Raising Calcium

[mandown123]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[cmor1701d]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Ziggy953]

I use Reef crystals as well, I do PWCs every other week with out fail.

 

[mandown123]

ive done like one a month but a big like 25-30% change

ill prolly do like i dont know i guess like 5-10 gallons every 2 weeks from now on

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I ran into the same issue you had when I was in the first few months of the tank. I used Reef Crystals, and didn't test for Ca/Alk. Coralline algae suddenly started fading. Tested for Ca and found levels at 320 or so. Not good.

What I did, and would recommend since your alkalinity levels are OK...

Use TurboCalcium (or any quality calcium chloride) to slowly raise the ca level in your main tank to where you want it. I wouldn't raise it more than 20ppm or so a day. Use the calculator previously linked to figure out how much. Mix it outside the tank with RO/DI water and slowly dribble it in a high flow area.

Then, once your Ca levels are OK, start doing a 2-part solution dose using equal parts A and B. You'll have to test every few days or so for several weeks to determine if you're adding the correct amount, but once you get it figured out it's pretty simple. I've got a 46g and use 20 ml of each A and B (C-balance) every morning before the lights come on.

You'll also have to bump up the Ca levels of your PWC water if you continue to use Reef Crystals. I do this by adding a solution of TurboCalcium to my water change bucket just before I do the change.

Those articles linked, as others have said, are the Holy Grail of Ca/Alk articles in my opinion.

 

[mandown123]

thanks kurt, as well as everyone. so i guess i will look into this turbo calcium thing, hopefully its available at the LFS cause i just made a big order from als and it wont pay to ship just that.

 

[mandown123]

LFS had ref sea reef success calcium +3 and the guy said it was "the bomb". since he is a 60 year old guy, i figured he must really be passionate about this supplement to be throwing around the lingo like that lol. anyone use this?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

LFS had ref sea reef success calcium +3 and the guy said it was "the bomb". since he is a 60 year old guy, i figured he must really be passionate about this supplement to be throwing around the lingo like that lol. anyone use this?

... or it could just mean that the LFS only carried the Red Sea product line.

When you add Calcium, you need to balance both alkalinity and calcium. (The articles previously linked to are great descriptions of the delicate balance between the two.) The Red Sea product only deals with calcium. In addition, it also adds iodine, which if used to excess can cause issues. A rule of thumb in this hobby is if you aren't testing for it, don't add it. For that reason, I shy away from "all-in-one" additives, and additives that cover more things than I need. With normal PWCs, you'll replenish your iodine and other stuff just fine.

 

[mandown123]

Kurt. I agree with you with the dont test dont add, thats why i bought the calc and phosphate tests. However, my calcium is very out of whack even though my alk is perfecto. I understand there is a delicate balance between the 2 calc and alk and that is why i will be giving both test kits heavy burn within the next 4-5 days, however long it takes to get this balanced.

They have plenty of kent products, he just swears by this one. i'll let you guys know. dont worry i will be keeping an eye on all levels i can check and wont move too fast. i have an eye for this chemistry thing believe it or not.

 

[cmor1701d]

You probably want to add an Iodine test kit if you are using the Red Sea product.

TurboCa is just calcium chloride. You can use that or even ice melter (Peladow, etc.) to increase calcium. Don't increase your tank's Ca levels more than 20ppm per day. Keep checking your Alk levels too. Once they are in balance then you want to to go a two part solution. I make my own.

I got lucky and was able to get a bag (50#) of Peladow manufactured in 2003 from where I work. That should last me a long, long time for Ca. I can even get a few more (4) bags of left over DowFlake that they want to get rid of. I just don't have room to store it.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

You probably want to add an Iodine test kit if you are using the Red Sea product.

Mandown... this was my point also about "don't test/don't add". That Red Sea product has more than just calcium in it. So in fact, you're dosing iodine and several other elements that I can't remember now along with the Ca. If you're just trying to raise Ca, then just add Ca - that's my point.

 

[Innovator]

I know that B-ionic and C-Balance contain trace elements in their dosing systems and wouldn't be suprised if they all did. I wouldn't even bother testing for these unless you are singly dosing a particular one. Many of the elements (not speaking of Ca or Alk) we cannot even determine what is safe vs. amount administered with most systems having higher concentrations than nsw.