I need to understand Calcium and Alk better!

mikelush78

mikelush78

AC Members
Jun 30, 2006
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Rochester
OK have some questions. Right now i use B-Onic 2 Part Calcium and Alk. I only use it once a week with my regular water changes and have not had a problem yet.

My understanding is if you buffer calcium then it lowers Alk.
If you buffer Alk it lowers Calcium.
If your alk is high, then your ph will be higher.
If you PH goes lower, then PH will go lower.
If you buffer PH, its a temporary fix because it will go right back to being low if alk is not at the right level.

Is this true on my part for thinking?

What do you guys use to buffer alk and calcium?
Was thinking about using this kalk mix by Kent and setting up a gravity fed system...
https://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=KM3115&idCartRow=4988303&isKit=0

Would I have to dose every day if I do that or depends on the aquarium and the load that is in it?
 
Randy's articles are very good, however to simplify things...

1. Having a better understanding of the chemistry helps but is not going to make things easier. The check/balance of nature can drive some people nutty on high demand systems.

2. If calcium is all over the board on a weekly basis than a calcium reactor might be needed to stabilize levels.

3. Testing is and should be the only way to properly dose your tank. For example, I use iron oxide resins that alter the ionic balance of hydrogen atoms and cause my alkalinity to go down. For 6 weeks I needed to ONLY dose the Alkalinity portion of my 2-part additive. Now that the buffers have stabilized(somewhat) I am getting readings of Calcium dropping to 400ppm. I can now dose calcium in equal proportions. The directions say dose together. However if I had done that then my Calcium would of skyrocketed.

Dripping Kalk is a great additive. I was using it but was getting Phosphates from my cheap kalk mix so I stopped. I was adding 5g per day for evap though.

The main thing here that I am stressing is only make NECESSARY adjustments with additives that are controlled thru simple daily water tests. If your readings don't vary for 3-4 days then you can test every 3 days so that your tests last longer.

There is more to calcium/alkalinity depletion than many realize. It can percipitate out, be consumed by corals, be affected by acids formed as by products of the nitrogen cycle, be consumed by calcerous plants in our fuges...There are many things that change our calcium/alkalinity ratios daily.

Therefore testing is necessary, corrections should be made only when needed, and understanding that each tank will have a different "demand" for calcium than the next will help you to design a buffering/dosing program suited specifically to your system.
 
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