chemistry 101

I prefer to do water changes to cure this imbalance. I personally am not a big fan of adding the chemicals to try and balance the three pH, Cal and AlK. Doing water changes will bring these into correct balance and is the best way to avoid possible problems IMO.

Ray
 
I prefer to do water changes to cure this imbalance.
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Which salt mix are you using? Instant Ocean's Ca is 350, so there's no way to get Ca above this without supplementation. I am not a big fan of additives, but my dosing schedule with B-Ionic keeps the Ca at about 425 with an alkalinity of 3.5. Is this necessary? I can't say. Borneman's and Sprung/Delbeek's books say that Ca >400 is desirable for coral growth, so that's what I do.
 
what an interesting and helpful discussion! thanks all.

Ray, good point about water changes. When my water was tested last week, (when the calcium was 360) I had done a water change 24 hours earlier. I had intended to only do a 10%, but I was using a new vacuum/siphon gizmo that attaches to the faucet, and it ended up being about 20%....

Dave, we have been using Reef Crystals for our salt mix. I am going to have to look up the calcium percentages, am also curious about magnesium. If anyone else is familiar with this product, please chime in!
Can you tell me about B-Ionic? Is calcium chloride the chief ingredient? Does it contain other supplements like Mg?
 
Hi Cathy,

Reef Crystals has higher Ca (not sure exactly how high), so you might actually be able to get by with just water changes like Ray suggests. I have never worried about Mg, because it isn't consumed in the same quantities as Ca, and I have never had any indication that it's low. Water changes should keep Mg at a decent level.

ESV B-Ionic is a two-part supplement. One Part is CaCl2, the other NaHCO3. You get balanced Ca and alkalinity that way. You could actually make your own, but I am too lazy and it doesn't cost that much for a 20 gallon tank. It does contain trace elements, which I don't tend to worry that much about because I do regular water changes. It was helpful to have the Ca and alk separate in the beginning, because it allowed me to correct an imbalance of too high alk too low Ca. Now I have a regular daily dosing schedule that keeps everything constant.

In case you need more confusion, I mean information, this article really helped me understand what was happening with Ca and CO3.
 
really good article..............now I understand what my LFS was talking about in regards to Kalkwasser and Co2.

also, I can see why my salinity showed a nudge upward this morning!

I had used a buffer a couple of weeks ago to raise the alkalinity; then last week started gradually added the CaCl2....did I inadvertently simulate to some extent the reaction described?

I will continue to watch to see what happens, see what I can do with what I've already purchased...if that doesn't work you've given me another alternative to consider, not to mention a better grip on what could be going on!!
 
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