Coral Maternity in Portugal :: Maternidade do Coral em Portugal

BALLING METHOD - CORAL MATERNITY VERSION

Hans-Werner Balling visiting the Coral Maternity

The Balling Mathod

The Balling method was created by Hans - Werner Balling and published in German magazines in 1994.

This method was developed to overcome some difficulties in stabilizing and maintaining levels of calcium, carbonates, magnesium, amino acids and trace elements in reef aquariums.

With the presentation of their work, Balling has become a renowned name in the four corners of the world and the reef aquariums lived a tremendous development.

One of the virtues of the Balling method is to simplify the setup of reef tanks and dispensing equipment paraphernalia associated with the calcium reactor, such as the CO2 tank, gearbox, solenoid, pH probe, pH meter, pH controller, feeder pump, etc... With this method, the hobbyist reef started to require only three containers for storing different solutions and respective metering pumps!

Balling Light

The Classic Balling Method as it was conceived by the author Hans-Werner Balling, is characterized by rigor station for weighing and dosing of minerals and the use of salt - free of sodium chloride to prevent ionic imbalances. Few companies bet on salt - free of sodium chloride and Tropic Marine is currently one of the few companies that keep it on the market.

In 2009, the German Claude Schuhmacher, owner of Wild Fauna Marin made changes to the method and developed the Classic Balling Light Method. This method is characterized by leaving out the salt free of sodium chloride to realize Partial Water changes (10%) weekly to alleviate the problem of ionic imbalance and by using of heavy metals along with a complex of strontium/barium added to calcium chloride container and also by the addition of another complex of iodine/magnesium fluoride to the container.

This is by far the most usedmethod in Europe and the rest of the world method.

The Balling method as used in the Maternity Coral

Machado de Sousa began to use the Classic Balling Method two years after it was presented to the world by Hans-Werner Balling, and became his follower until presented the Fauna Marin Balling Light Method.

From 2007 Machado de Sousa failed to follow rigorously the Balling Light Method and began to introduce some changes to the additives used in their tanks, partly forced by consumptions and high costs of some additives such as heavy metals and other complexes.

Following the changes that were introduced, Machado de Sousa reached his own prepared called SUPREME COMPLEX, which consists of three parts: Part A, Part B and Part C. These solutions are added separately and in the areas of highest current to avoid reactions with each other.

The three parts of SUPREME COMPLEX contain the heavy metals necessary for maintaining healthy reef aquariums, and also include in its complex composition of strontium, barium, iodine and fluorine, popularized by Fauna Marine. These solutions were designed to be used separately and in parallel with Balling salts. This product is used in the Coral Maternity for long time and with good results.

Regarding Balling salts , particularly calcium chloride , sodium bicarbonate , magnesium chloride (Mg 1) and magnesium sulfate (Mg 2) Machado de Sousa has used its own minerals, now available on the market with CORAL MATERNITY ® brand , characterized by its high purity.

Differences between the Balling Light Method and the procedurs used in the CoralMaternity

The Balling Method, such is used in the Maternity Coral, differs from the traditional Balling Light Method in the following aspects :

To the calcium chloride container is not added heavy metal complex + strontium and barium marketed by Fauna Marin;
To the magnesium container is not added complex of iodine and fluorine;
As mentioned above, heavy metals and other complexes of iodine / fluoride and strontium / barium are added to the tanks via SUPREME COMPLEX, a branded product of CORAL MATERNITY® ;
Through SUPREME COMPLEX another product designed by Life Booster is added, witch is an organic product that favors the bioavailability of trace elements and encourages the development of the biology of reef aquariums.

To meet the daily requirements of calcium, carbonates and magnesium in hits system, Machado de Sousa also uses, continuously, and in parallel, the calcium reactor Deltec PF1001 (sized for aquariums up to 1,000 liters).