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vadryn
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Topic: Calcium Dosing... How long? Posted: November 06 2010 at 2:23pm |
I've been dosing Kent's A-B for calcium (according to instructions) for about 2 1/2 weeks now. When I started, my tank was a shocking 240. Now, even though I've dosed every day and double-dosed a few times, I'm still only up to 300. What's up?
90g tank fwiw
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: November 06 2010 at 3:58pm |
Dosing is part of the hobby. It never ends for most. I dose my tank daily. Is the Kent calcium used to maintain or raise Calcium? It should say on the bottle. If you are dosing the recommended amount to maintain the calcium, it won't raise it as fast as you think.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 06 2010 at 10:56pm |
Alkalinity and Calcium are continually used by almost every animal in the tank. Dosing must keep up with that use. I have never understood why the manufacturers even bother to give a recommended dosage, since it all depends on the amount of animals using it in any particular tank. Testing the levels and increasing or decreasing the dosage amount is the ONLY way Alk and Ca additives should used. Dose as much as is needed to keep Alk and Ca at the desired level.
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vadryn
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Posted: November 07 2010 at 9:14am |
How long should it take a 90g tank to get calcium from 240 up to 400? My understanding is that dosing would cut back to weekly once I got where I needed to be. My concern is that it seems like I'm not doing any good - stuck at 300. How much can I dose and not "poison" the tank?
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Snowsrfr
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Posted: November 07 2010 at 9:34am |
I've used this site on a past tank that I was having the same issue with. Very useful. http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html
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"A fish tank is not a pet. It's a TV that you gotta feed." - John Caparulo
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vadryn
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Posted: November 07 2010 at 8:19pm |
Wow. That says I will need to use about a quart of my Kent's to get up to 400. If it takes large amounts to maintain once I get there, I can see this being too expensive of a method to keep doing. Great calculator, btw.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 07 2010 at 10:39pm |
Hold on. Before doing anything else, the Alkalinity level must be known. That has a lot to do with the reason for Ca being hard to raise. The Mg level can also be an issue. You said the Ca is at 300 ppm. What are the Alk and Mg levels? Are you dosing both parts and in what proportions, equally or no? Regarding dosing, yes, maintenance at a higher level requires less additive than getting there. The levels of Alk and Ca vary by tank and it's not necessary to keep one tank levels the same as another. Just keep them within range. That's the beauty of using Baking soda and Calcium Chloride. Inexpensive, easy to mix up and easy to add. Eventually, if the tank is using a couple liters of each solution weekly, it's time to consider a Calcium Reactor.
Edited by Mark Peterson - November 08 2010 at 8:16am
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vadryn
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Posted: November 08 2010 at 8:48am |
When I started my CA was 240 and my Alk 11. I have been dosing equal parts of Kents A-B according to directions. It said if I dose calclium only my Alk would plummet in response. Now my CA is up to 300 and my Alk is up to 22. So much for following directions.
I'm going to stop dosing the B this week and see where it gets me.
I have the API test kit (what I can afford) and can only test Alk, Calcium, Nitrate, Posphate.
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: November 08 2010 at 12:14pm |
A 2 part like that is used to maintain levels. Only add calcium right now and just watch alk, if alk drops add a little bit. I never follow the dosing guides
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 08 2010 at 12:23pm |
We can provide much better directions specific to your tanks exact needs. Alk that high may cause problems if it hasn't already. It needs to be dropped ASAP. Pour in 2 cups of RO water-Calcium Solution and don't fret if the tank water gets cloudy. That's the tank chemistry taking care of the extra Alk. It won't hurt a thing. Test the Alk and Ca 12 hours later and let us know what they are. That will probably bring things close to where they should be.
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vadryn
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Posted: November 08 2010 at 12:35pm |
I don't know what you mean by " 2 cups of RO water-Calcium Solution"
I don't have an RO unit, either.
Thanks.
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vadryn
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Posted: November 08 2010 at 2:24pm |
I went home at lunch and tested again - thinking that maybe I tested a little too soon after dosing and not being sure I trusted the numbers. Alk was 20, not 22. I dosed another 60ml of the A and will test CA and ALK again tonight to see if things are turning around.
What kinds of "problems" would I look for? Everything seems to be normal, including invert activity, coral extension and appearance, fish...
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 09 2010 at 8:28am |
Oh, sorry. I forgot you are using the Kent liquid two part solutions. I was trying to fully describe the homemade liquid Calcium solution, to be sure you knew "2 cups of what?" The problem caused by too much Alk has to do with coral and sensitive fish parts like gills getting "burned". This can lead to slow death. An Alk of 20 and dropping isn't bad enough to be concerned about. Calcium can be "dumped" in without causing any bad effects. That's why I said 2 cups. But since the Alk is dropping and is now below 20 (with that 60 ml you added), you can keep adding and checking. You are doing well. Now that you know to add only the component that is needed(Alk, or Ca, or Mg, or etc.), you have passed an important milestone in your understanding of reef chemistry.
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vadryn
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Posted: November 09 2010 at 8:40am |
It makes me feel dumb, but I was really doing what I was told by the instructions. Oh well. Thanks for the correcting advice.
This is the last of Kent's I'm going to buy. I have to dose WAY too much to justify paying this. I saved a lot by getting this online instead of on sale at the LFS, but it's price is just not justified IMO.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 09 2010 at 9:40am |
You weren't dumb. My remark is why would the manufacturer be so dumb with their instructions! At one point in this hobby, I didn't dose anything and didn't do water changes for 18 months. I couldn't keep Hermits alive and thought the Sixline was killing them so I got rid of the fish. That was dumb. Soon after, I found out about Alk and Ca and my life was changed forever.
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vadryn
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Posted: November 10 2010 at 11:05pm |
I tested again tonight and am pleased. CA is 400 now and Alk is down to 16. I will dose the CA "normally" until Saturday, test, and then take a week off and test again to see how fast it's getting used.
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ninja_brandon
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Posted: November 11 2010 at 12:53pm |
Another recommendation would be to check out some Alk/Ca/Mg dosing guides. Or even check out Bulkreefsupply.com.
They have a nice little starter package that comes will everything you need for dosing and its around $40.
This may help to get you on course and dosing accurately. There is also a very nice tutorial video of how to use the chemicals made by bulk reef supply.
Also if you want to save even more money you could just order the calcium chloride and magnesium chloride from them and pick up some baking soda and epsom salt from the store to cover the Alkalinity portion and the other Magnesium Chloride portion that are needed in dosing. This helped me alot to see a visual representation as seen in the tutorial video.
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jcom
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Posted: November 11 2010 at 1:58pm |
My reef doser was one of the best investments I've made for my tank (along with an osmolator). Once you get it tuned in, it's basically set and forget (not really, I still test for good measure). My Ca gets dosed every 12 hours and my Alk gets dosed every 3 hours. That way, especially with Alk, there aren't dips and spikes.
By switching to homemade 2 part, I'm saving $100s per year.
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