Originally posted by jzensky:
Hi, I am in the process of purchasing some corals for my tank and i have a few questions. I have done a ton of reading and it seems that i am sort of on track. I have on hold a green star polup. from what I have read this seems to be very easy to maintain. My major question is about calcium,I bought some calcium from my local pet shop and i am very confused about the proper way of adding it. Every other set of directions for additives has been very simple. How do i add the calcium, directly to the tank, with fresh water, with the salt water? AGH, the directions are very vague as to how much to add and how. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Calcium isn't the easiest part of saltwater tanks I can assure you. It depends on what method you have chosen to add. To me it sounds like you might have something similar to what I do, a powder mix. I use Kent Marine Kalwasser mix. If you are required to add with water, then just add about a tablespoon per gallon of filtered (reverse osmosis) water, with or without salt. I usually use just the fresh filtered water in an old milk jug. Then, let it sit overnight and strain about half a gallon through a rag to avoid getting the solid calcium in the tank. Add the other half of the gallon a couple days later, but never mix more than you can use in about four days.
There are other ways to add calcium. You can just buy they liquid supplements such as Reef complete. The biggest trick is knowing how much to add, and for that I strongly recommend picking up a calcium test kit. The kit will explain the level your calcium should be at. Good luck!
p.s. Yes, a green star polup is a good first choice.
