What's the best way to up my calcium level?

[demifelix]

<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I had been using a bad Ca test kit and the numbers were reading 500 and I thought </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I was fine. Then last week I ventured into another kit (Seachem) and it was reading 250. I checked the stock solution and now I’m very sure it was at 250. So for every day last week I had been dosing CA at night and last night my Ca reading was slightly below 300. My Mg was kind of low too (around 900) so I had been dosing it from Epsom salt solution that I mixed for the last 2 days. Should I keep dosing nightly at the same dosage to bring Ca up to 450 over a month or so, or should I increase the dosage to speed up the process? Should I increase my Mg dosage to bring it into the 1300 range first so that my Ca won’t be depleted so quickly?</span></span>

 

[jef4y]

What are you using to dose Ca and how much (and how ing of a tank)?

Also, what is your Alkalinity/KH?

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Felix...I'm no expert on this but I think slow and steady is the best way to go.

 

[demifelix]

JeF4y;566026 wrote: What are you using to dose Ca and how much (and how ing of a tank)?

Also, what is your Alkalinity/KH?

I'm using Seachem Ca Advantage, which also contains Mg and Strontium. Direction says 1 tsp per 40 gal of tank volume but I dosed about 20% more I think.
KH is around 8, which I planned on adding some baking soda solution tonight to bring it slightly up to around 9-10 over a week.
Other than that I think everything else is ok. pH 8.2, nitrite 0, nitrate &lt;5, temp 80-81F, SG 1.024.

 

[demifelix]

porpoiseaquatics;566027 wrote: Felix...I'm no expert on this but I think slow and steady is the best way to go.

that was my plan, but after a week of dosing my Ca level goes up only like 15-20%, so I don't know if I'm dosing it correctly or something else is wrong with my tank depleting Ca so fast.

 

[ralph atl]

I would get a 2 part starter kit from brs, and an auto doser from aquametic, bubble Magnus, or the like. Auto dose 4 times daily from a container and once u get it where u want, u are done.

Get some good test kits like salifert or elos

 

[snowmansnow]

maybe i missed it..

but how large is your tank...

and how densely populated with calcium hungry animals is it?

if it is 100 or less and is mostly rock 2 part will get you bye

100--175 I would use a kalk reactor ... I do with my 125 and its pretty packed with growing sps

anything over that and I may consider a ca reactor...

again... how big... and how fast does your ca deplete?

B

 

[gnashty]

mysterybox;566065 wrote: I would get a 2 part starter kit from brs, and an auto doser from aquametic, bubble Magnus, or the like. Auto dose 4 times daily from a container and once u get it where u want, u are done.

Get some good test kits like salifert or elos

good advice right here..im in the process of doing the same (FWIW the BRS dosers are on sale for $95 and get you 1500 BRS points - I ordered one yesterday and will order another today using my $15 in BRS points as a further discount)..

You can raise your calcium by 50 ppm per day with the BRS 2 part recipe 1 stuff. easy peasy...I would stay away from multi prodcuts that raise multiple things like mag, alk etc when you are just trying to raise calcium.

Have any inhabitants showed any signs? i wouldnt know what to look for but i would think they would be lookign a little sickly with such low params

 

[demifelix]

SnowManSnow;566067 wrote: maybe i missed it..

but how large is your tank...

and how densely populated with calcium hungry animals is it?

if it is 100 or less and is mostly rock 2 part will get you bye

100--175 I would use a kalk reactor ... I do with my 125 and its pretty packed with growing sps

anything over that and I may consider a ca reactor...

again... how big... and how fast does your ca deplete?

B

150 gallon with 25 gal in sump volume, primarily LPS with only a few small green slimer, blue tort, monti, chalice. I'm not sure how fast Ca is depleting, but I dosed 5 nights straight and it only went up from 250 to less than 300.

I had been thinking about a ca reactor, but just don't have the budget at the moment.:sad:

 

[gnashty]

On a 175 ga system to acheive a CA of 500 from 300 you would need:

3582.3 ml of 2 part recipe 1 Calcium or 895.57 ml per day for 4 days

For the mag you would need 5645.1 ml of the recipe 1 Mag solution over several days - I dont like to add more than 20 fl oz at a time and you would need 190 fl oz.

 

[demifelix]

this 2 part Ca solution is made from the Dow flakes from Home Depot and the Mag is from Epsom salt?

 

[demifelix]

gnashty;566083 wrote:
Have any inhabitants showed any signs? i wouldnt know what to look for but i would think they would be lookign a little sickly with such low params

They all look healthy, but no growth for SPS. Mushrooms and xenias are doing great.

 

[gnashty]

demifelix;566114 wrote: this 2 part Ca solution is made from the Dow flakes from Home Depot and the Mag is from Epsom salt?

I dont know the answer to that....highly likely though

 

[demifelix]

mysterybox;566065 wrote: I would get a 2 part starter kit from brs, and an auto doser from aquametic, bubble Magnus, or the like. Auto dose 4 times daily from a container and once u get it where u want, u are done.

Get some good test kits like salifert or elos

I have some extra stuffs so I used them first for now, will go to the 2 part next once I use them up. And the test kits...yes, I have learned not to rely solely on 1 test kit from now on.

 

[demifelix]

moving up to 350 now...seems like I'm getting there. Hopefully I can maintain 450 once I get up there.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[weaglereefer]

Felix, don't try and cheap out with stuff from Home Depot. The BRS stuff is cheap enough. And I can't remember why, but you don't want to use ONLY Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) for Mg, you want a 1:10 ratio of MgSl to MgCl (magnesium chloride).