help with calcium

[nickyblase]

Hi all - need some help. Just tested calcium in my 20G this morning, and it's down to 350!!! 2 Days ago it was 390, and I added parts 1 and 2 of B-Ionic (the recommended starting dosage per the instructions). I just dosed again this morning (just the calcium, not the alk), and have not yet re-tested. How long should I wait to re-test? Can I do it right after I dose, or should I wait 10 minutes? 10 hours?

How much calcium can I add at one time? I am afraid that such low numbers are going to kill my corals. My brain already looks a little less bright green.

Is there such a thing as a cheap calcium reactor? I don't really want to spend a lot of money on one for just a 20 gallon, but am interested in automating the calcium somehow.

 

[gordonzoo]

I always test right before I do my next additive. After time you will know how much and how often you need to add and can halve the testing. I would imaging you can test an hr after the additive to let it stabilize till you tune in to the dosing. I?m doing the cheep method of dosing with Dowflake and washing/baking soda. One dose of Calcium in the morning and a dose of washing/baking soda in the evening. I need to do Magnesium also but cannot find where to order a bag. So far all is looking good. As far as the Calc reactor I?m looking into building my own to cut costs and make the tank more self-sufficient. I?m watching this link closely as there are a few novel ideas that make for a nice low cast calc reactor. Read the entire link as the initial design becomes improved with suggestions and I have a few ideas of my own.Reef Central do it your self Calc Reactor
Rich

 

[Liam]

Don't worry about values in that range your corals will be fine.
As regards to bionic,that is more to sustain levels once you have them in the ballpark.I would recommend a a calcium chloride based additive instead of calcium hydroxide.Something like turbo calcium will get you back over 400,go easy with it though and bear in mind it is not for long tem use because it can alter the bionic ratio of you water,once you get back where you want go back to bionic dosing.Should not take much in a tank your size.
HTH,Liam.

 

[nickyblase]

thanks for the tip Liam - I will definitely grab some of that turbo calcium, and will also check out that link Rich - let me know if you come up with a great reactor invention that you want to share!

Laurie

 

[nickyblase]

By the way - does anyone have any idea why my brain might be losing color? Here's a pic. Not very good quality, so I am not sure if you can see what I mean. There is some rusty-orange color in the flesh. There was some of that when I bought it, but it seems to be a little more pronounced.

 

[NateHanson]

That calcium range is fine. Test your Alk though. I think bad alk levels can be more stressful to corals.

I think the best way to automate your ca/alk dosing for very little money is to drip saturated kalkwasser for all your freshwater top-off. You can use pickling lime, or kalk powder from a LFS. about 2 teaspoons per gallon of water. Do a search for kalk doser or kalk dripper, and look in the "DIY Project Gallery" to see pictures of how to put together a dripper.

Nate

 

[nickyblase]

Thanks Nate - I will check it out. I thought for some reason the only way to use Kalk was to buy an expensive contraption.

My alk (I think) is okay - it's pretty consistently at 9.

 

[dpnshnks]

Are your lights getting old and worn out? Maybe not the same PAR values or spectrum they started out as, especially if this has been a slow process.

Eric

 

[nickyblase]

the lights are brand new. The LFS probably had halides on it, but I've got approx 5 watts per gallon on the tank. Is it going to die??

 

[aha24]

My calcium is at 300ppm I dont have any corals yet but would like to start adding some what would people recomend for adding to bring it up?

Adam

 

[gordonzoo]

Without a Calc reactor you could either use kalkwasser (pickling lime) or Dow Flake (calcium chloride).

 

[Moe_K]

You can also buy a product like Kent's Liquid Calcium or Seachem's Reef Complete.
These are just calcium chloride solutions - which is what you'd make with Dowflake.
Might be eaiser to find than Dowflake, although they're the more expensive route.

BTW: A calcium reactor and kalkwasser both deliver a balanced calcium and carbonate dose (we measure carbonate as alkalinity). They're probably not a good way to raise just calcium.

 

[aha24]

ya I dont want to raise my ph it about 8.4 now

 

[Moe_K]

Are your lights getting old and worn out? Maybe not the same PAR values or spectrum they started out as, especially if this has been a slow process.

Eric

What size tank do you have (height is the important measure here) and what stule lights are you running?
Did you measure alkalinity? That's my guess.

 

[gordonzoo]

I dose a spoon full of dowflake in the morn for Calc and a spoonful of 3:1 washing soda/baking soda for the alk in my 90gal. My parameters are 425 calcium and 9 DHK alkalinity. Ph is fluxulating 8.0 to 8.3. The ultimate set it and forget it is the Calc reactor. I will be building one this summer.

 

[denvig]

You may also find this Reef Chemistry Calculator helpfull
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

 

[this is me]

To me, calcium is much easier to maintain than alkinity, When I didnt have a reactor, I usually dose 100ml of each part of bionic. The calcium remains at 440-450 while alkilinity is 8-12.
For this reason, I dont usually test for calcium, but I do test my alk every 3-4 days.
On a 20gal, I think you better off dosing kalk.

 

[dharmajedi]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

this article and the calculator mentioned above work real well together i got my calcium from 220-460 real quick with them

 

[clamm]

the easiest way to deal with this for me is do add bionic until my alk and calcium are where I want and then use a reactor to maintain it. Not too difficult but I have to check it 2 times a week while still adding coral and tweaking it.