systems using kalk. There are so many variables at play that influence the success rate though. The combustion engine has proven itself, so should we just stop all innovation and development of future engineering?
@@ellisbarton2261 thats a strawman. Kalk is significantly cheaper than buying their products. Instead of gatekeeping reef keeping behind paywalls shouldnt we also teach people what they would need to do to avoid the "downsides" without having to buy premium 2 part?
Ive been using kalk on my sps system for 3 years. I havnt noticed these downsides as of yet and i would hope if the company cared about keeping the most amount of people in the hobby to potentially buy their products or icps etc theyd be interested in helping people avoid downsides of other methods.
@@ReefBumhow kalk could cause old tank syndrome?
Would using weekly calcium carbonate (coral snow) interfere with the Bolus Method?
You can use coral snow with this method.
Wow 😱 Can’t wait to move over and try it 👍 well said Mr Doug 😀
@37:18 Doug - Can you say more or share anecdote/evidence that a pH reduction is going to dissolve precipitates? Christoph from Oceamo was on Frag Garage and I think Adam asked him about this and Christoph said you are not going to see precipitates dissolve back into the water with the amount of pH reduction in a power outage.
I always think the same thing when I hear people express concern over precipitates dissolving back into the saltwater. It seems like it would take an acid to dissolve precipitates quickly. Also, Christoph is actually a chemist, so I would believe him before someone that says " something magical happens."
The answer was actually in the interview. The more deposition onto surfaces the more surface bacteria is encouraged to grow, as they have the nutrients, traces and organic compounds to feed on the precipitation. The answer is more of a biological phenomenon rather than chemistry-related. As this bacteria develops (exponentially) it is producing organic acids that further erode the surface precipitation releasing more of the precipitants.. and in certain circumstances a doom loop is formed where the amount of bacterial growth drops the pH beyond the buffering capacity of the system... here you have a pH crash, where the exponential growth of bacteria drags down the pH and overwhelms the system. Power outages are a particular danger for kalk-based systems that require constant dosing to counter-balance the pH reduction of surface bacteria, when the kalk stops there is nothing to stop the pH from dropping to dangerous levels. I have witnessed this myself in my farm and on many, many ICP clients on both sides of the pond that have experienced the same. The chemistry that is happening on the surface level is often not what you see in overall in the body of water in the tank. Many aquatic biochemists recognise these bacterial processes as it is how trace elements are recycled from oceanic deposits and there is quite a lot of academic work on this subject.
@@fragfarmltd Question for you, you spoke about adding bicarbonate as a powder at the start of the show. I have a small 200L mixed reef tank, softies and easy sps, I don't have much evaporation from, could you add as a powder instead of as a liquid?? Is this possible, used Kalk in previous systems and don't want to go back, also don't want to add large amounts of liquid. Also using miracle mud for trace elements, trying to make my experimental system as simple as possible, just need to find an easy option to stabilise my alkalinity and calcium - magnesium, currently doing water changes but this won't work when the corals take off. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Vodka dosing for nitrate control, using lanthanum for phosphate. No skimmer on system either, by choice. Cheers 👍
@@heronaquatics4661yes, you could a fauna bicarb as a powder. I used to use miracle mud back in the day and have icps that show that miracle mud won’t keep up with trace element additions, so maybe consider dosing the balling traces separately.
@@DJDorratwere you using a protein skimmer at the time?? I am convinced that they skim out many of the trace elements as well as the pollution?? Time will tell on this system but its not like what I have run in the past, not seeing much issues with carbonate demands all the frags are very small, more issues from phosphate and nitrate leaching out of my old live rock, and pests coming off new coral frags. The joys 👍
I love this dude, he explains everything so well. His understanding of the chemistry and how things react with each other is excellent!! Thank you for having him on again!!!
He has no understanding of the chemistry
@@raisethereefI am so glad you are here to explain it to us. Perhaps you could start with how it is impossible for bicarb to raise pH, there are now a couple thousand reefers who would like an explanation from you how their pH issues are now fixed. It’s good to know there is someone with the answers.
@@DJDorrat Lol there is an entire thread on R2R debunking all these lies. Go read those 68+ pages and then come back to chat
@@raisethereefoh great. All the answers must be there then.. it will probably explain why all the 200,000 icps from Fauna Marin must be wrong. Thanks for letting me know.
@@DJDorratNice deflection by using big numbers to sound like you know something important.
Go read the thread, understand the actual science going on, and then continue the conversation