What Is The Balling Method?
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When the first Acropora appeared on the European market in the early nineties, Hans-Werner Balling, who worked at the Jura-Museum Eichstätt in charge of marine aquariums, developed the a way to supply corals with what we know today as the ‘Balling Method’. He added calcium chloride dehydrate and a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate. A byproduct of this mixture is sodium chloride (also known as salt). To counter the additional salt, Balling added ‘sodium chloride free sea salt’ as the third component to the method. Balling then joined Tropic Marin who then marketed the Balling Method to eager reef keepers.
Although this ‘third component’ is not mentioned by name in Tropic Marin® literature, in fact it’s still ambiguous today, it is widely known that magnesium chloride has several similar properties to sodium chloride, but without increasing the salt content. Coincidentally, it is also extracted from the sea. What is the Balling Method? In its simplest terms, it is the addition of (or dosing) of sodium bicarbonate/sodium carbonate, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride to meet the demands of your coral.
Tropic Marin® Original Balling Components for the Balling Method
Tropic Marin® Original Balling Components are sold as a three-part dosing program including:
Part A: Calcium chloride dehydrate
Part B: Sodium carbonate/Sodium bicarbonate
Part C: Sodium chloride free sea salt
The three parts are easily dissolved in RODI water, making ready each a ready to use solution.
What are the alternatives to the Balling Method?
Since the inception of the Balling Method, there have been many more iterations rebranded and sold by retailers, hungry to meet the needs of saltwater enthusiasts. A few of the brand name products are mentioned below:
Red Sea Reef Foundation A, B and C
Aquaforest Component 1+, 2+ and 3+ Major Elements & Minor Trace Elements.
Brightwell Aquatics Reef Code A, Code B and Magnesion
Although Brightwell Aqautics market there system as a 2-part dosing method, they still supply the third component Magnesion (magnesium) separately.
What are the Balling salts?
In the interest of saving money, you can buy unbranded products that will do exactly what the branded products offer. Each one is easily available, and super easy to prepare for dosing.
The salts you will need to purchase are:
Food Grade Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) – to maintain KH (alkalinity) levels
Food grade Sodium carbonate Anhydrous (soda ash) – to maintain KH (alkalinity) levels
The above powder forms will be mixed together.
Food grade Calcium chloride – to maintain calcium levels
Food grade Magnesium chloride – to maintain magnesium levels
Guidance on how much to purchase: As a general rule, it is better to purchase more sodium bicarbonate because maintaining alkalinity uses more product than calcium and magnesium do.
Sodium bicarbonate 3.5lbs (1588g) – this will make 3 mixtures of 5L
Sodium carbonate anhydrous 1lb (455g) – this will make 3 mixtures of 5L
Calcium chloride 5lbs (2.27kg) – this will make 1 mixture of 5L
Magnesium chloride 5lb (2.27kg) – this will make 1 mixture of 5L
ONLY BUY INGREDIENTS WITH NO ADDED EXTRAS
These balling salts are used in a variety of ways including health benefits, pickling and cheese making, and baking. What is important is that they are all 100% (nothing mixed in with it) food grade or lab grade quality.
How to prepare the Balling salts for dosing
Preparing Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Carbonate for dosing:
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Add 350g of Sodium Bicarbonate to a bowl.
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Add 150g of Sodium Carbonate to the bowl.
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Mix them together.
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Mark a water container with a 4L line & a 5L line.
Choose a food safe plastic container for this purpose.
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Add RODI water to 4L line.
The water should be hot (almost boiling) RODI water to aid the dilution.
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Add the mixture incrementally, continually mixing.
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When all of the mixture has been added, top the water up to the 5L line.
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Mix thoroughly until diluted. There should be no clumps.
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Wait for the mixture to cool down to use.
Preparing Calcium chloride for dosing:
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Add 2Kg of Calcium chloride into a bowl.
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Mark a water container with a 4L line & a 5L line.
Choose a food safe plastic container for this purpose.
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Add RODI water to 4L line.
The water can be cold or room temperature.
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Add the mixture incrementally and mix.
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When all of the mixture has been added, top the water up to the 5L line.
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Mix thoroughly until diluted. There should be no clumps.
A chemical reaction will turn the water slightly warm.
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Wait for the mixture to cool down to use.
Preparing Magnesium chloride for dosing:
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Add 2Kg of Magnesium chloride into a bowl.
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Mark a water container with a 4L line & a 5L line.
Choose a food safe plastic container for this purpose.
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Add RODI water to 4L line.
The water can be cold or room temperature.
-
Add the mixture incrementally and mix.
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When all of the mixture has been added, top the water up to the 5L line.
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Mix thoroughly until diluted. There should be no clumps.
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The mixture will remain the same temperature and can be use immediately.
What are the dosage rates for the Balling method?
Dosing rates to maintain alkalinity:
Dosage is 2.7ml per 100L (25 gallons) = 0.1dKH
Maximum daily dosage is 1.4dKH
Dosing rates to maintain calcium:
Dosage is 10ml per 100L (25 gallons) = 10ppm
Maximum daily dosage is 20ppm
Dosing rates to maintain magnesium:
Dosage is 20ml per 100L (25 gallons) = 10ppm
Maximum daily dosage is 10ppm
As a point of interest, you can leave Sodium carbonate out of the mix, using 500g of pure Sodium bicarbonate. However, I found that difficult to dissolve fully. If you do decide to do this, the dosage rate would be 3.1ml per 100L (25 gallons) = 0.1dKH.
Pure Sodium bicarbonate is also known to drive pH down to 7.8
By mixing it with Sodium Bicarbonate, you are helping to maintain the pH closer to 8.3
How to work out required daily Balling method dosing.
We will use KH consumption as an example in a 200L aquarium:
You have tested your Alkalinity on day one at 8.5dKH
Do not dose again for four days
Taking a re-test on day four gives a reading of 7.7dKH
Your total loss over a four day period: 8.5 – 7.7 = 0.8dKH
Your first step is to decide at what level you would like to maintain your KH.
For the purpose of this example you are aiming for 8.3dKH
This means that your KH level is 0.5dKH below 8.3dKH and you will need to add your Sodium Bicarbonate/Sodium Carbonate mix to raise the level to 8dKH.
Dosage rate is 2.7ml per 100L = 0.1dKH
Therefore, to raise your KH by 0.5dKH you multiply 2.7ml by 5 to give you 13.5ml, then multiply that by 2 (for your 200L aquarium). Your total dose to increase your KH to 8.3dKH is 27ml.
Now referring back to your loss over four days of 0.8dKH. Divide this by 4 days = 0.2dKH per day loss in alkalinity. Therefore, to replenish your daily loss you would need to dose 2.7ml by 2 giving you 5.4ml, multiply by 2 (for your 200L aquarium). Your total daily dose will be 10.8ml per day.
If you are having difficulty with the calculations, you can use Ultimate Reef Supplement Calculators to get you moving.
Conclusion
It does not need to be expensive to maintain the major element levels in your saltwater tank. I have been using this ‘unbranded’ method for many years and have saved many dollars in the process. The major brands do of course supply trace elements and other concoctions that I also use regularly.
References:
https://static.faunamarin.de/manuals/manual_balling-methode_eng.pdf