raising calcium?

gypsie32

Member
Just wondering what products you all use to raise your calcium? Mine has been low and the product i am using is not working. Before i waste anymore money on products i figured i would see what you all are using and if it really works! any input would be great!
 

effloresce

Member
what is your calcium.
when you raise Cal you must also adjust your Alk. Alot of people use B-ionic, BI(B-ionic) comes in 2 parts A & B, A is for adjusting calcium, B is for adjusting the alk to the same lvl of calcium, so if you add the sma eamount of part A & B your cal/alk will be in line....
But if you dont have SPS corals (small polyped stoney) then you have something wronge with your magnessium, SPS corals make up a skelton of Calcium carbonate, so they suck your calcium out of the water which makes you have to constantly adjust it.
If you have SPS or lots of LPS -
Buy B-ionic and keep your cal/alk lvl in range
At this site http://www.reefnerds.com/ChemPlot/ChemPlot.html there is a java programe that you can log your Cal/Alk lvl in and see if they are in range of natural water.
If you dont have SPS or lots of LPS -
Go to your LFS and have them test your magnessium/or you can buy your own kit
Mag should be around 1300.
when i was starting off i had a real prob with my mag, it was around 700, i was using instant ocean salt, i did many water changes 20% 30% even a 70% when i was desperate (mind you i had no corals, just some fish) and it when up a tiny but!
then i switched to Oceanic salt and now its perfect!
Sorry if i made my post sound like you where stupid, but you realy didnt give enough info on your tank.
1. How old is you tank?
2. What corals do you have?
3. What salt do you use?
4. How often do you do water changes?
5. How high is your salinity?
 

6stokes

Member
The addition of kalkwasser can also deplete your magnesium levels. By the way, if you didn't understand what Effloresce meant about the magnesium, if it's not at proper levels, then you won't be able to increase your calcium levels.
 

gypsie32

Member
I have a 90 gal tank that is a little over a year old. It has been doing great tons of purple coraline..I have soft corals only and i have always used instant ocean salt. I have a salifert ca test kit but sometimes its hard to get a correct reading...it says its about 200..i noticed alot of my purple coraline is turning white.So i am new to adding calcium have never done it in the 15 mos i have had the tank up and running...its always done good on its own...just wanted to basically know if one cal product is better then the others...
 

bang guy

Moderator
In my opinion you either have an imbalance between Calcium and bi-carbonate or your magnesium level is really low.
 

6stokes

Member
Just an FYI on the Instant Ocean salt. Before I had a magnesium test kit I called the manufacture of this product since I use it and was curious about the levels they use. They stated if I used it a full strength, then it would have the same level as NSW. Well I have a test kit now and I checked it. They were correct. It tests out fine. So, Effloresce action of switching salts must be just coincidence.
 
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