Recent content by SB-129

I use it, but have only done so for a couple of weeks. Some folks have been using it for up to a year with good results. Others have complained that it provoked algae blooms. It IS higher in calcium than just regular water and calcium hydroxide powder. It still doesn't meet my calcium needs but...

Whoa! I've never heard of anyone just pouring (or dripping) tap water into a reef tank... Chlorine is of course a concern but there are many other potential contaminants, aren't there? Heavy metals? Copper from old pipes? Organics? I mean, if it works for you, great, but I'd never try such an...

Actually, provided that the vinegar is dissolved in a solution saturated with Kalk, it doesn't alter the pH of either the Kalkwasser or the system significantly, Craig Bingman wrote an excellent article on the use of vineger to increase the calcium carrying capacity of Kalwasser...

I suppose you're right, I'm simply intrigued by any alternative to a US$500-$700 calcium reactor setup. The cost of these devices is outrageous, and I don't know if my marriage can withstand another $1K in the tank. :-) BTW, maybe it's not the 1/2 teaspoon but rather the liter thing... :-) A...

And another question: why can't a calcium reactor be set up to enrich make-up water with calcium rather than plumbed to the main system? If something went wrong, only a batch of RO is at stake. Couldn't CO2 be bubbled through a chamber full of aragonite and make up water using fairly minimal...

Can someone more chemistry-savvy than myself answer a basic question? A calcium reactor uses CO2 to drop the pH in the chamber to the point that aragonite will dissolve. What pH level is obtained? I ask because I know that vinegar, a common Kalk additive used by reefers has a fairly low pH...

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Hello! I'm new to the board and have a chemistry question: Despite dosing vinger-spiked Kalk for my makeup water (using a dosing pump) my Ca levels are falling steadily (20 ppm/day) since adding several new corals including a few SPS frags (I'm kind of amazed they're growing under my 175 10K...

Thanks for your replies. So the stuff is 1/2 calcium chloride and 1/2 baking soda? Anyone know the proportions and/or their relationship to the strengths usually sold? Couldn't this be home brewed cheaply? Davelin: John recommends Tropic Marin to maintain calcium, which seems to be a...