Raising Calcium - Aquarium Advice

mandown123 · 05-13-2008, 10:38 AM

Hey guys.

I did a 25 % water change and checked my calcium and everything after.

Phosphate was good,

Alk was good - like 3.75-4.0

Calcium was around 300 only though.

I bought A B 2 part calcium thing but it says it will raise alk as well as calcium. I didn't think I wanted to raise alk though, so i just added purple up as it says it is liquid calcium and some kind of liquid aragonite and didnt mention alk at all.

I will check again today to see what the purple did - i was wondering what you guys would do in this case with alk of about 4 and very low calcium??

Innovator · 05-13-2008, 11:48 AM

Purple Up is virtually useless. You can use just the Ca part, but your Alk will eventually decline. I would dose the Ca and see what it does to the consumption rate and use kalkwasser to maintain those levels. Of course, there is always baking soda (Alk), pickling lime (Ca, Alk, pH), etc. You can start here:

Chemistry and the Aquarium

mandown123 · 05-13-2008, 12:07 PM

innovator - do you have experience with the 2 part A B calcium/alk "c balance"?

can i just use one part and not the other? I am confused as to what to do? also why is purple up useless?

mandown123 · 05-13-2008, 12:09 PM

good article by the way, thanks ill pore over this later.

cmor1701d · 05-13-2008, 12:35 PM

Yes you can use just one part of the two part solutions. You can also check out BulkReefSupply for makingn your own 2-part (3-part really) solutions.

cccapt · 05-13-2008, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandown123

can i just use one part and not the other? I am confused as to what to do? also why is purple up useless?

Yes, you can just use the ca part now to raise your ca and get your levels in balance. Once they are balanced, you should use equal parts of both to maintain that balance.
PurpleUp is virtually useless because for the price you pay, it will not significantlly raise your ca level. It also contains ground up aragonite...basically sand, and that doesn't dissolve.

What salt are you using that your ca is so low?

Innovator · 05-13-2008, 12:54 PM

C-Balance works just as any 2-part system should, imo. You can use one without the other, but there is a compromise eventually. Here is a handy-dandy tool: Reef Chemistry Calculator

Purple Up is nothing more than calcium chloride and aragonite (calcium carbonate). The aragonite does not and will not dissolve in seawater and the CaCl2 acts as nothing more than a "shot," if you're even lucky enough to get that. The bottle isn't even large enough to fill your trash can

**BillyZ** · 05-13-2008, 12:58 PM

The article Innovator linked is one of the core articles I reference regularly for CA/Alk questions. Be sure you also look at another article in the set (it's linked in the intro of the article from Innovator) that addresses specifically adjusting those levels and their relation to pH.

Chemistry and the Aquarium - Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems

HTH

**Ziggy953** · 05-13-2008, 02:47 PM

I think everyone has pretty much covered it. I agree about stopping the purple up. Also like Innovator said your Alk will eventually drop.

What salt mix are you using?

mandown123 · 05-13-2008, 02:50 PM

i'm using reef crystals, i heard it was pretty good. i have a lot of coralline covered rocks which probably suck a lot of the ca out. theyre hungry for it. i need to get my ca up... so i guess i can and will dose one half of the solution and see how that goes.

i guess i should just throw purple up in the trash?

i have resolved to do more water changes, as i slacked a little before this latest change so thats probably how to ca got so low.

05-13-2008, 10:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
mandown123 Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Staten Island, NY Posts: 297	Raising Calcium Hey guys. I did a 25 % water change and checked my calcium and everything after. Phosphate was good, Alk was good - like 3.75-4.0 Calcium was around 300 only though. I bought A B 2 part calcium thing but it says it will raise alk as well as calcium. I didn't think I wanted to raise alk though, so i just added purple up as it says it is liquid calcium and some kind of liquid aragonite and didnt mention alk at all. I will check again today to see what the purple did - i was wondering what you guys would do in this case with alk of about 4 and very low calcium??

05-13-2008, 12:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
cmor1701d Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Belle Mead, NJ Posts: 3,507 Images: 43	Yes you can use just one part of the two part solutions. You can also check out BulkReefSupply for makingn your own 2-part (3-part really) solutions. __________________ Click here to Vote for Aquarium Advice on AquaRank . Vote EVERY day! Click Here for a list of commonly used acronyms and abbreviations. ____ Cmor

05-13-2008, 12:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
BillyZ Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Western NY Posts: 3,621 Images: 6	The article Innovator linked is one of the core articles I reference regularly for CA/Alk questions. Be sure you also look at another article in the set (it's linked in the intro of the article from Innovator) that addresses specifically adjusting those levels and their relation to pH. Chemistry and the Aquarium - Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems HTH __________________ Acronyms and Abbreviations

05-13-2008, 02:47 PM	#9 (permalink)
Ziggy953 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sumerduck, Virginia Posts: 3,057 Images: 5	I think everyone has pretty much covered it. I agree about stopping the purple up. Also like Innovator said your Alk will eventually drop. What salt mix are you using? __________________ Happy Reefing! *120 Build in progress 6/18/08* Visit our Article section for answers on a variety of topics. LFS, PWC, PH RO/DI what in the world? Look here! Pods, algae and more!

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05-13-2008, 11:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
Innovator Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,027	Purple Up is virtually useless. You can use just the Ca part, but your Alk will eventually decline. I would dose the Ca and see what it does to the consumption rate and use kalkwasser to maintain those levels. Of course, there is always baking soda (Alk), pickling lime (Ca, Alk, pH), etc. You can start here: Chemistry and the Aquarium

05-13-2008, 12:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
mandown123 Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Staten Island, NY Posts: 297	innovator - do you have experience with the 2 part A B calcium/alk "c balance"? can i just use one part and not the other? I am confused as to what to do? also why is purple up useless?

05-13-2008, 12:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
mandown123 Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Staten Island, NY Posts: 297	good article by the way, thanks ill pore over this later.

05-13-2008, 12:54 PM	#7 (permalink)
Innovator Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,027	C-Balance works just as any 2-part system should, imo. You can use one without the other, but there is a compromise eventually. Here is a handy-dandy tool: Reef Chemistry Calculator Purple Up is nothing more than calcium chloride and aragonite (calcium carbonate). The aragonite does not and will not dissolve in seawater and the CaCl2 acts as nothing more than a "shot," if you're even lucky enough to get that. The bottle isn't even large enough to fill your trash can

05-13-2008, 02:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
mandown123 Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Staten Island, NY Posts: 297	i'm using reef crystals, i heard it was pretty good. i have a lot of coralline covered rocks which probably suck a lot of the ca out. theyre hungry for it. i need to get my ca up... so i guess i can and will dose one half of the solution and see how that goes. i guess i should just throw purple up in the trash? i have resolved to do more water changes, as i slacked a little before this latest change so thats probably how to ca got so low.