advanced questions, for me anyway

[trillyen]

what is, and how can you tell if you have calcium carbonate build up on heaters or something
will it build up on titanium heaters or glass heaters???
will the kent turbo cal buffer mess with ANY thing else if raised over a 5 to 6 day period, i know you said you can safely add it but i just wanna make sure cause ill be getting some this weekend!!!
basically a kalk just keeps your cal, and alk levels as they are, and dosent cause your mag, or your ph to swing either correct
a 2 part system is kalk correct???
and the corals intake bicarb and then turn it into carb, that produce a cal carb skelton right
so i dont understand why my cal level is soo low if my alk level is like 196 ppm, which is right at normal conditions
since my alk is basically what the bi carb is made up of is it possible that my corals are getting enough intake, but for some reason the magnesium molecules are forming crystals on my calcium ions, causing them to go neutral, or to deplete???
could this be the cause??
if so the kent turbo should do the trick correct???

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by trillyen
what is, and how can you tell if you have calcium carbonate build up on heaters or something
will it build up on titanium heaters or glass heaters???
You might have low magnesium. With low Mg, I think calcium will first precipitate on any hot object such as heater or pump.
Originally Posted by trillyen
basically a kalk just keeps your cal, and alk levels as they are, and dosent cause your mag, or your ph to swing either correct
a 2 part system is kalk correct???
Kalk adds calcium and alkalinity. It does increase pH because it uses CO2 during the reaction from kalk -> calcium bicarbonate. Magnesium does not swing. Narrow pH swing is normal. Wider pH swing occurs when your alk level is low.
2 Parts is not kalk.
Kalk = Ca(OH)2
Calcium part of 2 parts = CaCl2 - Calcium Chloride
Alk part of 2 parts = NaHCO3 - Sodium Bicarbonate
Originally Posted by trillyen
and the corals intake bicarb and then turn it into carb, that produce a cal carb skelton right
Right on
Originally Posted by trillyen
since my alk is basically what the bi carb is made up of is it possible that my corals are getting enough intake, but for some reason the magnesium molecules are forming crystals on my calcium ions, causing them to go neutral, or to deplete???
could this be the cause??
if so the kent turbo should do the trick correct???
Post your Ca, Mg, and Alk readings. Kent Turbo Calcium is good if you just want to raise Calcium.

 

[sjimmyh]

Money really covered most of your questions.
You asked what calcium carbonate is. I am assuming you want to know what it looks like, since it is just as its name implies... calcium carbonate. Its a white hard substance that can build up on tank walls, pumps, etc. It looks very similiar to what it looks like when coralline algae dies and leaves a white hard film behind. Not exactly, but was trying to give you a picture in your head that would be similiar. They are made of the same thing though as the residue that coralline would leave behind IS calcium carbonate. The formation is different though and would appear differently as a result. I find that most of the calcium carbonate that precipitates in my tank from kalkwasser is like a very fine grain sand on the bottom of the sump.
There are debates on Kalkwasser and depletion of Magnesium. I, personnally, think it will lower Magnesium over time. At any rate, any depletion of Magnesium in the tank due to kalkwasser use would be very slow, IMO.
Most low calcium concentrations in tanks start with using a salt that is low in calcium. Using a salt that is low in calcium, could give you an alkalinity that is optimum still. This could be what you are experiencing when you say your alkalinity is right where it should be while calcium is still low. Salts like Oceanic are known to be very high in calcium.
Like money said, you could have low Mg in the tank water. This effects the solubility of Calcium. In essence, if Mg is too low, your water will not disolve enough calcium to reach the levels you want... even if you add calcium. Low Mg is usually attributed, like a low calcium, to the brand of salt you use.
Turbo calcium is Calcium Chloride. Adding this, you will increase calcium with very little effect on anything else in the tank, as long as you don't overdose. Money already explained what Kalk and 2 part is.

 

[trillyen]

hey thanks for the help guys, it really does help
i gotta get a mag test kit real soon
if i get my cal under control, will that inturn help my mag???
or do i have to get my mag up 1st
i may need to change my salts
its ok to just switch correct???
i know i should try to measure and see what all the params are though before i change the water
WHAT SHOULD I DO???
my sps looks great ive dosed with the kent marine concentrated cal 2 days now, and my cal is still low so today i raise the dose 1/4 of a tbls spoon
any advice???
thanks guys!!!!

 

[trillyen]

huh???

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by trillyen
if i get my cal under control, will that inturn help my mag???
or do i have to get my mag up 1st
Raise mag level to ~1300 ppm first.
Originally Posted by trillyen
i may need to change my salts
its ok to just switch correct???
Yes, it is okay to switch. Just do a normal 10%-20% water change.

 

[trillyen]

thanks money man, i gotta save up some money, and buy some mag, and a mag test kit
thanks for the help!!!