Christopher Marks Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Our next hot topic is: Dosing Calcium The need to dose calcium has become very common for more nano reef keepers. When starting out, dosing can be a very confusing thing because there are so many different methods and options. The goal of this discussion to help identify and understand the different methods for successfully dosing calcium in a nano reef. Tell us what you've tried – what methods and products worked and what did not. Or if you're looking to start dosing calcium, ask your questions here. Link to comment
coralcapers Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 if you do regular 15% weekly water changes is dosing nessisary? Link to comment
CT nano reefer Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 i thought about dosing just calcium..up until 2 weeks ago, I was dosing B-ionic daily. and i would add some kalk to my top-off water. for the past 2 weeks, i stopped dosing b-ionic, and stopped adding the kalk to my top-off water, and just started dripping 6 or 7 drops of Carib-sea's aragamilk..i can honestly say that the aragamilk has definately made a difference for the better..before with the b-ionic and kalk, my coralline algea was greenish to a dull purple.. now with the aragamilk, the coralline is a deeper purple, and with pinkish algea..its also spreading quicker i believe! Link to comment
bobioden Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I dose 15ml of B-ionic daily. When doing my weekly water change (1-2 gal), on a 15gal, I have to add 15ml of Kent Liquid Calcium and 2 tsps of Baking Soda to make up for the lose. I am using Oceanic Salt and it tests real low on alk. But since changing from IO salt I don't have to dose Mg anymore. The Oceanic salt maintain the Mg at 1380. My tank consists of a Clam, 10 SPS, 7 LPS and numerous Softies. 15g AGA 250W 10k XM MH and 2-32w Actinci Aquafuge. Link to comment
myfisharemean Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I'm gonna start to dose aragamilk or kalk soon, I have the dripper set, topping off my 10, but I have to add some kalk of somethink, lol Link to comment
lgreen Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I use seachem reef calcium once a week. Keeps my calcium above 500. dkH is constant at 9.3. A buffer may be needed if dkH is low, or lowers as a result of addition of the calcium. i recommend also a salifert calcium and salifert carbonate/alkalinity test kit. Link to comment
lgreen Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 a 15% water change per week, will provide some calcium, but may not be sufficent to maitain sps corals, lps corals, and clams who demand high calcium levels (ususally above 400 ppm) Link to comment
Gross111 Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I have been dosing once a week with reef complete, it seems to be growing corraline algea well, and has been keeping calcium levels around 440 - 460, it also appears to really be helping my feather duster grow and move around Link to comment
SDA619 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 i read alot about this preparing ur own mix with pickling lime and vinegar... can someone actually go into detail how to mix it and how much to dose how often per let say 10gal. Link to comment
doody Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Originally posted by SDA619 i read alot about this preparing ur own mix with pickling lime and vinegar... can someone actually go into detail how to mix it and how much to dose how often per let say 10gal. Yes I was wondering the same. I am getting ready to add an auto top off unit with a float switch on my 5g minibow. Since I wont be dripping it, It'll just top off the evaporated water, will the mix be different? Link to comment
mogurnda Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I mix 100-125 ml of vinegar with 2.5 gal of RO water and 6-7 tsp of kalk to make a saturated solution. It goes into my topoff reservoir for all of my makeup water. I still need to add B-Ionic 3X a week to keep up with the montipora, though. Link to comment
doody Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Any special vinigar? Is'nt there red and white kinds? Link to comment
greatwit Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 The regular white vinegar is what you want. Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Salifert All-in-one is something I am working on testing. It is calcium acetate. It also includes strontium (not thrilled about) and amino acids. However, the big plus is you maintain calcium and alkalinity. You can increase amounts based on biological demand. It is expensive for larger tanks but the small $8 bottle should last most nano reefs 6-8 months. Link to comment
CT nano reefer Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 hey mrkrispy. got a link to some info on this salifert all-in-one? Link to comment
doody Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I think liveaquaria.com has it., Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Do an "all-in-one" search in the Reef Chemistry forum for more specifics. Link to comment
donteatthenano Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 every other night i drip about 20oz of kalkwasser using a diy drip system i found on reefcentral. for a while it was a battle to keep my calcium above 400. i also do 15% weekly waterchanges. Link to comment
3gEclipseGuy Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Using a drip system, how long can your dose stay in the reservoir? I'm thinking this is the same as auto-topoff?? I'm completely new to this topic... so forgive me if I have this messed up. Or does this mean that there is a drip system going into the top off reservoir? Kind of confused here... Link to comment
kappa Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I am trying out Salifert coral calcium. To be safe with a nano, I add one cup RO water to 2ml of coral calcium, and then drip it at 1 drop per second into the tank. I currently have two monti caps. I have been using the product only 3 days ago, so I don't know any results. A 500ml bottle costs $15.57 after tax, and that is the price you pay if you pick it up at Marinedepot. That same bottle cost a lot of money at the lfs. My calcium levels droped from 460 to 320 in one week after I got the caps, but after using 2ml of Salifert, my calcium levels went up to 400mg. The good thing about the product is that is states on the label that is does not cause ionic imbalance. Link to comment
Xx_de_xX Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 I drip Kalkwasser 24/7 out of a 44 gallon container, and a 3gpd dosing pump. 44 Gallons of RO/DI water 1 3.5 oz container of Kents Kalkwasser 1 cup of white vinegar Mix overnight, start dripping the next night Lasts a little over a month. Provides all of my top off. Link to comment
Juanton80 Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 I recently setup my 20g Long and added the live rock on Friday. I used RO/DI water from the start. I bought the Calxmax two part supplement to keep my numbers up on Ca and Alk. Both are reading low, but I'm not exactly sure how to use the Calxmax. It's Part A and B, but one doesn't say which one is for which. I read a few postings about adjusting your doses, but none of these follows the label on the bottle. It looks like they suggest adding equal parts of each (and only every three days). What should I be doing? I am going to test before I add anything, but wanted to make sure that I know what to start with. Oh yeah, by the way, I am running a remora skimmer with 35 lbs of live rock. Day two and no signs of ammonia yet. I also use salifert test kits. Thanks! Link to comment
bobbyb323 Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 I have a 16 gallon bow front with zoos, mushrooms and one plate coral. I do a 15% water change weekly and all is well. Coraline algae is growing everywhere. If I was gonig to dose it would be minimal. I used Tropic Marin Bio-Calcium when I had a larger tank. Any opinion on this product? Link to comment
Danielson330 Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 In my Nanocube I use Bionic, 1 part alk, 1 part calcium. 2.5 ml of each every night before lights out. Manually added to the tank Link to comment
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