Corals on the way, calcium low.. need help raising.

[jakeottoson8]

Hey guys. Just a few things about tank:

 

10g, uses instant ocean salt mix. SG is 1.026 as per instant ocean swing arm hydrometer(calibrated via testing my distilled water which read 1.0000)... Temp in tank is 78F... Tank established for roughly 35-40 days.. been doing 15-20% WC's every 5-7 days for past 15 days or so...

 

Calcium is reading around 360-370(hard to tell if it's all the way blue after # of drops)... using API calcium test kit. How can I safely raise this so the coral I've got on the way will be fine? Should I just get some generic kent product at the LFS to dose for calcium and continually test it?

 

PS. Don't know if this matters but I got the bag of instant ocean salt mix and it's hard to keep it air tight so some of the salt mix does harden into little clumps... I've heard stories that all the benficial nutrients could be going to the bottom of the bag.. therefore my WC's with my saltwater are missing those nutrients to boost calcium etc?

[MikeTR]

Well you can safely raise calcium 50ppm per day and your acceptable reef aquaria range is 380-440 so you're not doing too bad. Get a decent 2 part additive like b ionic.. you're gonna have to maintain your alkalinity also.

 

IO salt mixes up to what you're testing it at.. the API kit is ok.. it's what I use. You take the read when it changes from dark pink to dark purple/blue.. it doesn't have to be all the way blue.

[Deleted User 6]

your ca isn't that bad. what coral are you adding?

[Rocket]

mix the salt before you scoop it out. a 2 part will help you out, calcium, alkalinity and magnesium play hand in hand, if they are unbalanced, problems could arise.

 

I agree, the calcium is ok, though on the low end.

[jakeottoson8]

Alright. For some reason I thought it was... Thought I read about needing to be in 450-500 range...

 

I've got some zoas, ricordeas, and an acan lord frag coming..

 

How will these two products be for dosing/testing alkalinity?

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.asp...mp;child=AC5111

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.asp...418&isKit=0

[Rocket]

I'm actually a huge fan of Baked baking soda. my tank uses 1 teaspoon a week. (for now)

 

The API test kit is good. Cannot comment on the 2part since I've never personally used them. I forget sometimes that these are nano tanks, I've been with my 125 for some time now, and chemical additives I've found to be much cheaper with off the shelf mixes.

 

For now, I suggest the 2 part solutions, until you start burning through the bottles they should do just fine.