question

[rob_mango]

i was on the web reading about reef tanks and i saw a lot of people saying to use kalkwasser to get your calcium level right anyone know how good this stuff is.

 

[melosu58]

I dont use it. I obtain proper calcium from doing PWC`s. Where is your`s at that you think you need to supplement it?

 

[ryshark]

i was on the web reading about reef tanks and i saw a lot of people saying to use kalkwasser to get your calcium level right anyone know how good this stuff is.

This totally depends on how much hard coral you have. If you have lots of lps and sps you will probably have to maintain calcium/alkalinity. If you dont, then just pwc are all you need as melosu mentioned. Kalkwasser is not the only option to raise calcium. There are also 2-part additives. If you use kalk, keep an eye on your ph because too much kalk will raise your ph quickly.

 

[Ziggy953]

For a very very long time all I did was PWCs every other week on my 72g system (had a 55g frag tank as well) and I kept CA near 450. I had an SPS dominated tank with very large colonies. Adding supplements is something you may get into a year or more down the road when your tank is very mature and the PWCs aren't keeping up with the CA demand. I upgraded to a 120g tank and still have the 55g frag tank plumbed in. I dose B-ionic 3-4 times a week and my calcium stays around 500. I have a lot of SPS and LPS corals.

I suggest doing regular PWCs to keep your levels where they need to be. When you start adding things to your system you can create more issues then you solve.

 

[theyoungaquariest]

I agree with mel and ziggy, adding supplements can create more problems than it fixes. PWCs should be enough.

Good luck!

 

[catmel]

I would not suppliment anything you can not test for. Ive heard of people doing their tank with iodine and doing some serious damage. Its really hard to test for. Most people do not recommend supplimenting anything other than calcium. Even with that make sure you test and dose according to directions. Overdosing can cause serious problems with PH / water issues.

 

[ryshark]

If you dose for calcium you typically need to dose for alkalinity too. The correct answer to the person who started this thread is completely dependant on how much sps/lps coral is in that particular tank. My guess would be not much, so pwc alone would then be fine and there would be no need for kalk or additives.

 

[rob_mango]

well thank you for everything i know what to do now

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

its extremely important to maintain your magesium levels too. It helps regulate the balance between calcium and carbonates (alkalinity) in saltwater.