trying to raise calcium...

mrsgoose

mrsgoose

Member
Hi - I'm trying to raise the calcium levels in my 29g. Right now I have 30lbs lr, 2 inches ls and only 6 hermits and one snail. All my other parameters are normal. No ammonia or trates, pH is 8.2 and calcium was about 340. I was advised at lfs to use Turbo-Calcium, the granular form, in a mesh bag, adding 1/8 tsp at a time until levels raised to just over 400, then to maintain with I-Bionic. I started adding the turbo-calc and my leves increased to 360, but today they're back down to 300! I did do a FW top off yesterday with RO water, about 2 gallons, could that have done it? Does anyone have experience with this product? I'd like to encourage my coralline algae to spread. thanks.
 
irondog

irondog

Member
I have a 46 bow 60lbs of lr 40lbs of ls hippo tang 2 percula clowns lawnmover blenny sand sifting goby an a dansel banded coral shrimp serpent red star fish brittle star fish about 15 snails 15 hermits bulb anemone torch coral green plate coral orange an green zoo's kenya tree (alot of the branches fell off an are growing in different parts of the tank) pumping xenia small leather frag an some mushrooms canycane coral,I buy all my ro water an saltwater already made up,I do a 10gl water change every 10 days,use ro water an buy saltwater from same lfs,lighting is 150hqi 10000k 2 40watts actinicsan moon lights wetdry filter protein skimmer uv sterilizer 3 powerhead all together all together over 1000gallons an hour alot of flow in tank thats not including my return pump from wetdry
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
ph 8.0
kh 10.9
alkalinity 3.89
calcium 360
phosphates 0
magnesium 1200
temp 81
s.g 1.025
all salifert test kits
I need to raise my calcium up to around 450 an my magnesium to around 1400,i'm using seachem reef calcuim every other day an b-ionic magnesium every other day,any suggestions what else i could use to to raise both
thanks guys
 
shogun323

shogun323

Active Member
What type of salt do you use? Tropic Marin Pro as well as Reef Crystals both have a considerable amount more of Calcium in them then other salts.
 
shogun323

shogun323

Active Member
Originally Posted by mrsgoose
I started adding the turbo-calc and my leves increased to 360, but today they're back down to 300! I did do a FW top off yesterday with RO water, about 2 gallons, could that have done it?
Absolutely. by adding 2 gallons of water to a 29 gallon, you diluted it by nearly 7%. Since you have no corals in there nothing is consume alot of calcium. Also, be careful when suplementing calcium as Calicium, Alkalinity as well as Ph are all closely related. A high swing in calcium can disrupt your Ph.
Also, What is your Salinity at?
 
irondog

irondog

Member
I buy my salwater from lfs an i checked it before i added to tank an calcium was around 420 maybe all the corals are sucking up the calcium
 
fbm

fbm

Active Member
Originally Posted by scrapman
How do you test for magnesium?

Magnesium test kit.
 
fender

fender

Active Member
Alk and calcium have to stay in balance. Check both before you make changes. You need to figure out what you daily consumption is. There are numerous ways to do this but basically you need to figure out how much you are adding and how much it drops from day to day, then adjust how much you add to keep the level the same or more to increase it. You may find it is a pain to keep it up.... that is why you'll find people using two part additives, kalkwasser and/or calcium reactors on tanks with moderate to heavy consumption. I hear people all the time touting just water changes but for alk and Calcium... once you get a certain amount of coralline, clams, SPS or LPS.... you just can't keep up without supplementing.
Figure out where you are, adjust to get yourself in the chart below. Chart how much you add and monitor for a few days to see what your daily consumption is and then add that amount. Once you have it dialed in you should only have to check every once in awhile or when you add new corals.
Here is the chart for maintaining a balance.
Alkalinity__Alkalinity____Alkalinity_____Calcium
(meq/L)____(dKH)___(ppm CaCO3)__(ppm Ca++)
--0.0

[hr]
0.0

[hr]
0

[hr]
360
--0.5

[hr]
1.4

[hr]
25

[hr]
370
--1.0

[hr]
2.8

[hr]
50

[hr]
380
--1.5

[hr]
4.2

[hr]
75

[hr]
390
--2.0

[hr]
5.6

[hr]
100

[hr]
400
--2.5

[hr]
7.0

[hr]
125

[hr]
410
--3.0

[hr]
8.4

[hr]
150

[hr]
420
--3.5

[hr]
9.8

[hr]
175

[hr]
430
--4.0

[hr]
11.2

[hr]
200

[hr]
440
--4.5

[hr]
12.6

[hr]
225

[hr]
450
--5.0

[hr]
14.0

[hr]
250

[hr]
460
--5.5

[hr]
15.4

[hr]
275

[hr]
470
--6.0

[hr]
16.8

[hr]
300

[hr]
480
--6.5

[hr]
18.2

[hr]
325

[hr]
490
--7.0

[hr]
19.6

[hr]
350

[hr]
500
I recommend reading this:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
And using this to get you in balance:
http://www.kademani.com/reefchem.htm
and then this to make adjustments cheap....
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...l2004/chem.htm
 
fbm

fbm

Active Member
Originally Posted by fender
Alk and calcium have to stay in balance. Check both before you make changes. You need to figure out what you daily consumption is. There are numerous ways to do this but basically you need to figure out how much you are adding and how much it drops from day to day, then adjust how much you add to keep the level the same or more to increase it. You may find it is a pain to keep it up.... that is why you'll find people using two part additives, kalkwasser and/or calcium reactors on tanks with moderate to heavy consumption. I hear people all the time touting just water changes but for alk and Calcium... once you get a certain amount of coralline, clams, SPS or LPS.... you just can't keep up without supplementing.
Figure out where you are, adjust to get yourself in the chart below. Chart how much you add and monitor for a few days to see what your daily consumption is and then add that amount. Once you have it dialed in you should only have to check every once in awhile or when you add new corals.
Here is the chart for maintaining a balance.
Alkalinity__Alkalinity____Alkalinity_____Calcium
(meq/L)____(dKH)___(ppm CaCO3)__(ppm Ca++)
--0.0

[hr]
0.0

[hr]
0

[hr]
360
--0.5

[hr]
1.4

[hr]
25

[hr]
370
--1.0

[hr]
2.8

[hr]
50

[hr]
380
--1.5

[hr]
4.2

[hr]
75

[hr]
390
--2.0

[hr]
5.6

[hr]
100

[hr]
400
--2.5

[hr]
7.0

[hr]
125

[hr]
410
--3.0

[hr]
8.4

[hr]
150

[hr]
420
--3.5

[hr]
9.8

[hr]
175

[hr]
430
--4.0

[hr]
11.2

[hr]
200

[hr]
440
--4.5

[hr]
12.6

[hr]
225

[hr]
450
--5.0

[hr]
14.0

[hr]
250

[hr]
460
--5.5

[hr]
15.4

[hr]
275

[hr]
470
--6.0

[hr]
16.8

[hr]
300

[hr]
480
--6.5

[hr]
18.2

[hr]
325

[hr]
490
--7.0

[hr]
19.6

[hr]
350

[hr]
500
I recommend reading this:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
And using this to get you in balance:
http://www.kademani.com/reefchem.htm
and then this to make adjustments cheap....
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...l2004/chem.htm
Great links!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top