I always dripped kalking wasser and never paid too much attention to my calcium consumption. I usually test every 2 weeks and if it's low I just add more, but somehow it's always very low. I now just started to actually check the calcium uptake and I loose almost 15-20ppm daily and 1-1.5 dkh gone on a 90gallon total water volume. The tank is heavily populated with stoney corals. Is that crazy or normal?
Calcium consumption
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That is pretty much normal for a tank that "is heavily populated with stoney corals".
I know that my Kalkwasser dosing is starting to become not enough for my 75g system. I also know some are using both kalk and calcium reactor to try to maintain calcium/alk levels. Heavy stocked hard coral tanks seem to really suck up some calcium.
Keep in mind that kalk only provides calcium and alkalinity. You may over time have a depleted magnesium level. Have tested for magnesium?
Magnesium should be around 3 time your calcium levels. 1285ppm is the natural sea water level btw. :fish:
I know that my Kalkwasser dosing is starting to become not enough for my 75g system. I also know some are using both kalk and calcium reactor to try to maintain calcium/alk levels. Heavy stocked hard coral tanks seem to really suck up some calcium.
Keep in mind that kalk only provides calcium and alkalinity. You may over time have a depleted magnesium level. Have tested for magnesium?
Magnesium should be around 3 time your calcium levels. 1285ppm is the natural sea water level btw. :fish:
I know magnesium. I am almost an "expert" in that field when it comes to water chemistry. Magnesium Cloride/Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate is what i do. 1394<u>+</u>2 ppm right now and I usually keep it at 1500 or so, I test it with an electronic titration instruments in GT lab. 3:1 is for mole ratio of the two.
Mg test can be done with Red Sea or Salifert test kits. It is accurate in 20ppm. If you give the water to me then I can test it to 2-4ppm accuracy. You dose magnesium with Kent Tech.M (Drsfostersmith.com is alot cheaper) or you can go to http://www.aquatictech.com/">http://www.aquatictech.com/</a> to buy MgCl2 for $12 a lb. If your Mg is low then 1lb is usually the amount you need to dose. 1lb MgCl2 or MgSO4.7H2O (epsom salt) will usually raise Mg 100ppm for 100g water, give or take. I think epsom salt works fine as long as you change your water in the future, but MgCL2 is the better choice, or the Tech.M ionic MgCl2.
I won't trust my corals or anything with MAG Flakes or other chemicals from hardware stores. Marine animals can live with the raise in sulfates, just change your water down the line and keep it up.
Use this to calc what and how much you need to dose on Mg and other things.
[IMG]http://reef.diesyst.com/">http://reef.diesyst.com/</a>
I won't trust my corals or anything with MAG Flakes or other chemicals from hardware stores. Marine animals can live with the raise in sulfates, just change your water down the line and keep it up.
Use this to calc what and how much you need to dose on Mg and other things.
[IMG]http://reef.diesyst.com/">http://reef.diesyst.com/</a>
I keep my magnesium around 1380-1420 right now.
I guess I kinda got "addicted" to b-ionic (2-part calcium, alkalinity and trace additive). It seems to keep everything in check when I use a more robust salt like TM Pro. It keeps calcium and alk levels and then also adds a whole bunch of other stuff like magnesium, strontium, iodine, etc.
I did tire of manually adding b-ionic almost daily. I decided to hook up this dosing system to automate the b-ionic:
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I am using a 1/2 dose or less right now and it keeps the calcium over 420 ppm and the dKH is about 9.
I did tire of manually adding b-ionic almost daily. I decided to hook up this dosing system to automate the b-ionic:
I am using a 1/2 dose or less right now and it keeps the calcium over 420 ppm and the dKH is about 9.
I cook through about 25-30ppm of calcium daily (ouch!) after dosing a kalkwasser solution that is further dissolved using distilled vinegar. I dose ionic calcium in the form of Reef Complete of Reef Advantage Calcium. Two part (you can find easily packed inexpensive two part at twopartsolutions.com) is about as cost effect a dosing routine you get.
