should I add calcium/magnesium?

[david]

I use softened water for my tank so there is little if any coming in with the water changes. (water specs (http://richpoorman.com/aquaria/maintank/water.htm)) I dose with Flourish, but that probably is not adding much. The snails, so far, all have translucent or cloudy shells. The Ghost shrimp seem to be doing ok. The plants seem ok, but are still fairly new.

I'm not too worried about the snails, but rather the plants and shrimp.

I don't want to bypass the water softener (too inconvenient) and the water is just too hard.

Should I be adding Calcium/Magnesium? If so, what product and how much to add?

Thanks,

[Slappy*McFish]

Well it depends on what you want your target to be. If your KH is already where you want it to be, then you can use pure calcium chloride. I use Seachem's Reef Calcium(polygluconate complexed calcium), personally..as it doesn't affect the pH or KH of the water and raises GH. Magnesium can be supplied by adding Epsom salts(magnesium sulfate) to the water until your desired target is reached. You'll need to play around with the levels to find the correct mixture for your tank water.

[david]

My swords are showing the deficiency now with cupped and scalloped leaves.

I don't know what my target should be.

The water comes out of the tap with a GH of 0 ppm. When put into the tank it "magically" jumps to 50 ppm and stays there. So I am basically starting with no calcium or magnesium.

My KH is 240 which I assume is ok.

How high a GH should I aim for? How quickly should I ramp up to the target?

I'm thinking of using Seachem Reef Complete (calcium/magnesium/strontium) to get the ratio right, but am not sure if the strontium is bad.

Thanks for your help,

[PumaWard]

I would aim for 6-8 degrees gH. I use Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) to raise the gH for my Tanganyikan tank, you probably use it for yours too. Like slappy said, you're also going to need to find a source for calcium that doesn't move your pH around.

[david]

What is the conversion factor for degrees to ppm? I have read at least two conflicting answers.

Thanks,

[Slappy*McFish]

1dH = 17.9ppm