Raising Calcium?

[tooldini]

Hello,, most seems very well in my mini reef so far,, but my calcium is only 375 what is the fastest and easist way to raise this level to over 400? right now I just add Kent marine products,, Coral-Vite, and Essential Elements.

thanks
Jeff

 

[fishfreek]

Are you testing for alkinity? I ask because there is a balance between alkinity and calcium and your alkinity levels will somewhat determin what your optimal calcium levels will be. IMO anything above 350 is fine.

A good way to increase your calcium levels and maintan the alkinity balance is to dose with kalkwasser also known as kalk, aka lime water. Good ol pickling lime from the grocery store will work. Disolve 1TSP in 1 gal of RO water and let sit for 24 hours and then drip dose the clear water into the tank over the course of a few hours. Doing this should not only keep your calcium up but also stablize your PH to some degree.

 

[pufferman]

wait fishfreek,

SO i can just get limes from my lime tree and supplement my calcium with lime juice! Wow, thanks for the info i never knew, so much money saved.

 

[tooldini]

Thanks for the help I am trying to do everything right or as close to it as possible. What test kits do I need other than the normal PH,Nitrite,Nitrate, Calcium, and Ammonia. My readings are Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ammonia 0, and PH 8.3

thanks
Jeff

 

[malkore]

pufferman,
read every fishfreak's post:
"A good way to increase your calcium levels and maintan the alkinity balance is to dose with kalkwasser also known as kalk, aka lime water."

kalkwasser water is 'also know as' lime water. Not water with lime juice in it.

 

[fishfreek]

LIME water and LIME juice are totally different. WHen I say LIME water I mean water thats has the MINERAL LIME added. Its a very fine white powder.

 

[Toirtis]

LIME water and LIME juice are totally different. WHen I say LIME water I mean water thats has the MINERAL LIME added. Its a very fine white powder.

...and great for destroying evidence of murder....

 

[seaham358]

jeff alkalinity also..

 

[tooldini]

Thanks, I assume this is a normal test kit I can purchase. I will search the net tonight.

Jeff

 

[pufferman]

ok thanks for clearing that up.

 

[MarineFlake]

Get a mg test kit. In order to hold your ca at 400 - 450ppm you will need to keep your mg levels roughly 1350ppm. (Rule of thumb is 3 times your ca) Alk is important to keep stable but a lot of folks are still stumped when they just can not quite get the ca into the 400 plus range. mg acts as a sort of 'buffer' for your ca so make sure its also in line. ($$ Nother test kit please ; ) Also, just my 2 cents here..I use kalk and while it is great for keeping your alk and ca levels stable, you should look into some turbo calcium or other calcium additive designed to raise ca. The danger in someone new to kalk using it to raise ca is the possible overkill. Can wreak a little havok on your alk/ph causing nifty little issues of its own. Either way, take your time and test frequently while you make changes. Remember..generally speaking, nothing good happens fast in a tank!

GL!

 

[tooldini]

Thanks alot.. I have been doing the normal 4 tests every week for 3 months. I guess I will have to get those tests and study some more. I guess if it isn't 400 it should still be OK shouldn't it? I just wanted it as close to the ocean as I could get it. THanks everyone for your help.

Jeff