Question on two part mixes

[Mando77]

Has anyone done DIY two part? Such as buying and using food grade say vs using BRS powder. Seems that you could save a lot of money but worry about trying something I haven’t done before that’s not geared for aquarium. 
 

on Amazon for instance they sell Calcium Chloride and Soda Ash much cheaper than BRS. 

[epleeds]

I haven’t done the two part. However I reached out to Randy Holmes Farley, the guru on R2R about the nitrate and phosphate dosing using food grade. Way way way cheaper than the neo nitrate and neo phos. There is a lot of info on the R2R pages about the 2 part stuff as well. 
 

I personally use all 4 reef right now. 

[ReefdUp]

I did for about ten years, especially in the "old days" when there wasn't much accessible, and I didn't have a nickel to my name. Baked my own baking soda, bought snow melt in pallets, bought epsom salts in bulk, etc. 

 

Nowadays, I use BRS in bulk. I value my time a lot, and the convenience was worth it for me. I haven't done a recent cost comparison, but I'm happy with the known quality versus risk in finding new suppliers and all.

[Mando77]

The main difference through my research is food grade vs pharmaceutical grade. BRS is going to mix better because it is a higher grade. You really have to check labels to make sure there are no additives. But I believe if it says 100% soda ash and that it’s food grade it works the same just mixes a bit differently. If it’s 1/4 the price or greater then it’s a huge savings. BRS has built their empire on something this simple. Basically charging 4x the amount, but kudos to them. Because nobody else doing it. They do have the best two part mix in my opinion, but there are cheaper options. 
 

I’m just curious if anyone is or has done the DIY. I think there are much better options to buy as to 10-15 years ago. 
 

Another option would be to do a group buy. Buy 50 pound 100% food grade bags and divide. Would be dirt cheap. 

[Gatortailale]

BRS got its start many many years ago by sourcing similar grade chemicals and filter media, and then selling them bulk at a cheap rate.  I haven't kept up with prices on their stuff over the years, but seems like it has crept up to closer to retail products like ESV, Brightwell, TLF, Red Sea. 

 

I've pretty much have stuck to using ESV products as my personal choice.  I like results I get; and Joe at Long Island & his 20,000 reef uses ESV products as my reason to stick with it, haha.  

[ReefdUp]

4 hours ago, epleeds said:

I haven’t done the two part. However I reached out to Randy Holmes Farley, the guru on R2R about the nitrate and phosphate dosing using food grade. Way way way cheaper than the neo nitrate and neo phos. There is a lot of info on the R2R pages about the 2 part stuff as well. 
 

I personally use all 4 reef right now. 

 

Ah, yes, I'm still making my own nitrate mix with lab-grade sodium nitrate. When dosing 50ml per day of a solution, it adds up quickly. I still use Neo-Phos since I only use a few ml on occasion. It would take a lifetime to use a DIY solution at the equivalent cost.

[ranger]

You can pk up at any walmart a 13 lb bag of baking soda in the pool area for cheap......bake it...your done.

Then use brs for your calcium.....i have used prestone driveway an other cal diy with no problems but try to

 use the brs stuff if i have the money.