"Curious about calcium" survey

[danny zubot]

I didn't make this a poll because it wouldn't provide all of the info I wanted, please treat it as a survey.

Please give a general tank description and what you are using for Calcium/alk suppliments?

ie: 100 gallon mixed reef, calcium reacter, 400ppm and 8dkh etc...

Thanks everyone! :biggrin:

[molybdenumman]

90 gallon mixed reef. Tech CBA Ca/alk. ~370 ppm. ~10.5 dKH.

[muck]

40 Gallon mixed reef
Liquid Reactor

[BMW Rider]

130 gallon reef - 390-400ppm ca
kalk reactor
occassionaly add Kent turbo calcium to boost ca level up when low

[Quinster]

180G mixed reef, calcium reactor, 430ppm and 9dkh, Kalk drip (soon to be a Kalk Reactor) sometimes use calcium if needed to boost levels up if there has been any new additions.

[Rikko]

65 gallon mixed (90% LPS) reef.
Ca floats around 420 ppm - when it hits 400 I nudge it up to 450-460 over a few hours.
Alk sits around ... I think 9dkh? I'm drawing a blank. Anyways, I park it right in the middle of "normal" seawater.


My alk supplement is just Arm and Hammer baking soda. I don't consume too much so I'm not worried about pH drop as soem folks seem to be.

My ca supplement is a Calcium Hardness increaser from the pool supply store. It's a 77% calcium chloride, essentially the same as Dowflake or Turbocalcium.

I test with Salifert tests a couple times a week, maybe even less than that now that I've more or less mapped the system's consumption.

[marie]

75g, mostly lps and sps, kalk spiked with vinegar and kents 2 part. Calcium 380 and alk 8dkh

[mr_alberta]

~75G water volume SPS only tank, Calcium - ~400ppm, Alk - ~3.20mEq/L, Calcium reactor and Kalk reactor.

[Jack]

Calcium Reactor used and Kalkwasser mixed with all top-off water.

Calcium is 420 and Alkalinity is 9dkh.

120g SPS tank.

[Joe Reefer]

72 gallon, Kent Liquid Reactor, Ca 425 ppm, Alk 3.5 meq

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

35g & 33g Kent's Liquid Reactor & NaOH

[sumpfinfishe]

27gl LPS/SPS reef, Kent's Liquid Reactor and Liquid Calcium

[christyf5]

90 reef, calcium reactor. Ca=420ppm, alk = 7.4dkH

[monza]

500g. including sump and frag tank, pretty much SPS and fish
-AquaMedic Calcium reactor
-Calcium 390-430ppm
-Alkalinity is 9-10dkh
-Calmax two part additive on hand for when I start playing with my reactor and screw it up.

If your thinking of what road to go down I vote for the CA reactor.

Dave

[EmilyB]

230g - clam/sps mostly...Ca Reactor 450 plus and about 9 dkh...been trying to boost the alk levels with some buffer, or the part one ( for no particular reason but just cuz THEY say.... :lol: )

67g - softies mostly. 2 part B-Ionic sometimes. mostly because if the levels are high, it keeps bad algae away. Ca 450 alk 9 Water changes to maintain mostly. ( southpark reference mostly :razz: )

33g - water changes only Ca 420 alk 8 dkh

[Bob I]

I use the KISS principle.

75 gallon mixed with mostly softies and LPS with a few SPS thrown in for good measure. I don't test so I don't know, and I don't worry. :biggrin: I use no additives, just local water.

33 gallon with mainly zoanthids. Same as above.

[danny zubot]

If your thinking of what road to go down I vote for the CA reactor.

It seems that I'm in the middle of the small tank vs. Big tank with a total volume of about 90 gallons. So far I add Ca+ and 2 part Alk buffers. I'm just wondering at what point does it become more economical to add a calcium reactor instead of dosing with additives.

[monza]

I'd guess at your size it would be better right now. IMO it also helps balance out the PH and Alk as well as maintaining the calcium. It's all so a cool piece of hardware which I think is half the fun.

If your not in a rush I "may" consider selling my Aquamedic unit in a couple of months. My tank has really out grown it's max output. Haven't even considered what price or any thing, just thinking down the road.

Dave

[danny zubot]

Down the road I guess, if the right deal comes along I might consider anything! Space under the stand would also be an issue though.

[Delphinus]

Please give a general tank description and what you are using for Calcium/alk suppliments?

ie: 100 gallon mixed reef, calcium reacter, 400ppm and 8dkh etc...


75g SPS reef, calcium reactor, kalk reactor, Ca=350ppm and Alk=3.5meq/l (targeted).

90g softies+anemone reef, no reactors, no additives. Ca=dunno/don't-care Alk=ditto

... I second the arguments for a calcium reactor. I realize it's a heavy investment but I have to tell you, when you get one you will seriously wonder how you ever got by without one. I never have to worry about training someone to do additives when I go away for a weekend or whatever .. don't even really have to test the water for parameters anhmore. I just check the output of my reactor, if it's output'ing the right flowrate and the pH is 6.7 ... I know it's "just right". Test once in a while for the fun of it but the results are always the same. I love that.

[danny zubot]

Anyone have a link I can start my reactor research at. You know, how they work, what to look for etc?

[untamed]

40 gal...saturated Kalk dosed 24hrs/day with metered pump...50ml/hr.