Reef nutrition

2 Part Supplements - BRS vs. Live Aquaria?

Matthew Meyer

Matthew Meyer

Supporting Member
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Looks like there is a big price difference between the two. Does anyone run Live Aquaria? It should all be the same stuff. I am currently buying from BRS but may switch.


vs.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Bulk Pharma Calcium Chloride 7 Pounds

Bulk Pharma Calcium Chloride - Ultra Pure Calcium Additive for your Reef Tank! Bulk Reef Supply 2-part additives are the perfect solution to replenish the intake of calcium and alkalinity coral consumes when it grows. Using only pharmaceutical based ingredients allows you to keep a cleaner reef...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
 
Matthew Meyer said:
Looks like there is a big price difference between the two. Does anyone run Live Aquaria? It should all be the same stuff. I am currently buying from BRS but may switch.


vs.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Bulk Pharma Calcium Chloride 7 Pounds

Bulk Pharma Calcium Chloride - Ultra Pure Calcium Additive for your Reef Tank! Bulk Reef Supply 2-part additives are the perfect solution to replenish the intake of calcium and alkalinity coral consumes when it grows. Using only pharmaceutical based ingredients allows you to keep a cleaner reef...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
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Wow-quite the disparity-I don’t use 2 part but if I did I’d consider switching over indeed.
 
I'd need to do the math to compare the concentration but it seems like it's close to the same price per material by weight.

Are you unsatisfied with the brs cacium?
 
I used to use commercial CaCl2 that came in a 50 lb bag for de-icing pavement (dowflake), so that's likely what they're using to get that lower price. Pharma grade stuff as you know has a higher purity (usually just more anhydrous), but most of the impurities here are magnesium, sodium chloride, bromine, and water since it's pretty hygroscopic. Go with one of those and it should last you a long time, just keep it in a sealed container so it doesn't turn into a brick.
 
I used deicing magnesium for a while. It obviously had impurities. I never saw a change in the tank when I switched to brs magnesium but it brought more peace of mind.
 
grizfyrfyter said:
I used deicing magnesium for a while. It obviously had impurities. I never saw a change in the tank when I switched to brs magnesium but it brought more peace of mind.
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Magflake for sure at one point had some issues with some bad impurities (ammonia) and I think it's not recommended anymore due to the lot to lot variability. You can test it yourself but if it's no good, you're stuck with 50lbs of something useless in the Bay Area lol.
 
Be careful with dowflake. About 15 years ago. I was using that stuff for a long time and my sps started dying. I couldn’t figure it out for the longest time. It turned out that the dowflake had copper in it. It was ever so small but over the years. It added up to a lot. It took me 2 years to figure it out. It’s only 97% pure so the 3% is dirty stuff.
 
If you want to try something different, I have 4 new boxes of ATI Essentials Pro 2L since I fully converted to a calcium reactor. It's very concentrated so you're not constantly mixing up and storing big batches. My 120g mature mixed reef only used 25ml of each part per day, so a 65 gallon would use approximately 15ml. 2000mL would last 4 months. Best part is it contains trace elements and magnesium so all in one.
 
CaseyP said:
If you want to try something different, I have 4 new boxes of ATI Essentials Pro 2L since I fully converted to a calcium reactor. It's very concentrated so you're not constantly mixing up and storing big batches. My 120g mature mixed reef only used 25ml of each part per day, so a 65 gallon would use approximately 15ml. 2000mL would last 4 months. Best part is it contains trace elements and magnesium so all in one.
Click to expand...
I think i have decided to just stick with whats working and not worry about the price for now. Just wondering what the difference is between aquarium Calcium Chloride
 
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