Balling lite set-up.

[pBa]

Just a little breakdown for anyone starting the Balling-lite system.

When mixed correctly, you will get the following concentrations of salts per litre of RO water:



Ca: 400g/ litre = 2.5ml/gram

Mg: 400g/litre = 2.5ml/gram

kH: 100g/ litre= 10ml/gram



From the balling calculators, this then translates into the following:



Ca: 1 ppm = 0.9175ml/ 100 litres tank water

Mg: 1ppm = 2.09ml/ 100 litres tank water

kH: 0.1kH = 3.052ml/ 100 litres of tank water







Ca: 1 ppm = 0.9ml/ 100 litres tank water

Mg: 1ppm = 2.1ml/ 100 litres tank water

kH: 0.1kH = 3.1ml/ 100 litres of tank water



This now makes it very simple to figure out how much to dose!!!



First, you need to determine your tanks uptake of Ca, Mg and kH. Do not add any Ca, Mg or kH supplements whilst you are doing this, or perform a water change!!



Take an initial measurement of these 3 parameters on Day 1.



Then several days later, measure these 3 parameters again. Note that if you only have a small loss per day, the variability of the test kits you use could have an effect on your estimated loss per day, and you may need to measure over a longer period. (eg. Mg test kit has an accuracy of approx 20ppm, so just measuring the same water again and again, could produce a result +/- 20ppm, without any loss!)



You should now have 2 measurements to determine your loss per day.



As an example, assuming a 500 litre tank:

Day 1: Ca = 450ppm, Mg = 1200ppm, kH = 8



Second Measurement 2 days later:

Ca = 430ppm, Mg = 1180ppm, kH = 7



So, loss over 2 days is as follows:

Ca = 450 – 430ppm = 20ppm

Mg = 1200 – 1180ppm = 20ppm

kH = 8 – 7 = 1kH



To calculate daily loss:

Ca = 20ppm/ 2days = 10ppm/day

Mg = 20ppm/ 2 days = 10ppm/day

kH = 1kH/ 2days = 0.5kH/day



From above:

Ca: 1 ppm = 0.9ml/ 100 litres tank water

Mg: 1ppm = 2.1ml/ 100 litres tank water

kH: 0.1kH = 3.1ml/ 100 litres of tank water



To calculate your daily dose:

Ca: 0.9ml x 5 (tank volume/100litres) x 10 (daily loss from above) = 45ml/day

Mg: 2.1ml x 5 (tank volume/100litres) x 10 (daily loss from above) = 105ml/day

kH = 3.1ml x 5 (tank volume/100litres) x 5 (daily loss from above) = 77.5ml/day





This will enable you to “focus in” on your target parameters, and with small adjustments over a few weeks, you should be able to maintain your parameters at the desired level.



And that’s it!!! Hope this helps anyone that has struggled with balling light!!

[Siobhan]

Thanks for that! I am seriously considering going down the balling route as I vodka dose at the moment and that causes my ph to drop lower than I would like, my KH also likes to swing a bit so Im hoping the balling lite will sort it out....
great to get the dosage rates in easy to understand lingo! I aint no scientist need all the help I can get
Fair play to you for sharing
Siobhan

[pBa]

Cheers siobhan , More vodka to drink at the weekends now . :

[essox]

Thanks for that pBa that's just what I need I just got my dosing pump unit the other day going to set it up over the next few days

[pBa]

Thanks for that pBa that's just what I need I just got my dosing pump unit the other day going to set it up over the next few days

And thanks to robbiereef , Billyocean , and a few others for given links and info on the subject , as we know starting the balling-lite from scratch can be a bit of a head-scratcher.

Cheers lads.

[darrenmorris]

does the calculator work well for you?

[pBa]

does the calculator work well for you?

If your talking bout the Fxm calculator , its probably a bit early to tell yet as iv only set up the SA doser recently , maybe after a few months of use id be able to give a proper answer to the Q.
Looks good though.

[darrenmorris]

Im going to give it a try. still fiddling about with my doser.

[essox]

I have my balling unit set up but does anyone else get a problem with the alk line getting blocked at the tip of the pipe from the alk turning white at the tip?

[silverdollar]

This does happen but should not happen quicky,make sure the alk is mixed properly,allway check the dosing unit daily to ensure no tube is blocked and all are connected properly as i once had 400ml of alk pumped all over the cabonet as i never noticed it had come loose

[essox]

Thanks Paul yea it's mix right well red sea mixed it ha I just set it up over the last 2 days and wanted to use up the last of my red sea stuff so it's in 500ml bottle form so il make a mix of cal alk and mag tomorrow and replace the red sea with my new stuff

[pBa]

Yea as paul said , make sure you mix the alk well with hot ro .
Id keep the pipe in the container about 2 or 3 mm off the bottom so that it doesnt suck up any granules that didnt mix well and resides on the bottom of the container.

[essox]

Would it be a good idea to put the tip of the alk pipe from the balling unit in my sump water to stop it from blocking the pipe?

[essox]

It's ok I tried it doesnt work just sucks the alk from the bottle