Guest Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I checked my calcium level this morning and was surprised to see it about 300. In the past it was always over 500, but I did not have much for corals in the past. Last couple months I have added many corals. How do I keep calcium levels up? This morning I put in Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium to raise calcium, then I guess in a day or two I put in Seachem Reef Builder, raises carbonite alkalinity? Just keep alternating these? Of course checking calcium levels as I go. To check Alkalinity I test the PH? Confusing? Thanks for the help, Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalare102079 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Hopefully this can help you.... http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm those seachem products you are using (builder/complete) are very good to get the calcium and alkalinity into the correct range, after that, you may want to find how much a day your tank is using up and dose b-ionic daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Thanks for the link, it was very interesting and educational. I have added calcium two times now and nothing with the alkalinity. Calcium is still low(300) and PH is good. I guess eventually the calcium will rise? I hate to keep adding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaH2O Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Dan - to check your alkalinity you want to get a test kit for it. Salifert makes a good one. Let me ask you a question. Have you changed salt mix recently? When I was using Oceanic, my Calcium levels were over 500 ppm. Now that I'm using a different mix, my calcium levels are more in a normal range. You can check the calcium and alkalinity of your freshly made salt water to help you determine if your salt mix is lower than 400 ppm. Once you get your tank in balance, then you can also supplement your mix water, so when you do a water change, the new water has been balanced to what you are shooting for. 500 ppm of Calcium is too high, IMO. Here are some more articles for you: Calcium and Alkalinity by RH-F How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme by RH-F If you are thinking about dosing Kalkwasser, here is a good article: What your Grandmother Never Told you About Lime by RH-F Here is a link to a thread on INDMAS that has a link to a good chemistry calculator. It will help you determine how much of a specific type of product it will take to raise your level (calcium, alkalinity, magnesium) to what you are shooting for: Nov '05 - Off the Education Desk Hope you find this helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Nikki, thanks for the info. I am confusing alkalinity with PH. I have a million different test kits that I received with a used tank. I have a alkalinity test dip strips and it shows alkalinity to be good. I will add a Salifert test kit to my next purchase and will be curious to see the results. I did recently change salt mixes. I was going to mention that in my last post. I thought that probably had something to do with the low calcium levels. Thanks again for the info, I think I will get this figured out now that I understand it better. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwegescheide Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 Don't forget Magnesium dosing is important too!!! range should be 1300 - 1500 I believe... It will help in getting Ca and Alk in balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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