i seem to be having trouble finding a GOOD calcium to use. safely AND efficiently. i know there are a million products to choose from, but i want to know who uses what, and why?
[quote=“fishguy9, post:1, topic:1655”]
i seem to be having trouble finding a GOOD calcium to use. safely AND efficiently. i know there are a million products to choose from, but i want to know who uses what, and why?[/quote]
Two part from bulkreefsupply. It is the easiest way to keep both alkalinity and calcium at the proper levels. Here is a link.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Two-Part-Kits/c52/p269/Two-Part-Kits/product_info.html
Little late now but firestone driveway heat is the cheapest source for calcium
Little more local then BRS is Get Tanked in Carlisle, PA
Are you using a high calcium start to begin with or are you hurting your progress every time you make a water change? How quickly is the calcium being used? How often do you test?
Kalk/Vinegar will do a lot to maintain it. Driveway heat to bump it up. What are your safety concerns?
[quote=“IanH, post:5, topic:1655”]
Kalk/Vinegar will do a lot to maintain it. Driveway heat to bump it up. What are your safety concerns?[/quote]
+1 I use kalk in my top off water, but have to supplement the two part everyday to keep up.
I buy a 50 pound bag of C-FORCE calcium chloride ice melt from home depot every year or so for 20 bucks. works perfect for bulk calcium supliment. plus i use a dose of Mrs. Wages pickling lime solution(kalwasser) at night to bump the PH. perfect.
[quote=“Ento_Reefer, post:6, topic:1655”]
[quote=“IanH, post:5, topic:1655”]
Kalk/Vinegar will do a lot to maintain it. Driveway heat to bump it up. What are your safety concerns?[/quote]
+1 I use kalk in my top off water, but have to supplement the two part everyday to keep up.[/quote]
daily huh? that explains it i guess. didnt think 4 euphyllia and a few monti’s would eat so much calcium in a 180 gal tank!!! lol i started with red sea reef salt, was around 420 or so. never even checked it for the first few weeks after start up. nothing in there to use it, or so i thought. it has dropped as low as 260 at one point. and without dosing daily, i can’t keep it up to 400. i thought it was the products i am using. even looked into a reactor, but that seems like a really complicated process with the co2 tanks and what not.
i guess i am hesitant to use the ice melt without knowing EXACTLY what i am doing with it, or EXACTLY what brand/type to get. just scared i am gonna add the wrong thing. maybe i will set up some sort of drip system with Ca and buffer together. i am sure everchanging levels of lk and Ca isnt good for the inhabitants in the tank. maybe i will try to get a bag of C-FORCE when it hits the shelves again.
thanks for the replys
What do you use for topping off the water in the tank? Like Ellen said you can use kalk in your top off, then it pretty much matches the size of your tank i.e. larger tank, more evap, more kalk (and more calcium!). If that isn’t enough you can put more kalk per gallon (top off) and add some vinegar to it. I do 1.5 - 2 teaspoons kalk with 15 mls of vinegar per gallon of top off water.
Kalk works pretty much as a two part in maintaining calcium and alkalinity. You might have to play with the above recipe a bit, but I think it would do it for ya. I can bring some kalk to the next meeting if you want
With the ice melt stuff, just make sure you get the exact product (C-force). I just throw a chunk in the over flow every couple of weeks. That w/ the kalk my ca has been 420-460
PS make sure your mag is up enough to keep the calcium in the water
The only problem I have found is that since my tank evaporates so much, I cant use kalk to top off all the way, otherwise my pH is way to high.
With a tank that size, you are more than likely going to add quite allot of corals to it. You should seriously consider the calcium reactor to maintain levels. Once setup, it is really not hard to do, the reactor will take care of the levels. Then no more dosing everday and mixing, just set it and forget it. Keeping levels constant is very good for your inhabitants. Just a helpful hint…Keep it simple.
[quote=“icy1155, post:11, topic:1655”]
The only problem I have found is that since my tank evaporates so much, I cant use kalk to top off all the way, otherwise my pH is way to high.[/quote]
I dunno I’ve only tested my pH once about a month ago and it was 8.4. I just keep the other numbers (alk) inline and the pH should stay in line. When ever my alk gets too high I just stop dosing it for a few days and only do Ro/di in the top off jugs, there is still some undissolved kalk in there that goes in but it makes for a gradual change from dosing the kalk to not.
You can probably also use more vinegar? I would assume it would more neutralize the kalk in the short term although I’m pretty sure the bacertia eats the acetic acid (vinegar) and releases the OH (which raises your pH) so that might not work. Sorry thinking out loud and I’m not 100% on any of this stuff.
problem with the reactor is, i am not 100% sure on exactly what ALL i need to get for it. i can’t find a complete kit. just the reactor itself, then the co2 accessories separate. do u have one hound??
Yes I do, have been using one ever since I setup my 180 gal over 3 yrs ago. My tank is pretty much loaded with allot of SPS and some softies also. Do some research on reactors, you will need a CO2 tank, look in the yellow pages for a distributor, the tank will last for a year. And gauges, check out Marine Depot. And then some material to put inside the reactor, go for the large Piece ARM.
i have paintball co2 tanks… big enough??
[quote=“fishguy9, post:16, topic:1655”]
i have paintball co2 tanks… big enough??[/quote]
Shawn (logans_daddy) was talking about using one of those for a small DIY reactor. Its to bad he isnt posting here anymore, that is something that I really wanted to hear more about.
Anyone know if you can use PVC for the reactor chamber instead of Acrylic? I know the valves are the expensive part, but I think I could build the reactor chamber fairly cheaply out of PVC, use the 20oz. CO2 tank and cut down some of the cost so that I can get a good pH controller.
[quote=“icy1155, post:17, topic:1655”]
[quote=“fishguy9, post:16, topic:1655”]
i have paintball co2 tanks… big enough??[/quote]
Shawn (logans_daddy) was talking about using one of those for a small DIY reactor. Its to bad he isnt posting here anymore, that is something that I really wanted to hear more about.
Anyone know if you can use PVC for the reactor chamber instead of Acrylic? I know the valves are the expensive part, but I think I could build the reactor chamber fairly cheaply out of PVC, use the 20oz. CO2 tank and cut down some of the cost so that I can get a good pH controller.[/quote]
Yes you can use PVC. There are plans on rc and gettankedaquariums.com
I also saved a few on my home computer. I will see if I can find them and then email them to you.
The plans on get tanked are for a carbon reactor… because of the pH I wasnt sure if it needed to be acrylic… I’ll look it up on RC and see what I can find.
I don’t see why not. They use pvc in municipal sewer lines where hydrogen sulphide gas is present with out issue. In water hydrogen sulphide is an acid way lower then the 6 to 7 pH you will run the reactor at,