Help me make sense of this?

[sefrayser]

I went to a local dealer and picked up some Calcium Chloride to bring up my Calcium level. I don't know what brand it is. I bought a 4# bag. They buy it in bulk and it was a lot cheaper than anything else there by a lot. I bought Mag Chloride the same. They gave me direction sheets but it is confusing the crap out of me. The basic directions are easy but my Calcium is below 412, so I looked at the Advanced. what it says is below:

Create a stock solution by dissolving 10 grams of calcium (~5 teaspoons) of Clacion-P in 8 oz of fresh water, each ml of the solution will increase the calcium concentration ("Ca2+) in 1 gallon of water by 2.50 ppm. If initial [Ca2+] in the aquarium is below 412 ppm, add stock sol'n at maximum rate of 10 ml per 20 US gallons daily until desired concentration is attained, then dose daily or weekly as needed. Maintain [Ca2+] within a range of +/-10ppm . Once desired [Ca2+] has been acquired, measure aquarium's [Ca2+] at the same time each day over a one to two week period to determine the daily rate of calcium uptake (i.e. the decrease in calcium). To determine daily dosing rate determine the (preferable to weekly dosing): estimate volume of water in entire aquarium system; divide the daily decrease in [Ca2+] by 2.50; multiply this number by volume of water in system to obtain daily ml of stocks sol'n required to maintain stable [Ca2+].

 

I take it "fresh" water is RO water. What is sol'n? My calcium is 380 and Mg is 960. I need this converted to something I understand. I have a 34G Solana and with the rock and sand I estimate I have 31 Gallons of water. The Mag directions are very similar. I will call tomorrow and find out what brand it is.

[Dasani]

Ewwww...

Just stick with BRS 2 part or B-ionic

[sefrayser]

Its Brightwell mix. I paid 6.00 for 4# of MG. I pd 9.00 for 1# of Calcium.

[lakshwadeep]

Use RO/DI or RO water for the freshwater.

 

sol'n=solution

 

You need to find out if the calcium chloride is anhydrous (contains no water) or some type of hydrate, because weighing out 10 g of the hydrated form will have less calcium chloride in it than 10 g of the anhydrous form. Remember it is hygroscopic (pulls water from the air), so the anhydrous form must be tightly sealed. This also applies to the magnesium chloride. Also, you should not be altering calcium levels without measuring and, if necessary, dosing alkalinity because they are so closely linked. Your instructions seem okay, but it is incomplete. This is a good calculator for dosing, but it is important to read the article (second link) it is based on before going forward. The third link is a reliable 2 part (+magnesium) DIY recipe:

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#12

 

For the magnesium chloride, you need to be very wary of its composition:

A second DIY material is magnesium chloride. Some grades of magnesium chloride traditionally have been contaminated in ways that would preclude their use in aquarium applications. They sometimes contain ammonia, for example. So any random magnesium chloride brand that's selected may not be acceptable. However, magnesium chloride hexahydrate from the Dead Sea Works seems to be adequately pure for this purpose. It is sold as a deicer (MAG flake from hardware stores, for example) or as a dust control agent for equestrian arenas.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-07/rhf/index.php

[sefrayser]

Thanks Lakshwadeep! On the calculator, what mix do I use? There isnt one for Brightwell?

[lakshwadeep]

What is "Brightwell mix" made of? Is it the calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, or something else?

[sefrayser]

Calcium chloride (anhydrous). It the Calcion-P. I also have the Magnesion-P that isMagnesium sulfate (anhydrous), Magnesium chloride (anhydrous)

[sefrayser]

I called the fish store I got the Brightwell from (Reef Chief). He helped me thru it. I mixed a Base which consisted of 8oz and then 5 tsp of Mag. I dosed it @ 75ml. I tested the next day and my Mg went up 1050. It went up 120ppm. I dosed it again tonight @ 75ml. I did the rest of my tests and below are my results. Tell me what you think. I added Live Rock to the 2nd chamber and got rid of the BioBalls in the skimmer and second chamber.

 

KH 161.1

Calcium 400

PO4 0.1

Ammonia 0

No2 0

No3 5.0

Hiigh Range PH 8.4

Mg 1050.

 

I plan to do a Water Change in the next day or 2. I am going to dose the water before I add it. I will get a measurement so I can use for all my WC. That should make up for lack of things the Instant Ocean Mixture. I also have a little algea on the back wall. Its kinda crazy looking. Some looks like air bubbles and some has a green fuzzy tint.

[disaster999]

basically with your current levels, you will need 496ml of solution to go from 380ppm to 420ppm calcium. and if you are following their dosing guidelines it will take you a more than a month of dosing assuming your tank is not consuming any calcium...not to mention water changes (depending what kind of salt solution you are using)

 

my advice is, dont follow their recommended daily dosage and split that 500ml of solution into 3 days and pour that into your tank.

 

i havent measured how much i need to dose into my tank for about half a year now cuz im just too lazy too. i go with my gut feeling on how much i should/need to dose, and every time i test my water all my parameters falls within normal range. I dont recommend you follow how i add supplements to my tank unless you really know what you are doing, but just showing you that the maximum amount they recommend you to dose each day is just a recommendation and you dont need to follow it to the dot.

[sefrayser]

I dosed the MG @ 75 ml and did the basic 1/2 and 1/4 tsp in 8 oz. I will measure when I get home and report the number. When I did the measurements after the first treatment my Calcium went from 360 to 400, I hope the second dose will get me a little closer. I plan to treat the water that I will use for the water change. I am using IO and I know it falls short on MG and Calcium. If I come up with the proper measurement for 5 gallon on the MG and Calcium, it should be OK?