what should my calcium be??? im going to test it after this post and was wondering what it should be
if i did the test right its 440 for my 25. i will be doing a water change tommrow so i will test tommrow to see what the difference is. i usally do water change as needed which would probably be once a week.
That’s a good number
Short and sweet answer as I’m moving and can’t get detailed. I’ve always been aiming for 400, but there is a range which is exceptable. Here are some other opinions:
Eric B: 450+
Randy Holmes-Farely:
Reef Aquaria Recommendation: 380-450 ppm
Typical Surface Ocean Value: 420 ppm
Salifert:
400-425ppm
Important thing to remember is if you are only changing your calcium and you get it too high it can have negative effects. Really should watch Ca, Mg, and Alk.
Whats a good test kit for Ca, Mag and Alk?
i use salifert for all of them. very easy to use and reliable.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:6, topic:720”]
i use salifert for all of them. very easy to use and reliable.[/quote]
ditto … although the Tunze kH kit I had was nice too. But I use sali for all now.
And your 440 number is fine fo Ca … as long as your alk is in line with that.
just ordered sali kits for ca, mag, kh/alk, damn those are expensive! P.S. I’ve got lots of kalkwasser if anyone wants to dose it…I’ll be doing so once I get the kits to see where I’m at, granted I don’t need it yet but I can play with it.
P.S. sorry for the semi-thread hijack, but I figured its fairly in line with the topic.
[quote=“IanH, post:8, topic:720”]
just ordered sali kits for ca, mag, kh/alk, damn those are expensive! [/quote]
Exaclty why I’m not using them… hard enough paying the bills not to mention coughing up almost 100 for all the test kits that I need to pick up soon.
I dont have time to read the article, but ive read dozens that are similar. The third factor to maintaining this balance is Mg. Its very hard to keep any of the three consistent without the other two. They are the holy trinty of water chemistry.
Btw, if your not keeping hard corals or clams, then these three parameters really dont matter much. The levels you get from frequent water changes will be more than sufficient for softies and fowlr(ie corraline).
Yea…from my understanding too much cal/alk and the mag falls out, but w/e I figured I would spend the cash and get the kits for the future. Plus they put me over the $175 mark for free shipping from aquacave, so I’ll have my t5 slrs, end caps, standoffs, and digital timer shortly.
yup, a monthly check of magnesium levels and adjustment will help you keep Ca and Akalinity and PH in the right range. so i test monthly after a water change, adjust the magnesium with a randy part 3 mix of MgCl(MAGFLAKE) + MgSO4(epsoms salt) saturated solution, and carry on. I also add mag flake to new salt water mixes since i know the salt is low in Mg… and add extra CaCl(C-FORCE SNOWMELT) Too. small adjustment, works good for me. I use a SEACHEM magnesium/alkalinity/borate test kit. I got it at TFP a year or two ago , on sale plus a seachem rep discount at the fall tent sale, only $18 . normally about $26. but it will do 150 tests. that is more than most other kits. so not a bad deal.
remember, hitting and maintaining exact numbers is not as important as staying in the healthy, balanced chemistry ranges. something like:
CALCIUM 380-440
ALKALINITY 8-10 DKH
PH 8-8.4
MAGNESIUM 1250-1400
If any of these go above these ranges, it puts chemical solution pressure on some of the others to precipatate out and go down. and then things get out of whack.
For hard coral growth , I think the most important one is keeping the PH above 8 or 8.1. you can have high alk but low PH somehow. unfortunately corals ability to take calcium and carbonate out of the water and make structure, and grow is severely reduced below a PH of 8. Which is the same problem of ocean acidification happening now from CO2 risning in the air, making acid rain and lowering the ocean PH. At a PH of 7.8 or less, corals actually start to disolve. same with clam, snail shrimp shells and othe creatures. So keeping PH up is vital. other readings can be in low range ans still provide healthy growth if the ph is above 8.1 . its a bio chemistry thing. you can have calcium levels of 500 and get no growth if PH is 7.8 or 7.9. which is why i returned to dripping kalwasser each night. it maintains the PH, and that means i dont need to dose as much calcium, alkalinty or magnesium, over time. Its nice and corals really perk up and grow with nice colors.
PH is the key.