testing calcium

[AReeferIsExpensive]

I went to go shop around for a testing kit for calcium and went to 4 different LFSs and they all only have one kind. It is Red Sea and it has the little color-match thing but instead of numbers it says "yes" and "no" (huh??) and it says reads up to 50ppm (i wanted to keep it at 420...wth would it only read to 50? or is that the LOWEST it reads?? confused!)

Now........ive never bought a calcium kit b4 but the red sea one sounds like a crock of sh*t kit. Am i misinterpreting this thing or am i right?? I didnt buy the crap but now i dont know what to do or if i should get one yet...or should i just wait around until my next marine depot order and add it to the list (in a month or two). Im not sure how crucial testing calcium is yet because I only have shrooms and GSPs but i was kinda wanting to promote some coraline growth while my water becomes more established.

 

Any opinions or recommendations????

[Warboz]

I second this question. I started doseing my tank with Ca (I know its horrible to dose without testing due to too much Ca = death) but I do only a capful per waterchange as not to overkill the Ca amounts. I've also noticed that there are next to no Ca, Strontium or Iodine kits and if there are any, they are REALLY expensive. Any suggetions?

[seaker]

I heard that saliferts strontium test has a calcium test in it too. is this true?

[Reefer_Buddha]

Ca testing is important even if you dont have sps or clams or any other coral that requires a large amount of Ca. I would only go with salifert test kits because sadly, i have broken down and used the red sea kit and yes, it is a piece of ######. So much so i wrote the company and kindly asked them to please never make a Ca kit again, even for free.

 

A lot of new reefers get caught up in wanting more coralline and thats ok but until its introduced into the system through lr or frags with it already on it then it wont spontaneously arrive. When you do get a good frag or lr that has some scrape it off near a powerhead it will spread around and multiply. Strontium and Magnesium help its development as well.

 

Most of the time the salt mix you use will have an already substantial level of Ca in it. Ive used coralife for a while and just teh salt mix keeps my Ca around 450 w/o any additives. Ive used seachems reef builder that will raise Ca and Strontium and it does help with coralline growth.

 

To address what warboz was saying its not usual for a die off to occur when you overdose with Ca. Usually youll just see it precipitate out of solution which means youll just get a bunch of crystals floating around in the tank because its reverted to its carbonate form and solidified. For that to happen tho youd have to WAY overdose Ca beyond what a test would be able to show you. If youre concerned about your Ca level then check your Alk and see where its at. Low Alk levels can usually indicate a low Ca level as well, they work hand in hand.

 

So...to make a long story short Ca is good to test and its even better to know what your level is if you plan on keeping sps/clams and other Ca dependant corals. Id go with salifert exclusively and if not then look in to Lamotte i think its called or even at the very least id use Aquarium Systems tests.

[koolyce]

Seachem calcium test are really good too and not really expensive.

[wannabereefer]

i have the Red Sea calcium tester and its not what you think

1st step is that you have to match the 1st color(theres 2 color) on the chart before going to the next.

then you have to slowly add one of the chemical to make it turn orange. once turned orange from there you`ll just have to do some multiplication ( #of drops x 50 )

on mines it usually take 9 drops to get it orange which will put me around 450ppm

it probably sounds complicated, but once you do it for the 1st time the rest will be cake

btw i have both Red Sea's reg and pro calcium tester, i find that the reg one is much easier and cleaner

[jackdp]

IME Salifert kits seem more accurate and easier to use, I have also used Tropic Marin's kit with fair success. Seachem's kit is also supposed to be pretty good.

[Tempest]

For calcium testing I use either Seachem or Salifert test kits. Just my .02 .

[AReeferIsExpensive]

wannabe thanks for clearing that up! Does sound a little strange to me. I think im going to order a seachem the next online purchase. hummmmmmmmmmm