Calcium problems.

[titus]

Hello,

Um.. the thread is picking up speed with many more people participating. Good.

Steve, I tried to read your last post but I'm kinda tired right now (9:45am on Monday and a problem I'm working on is giving me a headache. The monitor image is shaking!) so I didn't double read it.

But bottom line is this and I'm going to list in point form because it's easier for me to write:

1) Unless you are very experienced with "rapid deployment" of calcium reactors, with apriori knowledge of your tank water condition, it'd take (like Fudge and others said) a few weeks for it to dial in. This can be 4-6 weeks or more. If you are very good, however, it'd take days but still probably a week for things to balance out.

2) Good media like the ARM dissolves all needed nutrients in the proper balanced proportion like a multi-vitamin like Fudge said.

3) Good ca reactors would give you a high value of alk and ca in the effluent. How high? I can't even measure them with my test kits. That's how high and efficient it is.

4) Alk and Ca are like kids. You want harmony between them and it is up to you to do that. If one is bullying the other, then the other is in trouble.

5) Good ca reactor design = over engineering. How? A very large chamber. Why? Because a larger effluent rate doesn't affect the internal turnover rate much. This means the water circulating inside and through the media have enough time to dissolve it.

6) Increase in CO2 while maintaining same effluent means lower pH inside reactor and higher dissolving of media. Increase of effluent while maintaining same CO2 means less dissolving of media and higher pH at output. So you need to increase both in your case.

Titus

[ 16 September 2002, 10:06: Message edited by: Titus ]