Kent's Liquid Calcium Q's

NilsBaees

NilsBaees

Smile!
Sep 22, 2007
318
0
16
Northern California
I just bought a bottle of this for my snails, but I'm really confused as to how much to add. I hope you all don't mind a few questions? :help:

1) It says, "Add 1/4 to 1 teaspoon (1 capful or 5 ml) per 50 gallons tank capacity each day, based on animal load." That doesn't seem like very much! My brigs are in a 6 gallon with two cory cats. And I'm a little puzzled by the way they give multiple measurements ("1/4 to 1"). So how many ml do I add to my tank?

2) I've been told to dilute it first. Dilute as in to just put it in the tank, or mix it with water and THEN put it in the tank?

3) If I accidentally OD (the amount for my tank as I understand it doesn't seem to be much), what are the signs? Is ODing on calcium possible?

4) How long will it take until I see visible effects on shell growth?

Thanks so much! Any help is appreciated!
 
Liquid calcium is basically calcium chloride that can increase the KH but not the pH. I don't think there is an issue from overdosing the tank full of snails with calcium and when you dilute, dilute it first with a cup of tank water before adding it to the tank. As for shell growth, that's dependent on several variables such as temperature, water conditions, etc.
 
Personally, I add 2.5ml per 5 gallon bucket of water at each water change... I add it directly to the water I'm adding to the tank.

BUT... I have soft water- you may not need that much.



I had to experiment how much I needed by increasing the dosage a little at a time. You can try adding a small amount to your water when you do a water change- if it's not enough, next time you do a water change add a little more. Basically you can tell by watching your water parms.
 
I have read that if you add it directly to the tank, it can burn the snails.

There has been a few times, that some of it got on my hand and with any small cuts, it does sting a little.
 
? Don't corydoras need slightly acidic and soft water? The opposite of what snails need?
 
jpappy789 said:
Never heard of any corydoras species that NEEDS a ceratin type of water...
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Yup. A lot of corydoras are domesticated and therefore can adapt quite well to various range of water conditions.:)
 
I use kent's in my tank. It can burn the snails when added directly to tank water, so I usually drip it very slowly into the inflow from the Python when i do water changes. Between water changes, I squirt it into a 3 gallon bucket of dechlorinated water, mix well and then add to the tank.

I usually add about one good squirt per day - I don't measure it out precisely. There is no real formula for how much you need. For example, I have a 50 gallon tank with about 50 snails. I feed high-calcium foods like kale and collard greens, and I also have crushed shell substrate, so although I have many snails, they don't need much additional calcium in the water.

Dosing will depend on your individual tank. If you have fewer snails in the same setup as mine, you would need less. If you had fewer snails but softer water, you would need the same amount. If you had the same number of snails, same setup, but softer water or you were feeding low-calcium foods, you might need more.

Start with the recommended dosage on the bottle - it's a good place to begin. Monitor the tank and the quality of your snails' shells. If you don't see much improvement, increase the dosage. Once you see improvement, stick with that dosage.
 
If 5ml=50 gallons then 1ml per 10 gallons. 1 ml is 1cc or 20 drops (from an eyedropper). I had the same problem and the pharmacist gave me a medicine dropper to be able to dose correctly.
 
excuzzzeme said:
If 5ml=50 gallons then 1ml per 10 gallons. 1 ml is 1cc or 20 drops (from an eyedropper). I had the same problem and the pharmacist gave me a medicine dropper to be able to dose correctly.
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isn't that a remarkably small dosage? I hope it works..
 
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