Had my calcium checked today

[mooner]

...and it is very low (225). The tank is new but houses a lone lobophytum now. I am now using aragaMilk as I have been for the last 2 weeks. I used to use it 3 times a week and now going to dose once a day.

What is the general concensus on geting the calcium up to 450 or so ASAP without causing harm to my tank? I did a 10% PWC today and I will do this twice a month as part of my routine.

I read on the aragaMilk bottle that you "can't overdose it" but what of my Ph?

Thanks. Right now I am just gonna keep dosing daily with aragaMilk at 1 drop per gallon but I wanted some opinions.

 

[Len]

Aragomilk is probaby not an efficient way to elevate your Ca levels. As I understand it, all it is is finely grounded aragonite in solution. If this is the case, it's not a great Ca elevator and would explain why you can't overdose the product.

Try Kalkwasser (Calcium hydroxide). Drop it 24/7 and I assure you you're Ca levels will rise. Otherwise, a Ca reactor is the more expensive alternative. Two part additives like B-ionic and C-balance also works. There's stuff called "turbo calcium" that will shoot up your Ca levels VERY fast, but because "turbo calcium" is nothing but CaCl2, it will throw off your tank's ionic balance very fast as well. Kalkwasswer or Ca reactor are your best bets.

 

[mooner]

Thanks, Len.

I re-re-read the aragaMilk and they slyly say "a great way to maintain your calcium" so It seems this must be a maintenance only product but I need to force some calcium in there to begin with. Does that sound correct? Sounds as if I could add this stuff by the bloody gallon and it would "maintain" my level of 225. :lol:

Kalkwasser if is and I guess I need to engineer a drip system.

 

[MBKublicki]

Len,
You mention that 'Turbo Calcium' will throw off your tanks ionic balance very fast.
I use 1 Tsp. of 'Turbo Calcium' daily to maintain my calcium level at about 550/600.
Could you explain since I do not understand what 'ionic balance' is.

__________________________________________

Custom AGA Main tank 36" wide, 15" deep and 27" high
Custom AGA Refugium/Sump 29" wide, 14" deep and 23"high
250 W. 20K. Radium w/ Hamilton HQI ballast on main tank
72 w. 10K Power Compact on Refugium/Sump
Supreme Mag 9.5 for circulation
4 Maxi-Jet 600 power heads using a Wavemaster Pro for water movement in main tank
Aqua C 'Remora Pro' Protein Skimmer
6" DSB
Wall of LR to 2" below surface
Soft and Hard corals to include SPS
Several Fish
P.H. 8.0/8.4
No Ammonia
No Nitrites
No Nitrates
Calcium 550/600
KH 5
Salinity is 1.026

 

[Anonymous]

Isn't 500 high. I was told 300-400

 

[mooner]

Update: I took the aragaMilk back to my LFS and exchanged it for some Kent kalkwasser mix. After what Len said and after reading many negative or inconclusive things posted here about the aragaMilk and the Kent knockoff of it I decided to bail on argonite. There was even a test posted that looked very bad for this stuff. Kalkwasser seems to have a great track record so I am going with that. I also got myself a Ca and KH test kit from Hagen. I had to rig a bucket/drip for this and will begin the drip tomorrow.

Len, you say to drip 24/7. I noticed the directions on the kalkwasser powder container states that I can mix anywhere from 1/8 to 2 tsps per gallon of RO and drip it "slowly". Can you give me a ball park estimate on how to begin this as to not throw my Ph out of whack? I was thinking to start with the minimum (1/8 tsp per gallon) and start the drip very slow. But approximatly how many drops per minute etc? I just don't know where to start it.

Thanks all and FWIW I took my own reading tonight and got a Ca of 280 and a KH of 12.

 

[klingsa]

I'll come out here in favor of C-Balance. I use daily doses of that, and SeaChem Reef Carbonate to keep my kH high enough. It's going well for me. Just my experience.

Sara

 

[mooner]

^ ^ ^ for input and updated:

OK...got the dripper all constructed and I have dual valves for adjusting the drip rate. I have it set at a drip every 7 seconds or so which will give me an estimated (I tested it with tap water so it may vary) 3 cups or 24 fl oz per day of kalkwasser into my system.

I have this mixed at 1/4 tsp of kalkwasser powder per gallon of RO which is just above the minimum recommended on the container. 2 tsp per gallon was max. This is where I am going to start and see where it goes. If anyone has any input here (too strong, too weak, etc) please let me know. I will be testing my Ph daily for a few days until I get a grip on how this is going to act long term. I may need a buffer additive as I am off the aragaMilk for good. I was looking at the Kent Superbuffer dK...any feedback on that stuff or a better candidate?

3 cups a day with the weaker mixture seems pretty low (safe to begin) to me from what I can gather.

Thanks.

 

[Mogo]

Mooner:

What I try to achieve is a saturated solution of kw. About 2 tsp in my 1 gal container. If saturated, there will be a layer of undissolved calcium hydroxide on the bottom of the container and a clear layer above it when you let it sit for a few hours. The clear kw is the stuff that you want to dose.

I also have to drip this stuff pretty much 24/7 to keep my levels above 400. You might want to start dripping at night when the pH is naturally lower.

Even a little kalkwasser can raise your pH remarkably fast, so make sure you dose it VERY slowly at first. Of course you have a calcium test kit?!

 

[liquid]

If you're interested in reading about the different additives for maintaining calcium and alkalinity, head over to http://advancedaquarist.com/index and click on Chemistry of the Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley. He has a couple of articles on this subject and one or two articles that deal specifically with AragaMight and AragaMilk. Bottom line is that they really don't do much of anything.

Shane

 

[mooner]

If you're interested in reading about the different additives for maintaining calcium and alkalinity, head over to http://advancedaquarist.com/index and click on Chemistry of the Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley. He has a couple of articles on this subject and one or two articles that deal specifically with AragaMight and AragaMilk. Bottom line is that they really don't do much of anything.

Shane

Absolutely. I did read those yesterday and they were the final straw for me with the aragaMilk. After I finished up my reading, I drove right to my LFS and asked kindly for a direct exchange of the aragaMilk for some kalk. They obliged and I am now dripping it in.

No more of that stuff for me.

Thanks.

 

[mooner]

Best thing I ever did getting aragaMilk outta my routine. Using the kalkwasser drip has brought it up to 400 in just 6 days

This is obvioulsy the way to go.