Ok so I guess i’m a little behind the times with the “full” set-up. I have been reading up on Calcium reactors and seeing if I really need it. Apparently I do cuz my coralline has begun to die off. I thought my new 250w MH were making it recede. It would also explain why my frogspawn head keep growin out but no skeleton for branching.
Could I just dose my tank with calcium till I get a reactor or is there some problem with doing that?
A change to brighter lights will cause coraline to die back. If you want to know whether you need a calcium reactor test your calcium level regularly. If it is hard to maintain it is possible you are in need of more calcium. But I would test alk, mag and calcium before you say you need.
Yes, coraline does not like intense light. it will migrate to the darker side. of the rock. or ledge. so, yes your new lights are bright. but that should give you clean grayish rock and bright corals. small price to pay.
Calcium reactors should really be called alkalinity reactors. they dont add excess calcium to make up a defecit. just maintains it under moderate demand. a Kalc reactor working with an alkalinity/calcium reactor to round it out. or so many reef tanks seem to go.
still, if you are home everyday, like me, you can just add the calcium chloride salt snow melter along with baked baking soda and get pretty much the same results for less than 40 bucks a year. including magnesium chloride salts too. with some cheap Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime for Kalwasser to keep the PH up you should have it covered.
calcium reactor would be nice to have, but they are a little expensive for my tastes. I simply add appropriate 2-part to balance Calc & Alk and have no issues with coraline growing. In fact if you REALLY want it to take off in your tanks, I am getting ready to harvest some of my super strain.
do you use the Get Tanked two part mix? what are the pros/cons of a two part mix compared to calc. liquid??
This is a great topic, especially for someone like me, who is only a couple of months into the reef world. I have a mixed reef and I’m finding I’m having difficulty maintaining a calcium level above 400. It usually tests out to about 380 (with Alk around 8dkh). I’m dosing liquid calcium once per day. I figure I need to increase the dosage until I see calcium around 450 consistently. My challenge is, how can I sustain this when I’m away for the weekend or during vacation. I’m not testing for magnesium yet, but I do a 10% water change at least every two weeks. I’m also dosing iodide and essential elements in the off weeks.
Ultimately, I think I need an automated solution to account for weekends and weeks away from home. But I’m also interested in knowing more about what you do in your daily manual dosing routines.
Yopu are going to need to test for Magnesium as if it is out of whack it will throw off both Calcium and Alkalinity.
As far as going away for weekends / vacations you can add your supplement to an ATO, or make your own doser out of some air line tube and a 2 liter soda bottle. just tie the airline in a knot like you were drip acclimating something in the tank, slowly drip in to the sump your mixed calcium supplement. the tank would be fine with low calcium or alk for a couple days, I would imagine any trip longer then 2 days you would have someone coming by to feed the tank, top off water etc.
Just use aragamilk or purple up by carib sea…until you can afford a reactor…the best one I ever owned was the PRO-CAL by MTC …a little pricey but fully automated-set it and forget it…
nice topic…in my tank (about 250 gallon system, mostly sps corals) I was dosing B-Ionic Two part daily and I just could not keep up with the alk portion of the dosing…every time I tested it was low. I purchased a GEO reactor and my levels have leveled out and I could not be happier not dosing everyday. My advice to everyone would be dose two part (or three part if you need to for mag levels) and use limewater top off until it gets to cumbersome or costly…then look into a reactor. I would not consider a calcium reactor a piece of equipment someone just getting into the hobby needs to run a tank. :BEER
I couldn’t agree more with jasert39. I have been running a reactor for 3 yrs. and it is a must piece of equipment(IMO)to use if you have a SPS dominant reef tank. Besides not having to dose, in the long run it pays for itself.And when it is set up properly, it is worry free. Just requires simple maintanence.
I think you guys (except CD0 you hit on it) are missing 1 important item: calcium does not work by itself…
[quote=“johnr3, post:6, topic:1222”]
This is a great topic, especially for someone like me, who is only a couple of months into the reef world. I have a mixed reef and I’m finding I’m having difficulty maintaining a calcium level above 400. It usually tests out to about 380 (with Alk around 8dkh). I’m dosing liquid calcium once per day. I figure I need to increase the dosage until I see calcium around 450 consistently. My challenge is, how can I sustain this when I’m away for the weekend or during vacation. I’m not testing for magnesium yet, but I do a 10% water change at least every two weeks. I’m also dosing iodide and essential elements in the off weeks.
Ultimately, I think I need an automated solution to account for weekends and weeks away from home. But I’m also interested in knowing more about what you do in your daily manual dosing routines.[/quote]
You may want to fix your alk number (8dkh) if that is correct. It should be more in the range of 10 to 12dkh. With the number being low it could be why your calcium test low and is so hard to maintain.
Its a good idea if you are thinking about dosing to “keep your calcium numbers up” That you test for Alk, Mag and calcium. If not, you could be wasting your time and money. Maybe Ken could chime in here as he was having an issue 9 months ago having to supplement the calcium and when he tested he fixed the problem and reduced the amount of supplementation.
As long as you test regularly, you will know when to adjust the quantity that needs to be added to ensure that your levels stay at concentrations of around 450 ppm.
KaptKen chime in, I think they need your first hand knowledge.
There are also some good links in the DRC Links section
agreed…you need to test for all three, if you just test for calcium you will pull your hair out trying to keep it up if you other levels are too low. verdict_in
Well I figure I haven’t been doing anything so something is better than nothing. Thanks for the quick replies. I’m going to go add some SeaChem Reef Advantage Calcium. I used it a long time ago accidentally instead of phosphate remover but never really thought about it that my coralline took off!
well. 10 years ago when i started, i used the Sea Chem advantage builder, and advantage calcium dry poweder supplements much as GARF does. they worked great. as i added more tanks it was hard to find in bulk quantities. But then i started using the Randy Farley 3 part DIY system. and that was easy too the past several years. but things started swinging too fast. so i have now i reverted to a hybrid system. I dose some Kalwasser in the evening to bump the PH and add some Ca/alk. then a couple times a week bump the DKH and Ca ppm a bit with a dose of the Randy 3 2 part, all while adding the extra magnesium DIY supplement too.
that seems to be pretty steady now. and with the higher PH the acros have perked up. all while dosing less overall.
I don’t think 8dkh is low. I run my 95 at 8-9 with great results. Actually if alk is too high it can harder to have higher calcium numbers.
[quote=“a1amap, post:11, topic:1222”]
I think you guys (except CD0 you hit on it) are missing 1 important item: calcium does not work by itself…
[quote=“johnr3, post:6, topic:1222”]
This is a great topic, especially for someone like me, who is only a couple of months into the reef world. I have a mixed reef and I’m finding I’m having difficulty maintaining a calcium level above 400. It usually tests out to about 380 (with Alk around 8dkh). I’m dosing liquid calcium once per day. I figure I need to increase the dosage until I see calcium around 450 consistently. My challenge is, how can I sustain this when I’m away for the weekend or during vacation. I’m not testing for magnesium yet, but I do a 10% water change at least every two weeks. I’m also dosing iodide and essential elements in the off weeks.
Ultimately, I think I need an automated solution to account for weekends and weeks away from home. But I’m also interested in knowing more about what you do in your daily manual dosing routines.[/quote]
You may want to fix your alk number (8dkh) if that is correct. It should be more in the range of 10 to 12dkh. With the number being low it could be why your calcium test low and is so hard to maintain.
Its a good idea if you are thinking about dosing to “keep your calcium numbers up” That you test for Alk, Mag and calcium. If not, you could be wasting your time and money. Maybe Ken could chime in here as he was having an issue 9 months ago having to supplement the calcium and when he tested he fixed the problem and reduced the amount of supplementation.
As long as you test regularly, you will know when to adjust the quantity that needs to be added to ensure that your levels stay at concentrations of around 450 ppm.
KaptKen chime in, I think they need your first hand knowledge.
There are also some good links in the DRC Links section[/quote]
I think the majority of reefers keep their tanks higher the 8dkh. Sorry I didn’t mean to say 8 does not work but that is the only number quoted and he was missing the other 2. And you are correct if the Alk is too high the calcium demand will increase as it will participate. I will say I aimed higher then 8dkh (around 10dkh) If only their was and exact number that everyone could agree on but in different tanks different numbers work. If calcium and Alk are too high or low it is hard to balance the numbers.
If you are having trouble keeping one of the 3 up and stable (Alk mag and calcium) Try one of these Calculator1 or Calculator2
Calcium and Alkalinity: Fixing an ImbalanceUnderstanding how to fix imbalances in calcium and alkalinity is an important skill for all reef aquarists. Often aquarists must use methods other than their ordinary supplement method to fix imbalances. For example, if calcium is low (say, 300 ppm) and alkalinity is normal (say, 3 meq/L), no amount of tweaking of limewater or CaCO3/CO2 reactors can solve the problem. Using any balanced method to boost calcium by 120 ppm will boost alkalinity by 6 meq/L (16.8 dKH). Such a large boost in alkalinity will normally result in precipitation of calcium carbonate, and will preclude a useful boost in calcium.
The most important tools for fixing imbalances are an “alkalinity only†supplement (such as grocery store baking soda or a commercial buffer) and a “calcium only†supplement (usually calcium chloride, such as Dowflake, or a commercial calcium supplement). These two types of supplement allow aquarists to boost one and not the other. Please note that despite its confusing label, Tropic Marin Biocalcium is a balanced calcium and alkalinity supplement, so it cannot be used to make substantial corrections to low calcium levels.
[hr]
Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity: What Dose?
In all calcium and alkalinity supplement methods, the dose should be set by trial and error. The demand for calcium and alkalinity in a given reef aquarium depends, of course, on the organisms in it, the lighting, feeding, etc. But critical to this discussion is the fact that it also depends on the target calcium and alkalinity levels (and pH). In general, higher pH and alkalinity increase demand for calcium and alkalinity in the aquarium. The effect of calcium is smaller, unless it is very low and begins to limit calcification, so it will require more daily dosing of both calcium and alkalinity (regardless of method) to maintain an alkalinity of 4 meq/L (11 dKH) than to maintain a lower but still acceptable alkalinity of 2.5 meq/L (7 dKH) in the same aquarium.
Before determining a dose by trial and error, aquarists must first ensure that calcium and alkalinity are roughly in the correct ranges. If not, make any necessary one time corrections (see below) and then begin dosing. Start at some dose seemingly appropriate for the aquarium’s size and inhabitants. Starting too slowly can be easier to correct than starting too fast, and avoids overestimating the demand.
Most additive methods come with a suggested starting dose. Follow that dose for 2-3 days, and check the alkalinity. Ignore calcium at this point, as it responds very slowly to over- or under dosing. Alkalinity should be your guide. If, after 2-3 days, the alkalinity is substantially higher than you want, back off on both calcium and alkalinity. If alkalinity is too low, increase both calcium and alkalinity. Again, wait 2-3 days and repeat the process. Keep doing that until you have determined an appropriate dose that keeps the alkalinity where you want it.
Obviously, the way to increase or decrease the dosage depends entirely on the supplement used. For example, a two-part system allows the addition of more or less each day. With a CaCO3/CO2 reactor, the amount of carbon dioxide added can be adjusted by changing the bubble rate. With limewater, more or less solid lime can be added to the freshwater (to a max of about two level teaspoons per gallon of freshwater, beyond which no more will dissolve).
Where do you want alkalinity to be? I usually recommend 2.5-4 meq/L (7-11 dKH or 125-200 ppm calcium carbonate equivalents). With continuous dosing methods, the values will not fluctuate much. With once a day or less frequent dosing, the levels will bounce around. That is okay as long as the alkalinity does not bottom out at substantially lower than 2.5 meq/L (7 dKH) before the next dose. Likewise, if you push alkalinity much higher than 4 meq/L, the abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate on objects such as heaters and pumps may accelerate (especially if pH is also high).
Yup that sound right Ento. I run mine at 8-9 DKH now and swing between 380-440 ppm Ca, now. with the kalk keeping the PH up without a lot of alk. less precipitation and clogging up of pumps.
A little known secret told to me by one of the major chemical media mnfrs : 2 part calcium supplements like esv etc over time add trace amounts of heavy metals into your tank…therefore a product like aragamilk - which is ground down and liquified aragonite is safe…and of course all the more reason to eventually go with a calcium reactor…
I like heavy metal … just doesn’t sound as good in the tank … 
Mag is very important, it keeps the ca in solution and keeps it from falling out. I run my #s pretty high and don’t get clogged pumps, ect. mag is great to keep those pesky shrimp in hiding as well, I can literally make my shrimp molt on que with mag suppliments.
i dose kalk all day, the night dose gets the ‘heavier’ kalk dosage and suppliment mag and wee bit of ca (SeaChem) into my water change water.
Mag is also necessary for most of the ca needing organisms to use the ca, as well as a high enough ph to calcify it, as well as adequate alk. A lot of my creatures really took off with adding in mag.