syaeger Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 I'm confused about the calcium levels in my tank. I purchased Kent Tech CB, Part A & B, to raise the calcium level. The calcium level was 260 before dosing. I've been dosing 1/2 tsp (recommended dose) daily for the past four days. My calcium level has only risen to 280. At the rate I'm going, it will take forever to reach 400. Is this normal? Is the test kit I'm using a good brand (Hagen, Nutrafin)? Should I increase the daily dose? Would increasing the dose be safe for my livestock? Tank Specs: 10 Gal Aquatec 5-15 HOB Filter Penguin 550 PH 50 W Ebo-Jager Heater Coralife 96 W PC Quad Unit 10 lbs LR Live Sand/DSB Water Param: Temp: 78F SG: 1.023 PH: 8.2 AM: 0 NI: 0 NA: 0 CA: 280 Livestock: 1 Ocellaris Clownfish 1 Bicolor Pseudochromis 1 Cleaner Shrimp 1 Red-Spotted Star Fish 1 Red-leg Hermit 1 Blue-leg Hermit 8 Astrea Snails 2 Bumble Bee Snails 2 Emerald Crabs Pipe Organ Coral Devil's Hand Leather Coral Red Mushroom Coral Horn Coral Button Polyps Link to comment
tinyreef Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 actually it should take a good amount of time as you already have livestock utilizing the ca you're adding. you're basically feeding the system and it's using some of the input for growth and bio-functions. if it was a bare system then you should top out fairly quickly. not a big fan of the kent two-parter altho i use almost everything else they make. X) just have patience and you'll reach an optimum ca level. the fact that you were able to discern a change within such a short time is actually pretty good. (4-days is really not a lot of time for something good to occur in. on the other hand, 4-minutes is just enough time for something bad to occur in) Link to comment
Physh1 Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 What is your magnesium and alkalinity values? If they are off it could and will impede calcium levels. Here is a small little tech thing I wrote that can help a bit: http://www.californiareefs.com/tanktechchemistry.htm Tinyreef is on w/ it taking a while to raise. I've never used the A&B parts myself and have had better luck w/ Seachem stuff personally. Just give it some time and it'll raise if you alk and mag levels are ok. Cameron Link to comment
donteatthenano Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 syaeger: How long have you had your tank established and do you have a picture? Link to comment
syaeger Posted August 11, 2003 Author Share Posted August 11, 2003 Thanks for the info! I started up my tank in June 2003. It took about three weeks to cycle. I started adding livestock the first week of July. I don't have test kits for magnesium and alkalinity. What kits do you recommend? What suppliments do you recommend to adjust magnesium and alkalinity levels? Tank Specs: 10 Gal Aquatec 5-15 HOB Filter Penguin 550 PH 50 W Ebo-Jager Heater Coralife 96 W PC Quad Unit 10 lbs LR Live Sand/DSB Water Param: Temp: 78F SG: 1.023 PH: 8.2 AM: 0 NI: 0 NA: 0 CA: 280 Livestock: 1 Ocellaris Clownfish 1 Bicolor Pseudochromis 1 Cleaner Shrimp 1 Red-Spotted Star Fish 1 Red-leg Hermit 1 Blue-leg Hermit 8 Astrea Snails 2 Bumble Bee Snails 2 Emerald Crabs Pipe Organ Coral Devil's Hand Leather Coral Red Mushroom Coral Horn Coral Button Polyps Link to comment
Deimos Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 The two-part additives tweak Alkalinity and Calcium. The first part is usually the ALK supplement..the second is the Ca. My suggestion would be to increase the dose slightly everday until you reach the desired levels (3.0-4.0 meq/L of ALK and 450+ ppm of Ca). Testing for ALK and Ca as necessary of course. And while you do have a decent bioload..you also don't have any heavy calcifiers (the Hydnophora [horn coral] as a possible exception to that) that should be robbing your system of Ca at that rate...your main source of depletion right now is probably coraline algae...so push the dose up a bit and go to town. HTH.. Link to comment
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