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8/8/04 - Dosing Calcium


Christopher Marks

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Christopher Marks

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.

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CT nano reefer

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!

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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.

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myfisharemean

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

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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.

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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)

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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

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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donteatthenano

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.

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3gEclipseGuy

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...

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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?

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