trying to raise calcium levels

[Jerrod]

I am trying to grow and maintain coralline algae. I bought three pieces of rock with the algae already on it. So far the algae is not a deep purple as it was, but it is still living the rock. I would eventually like it to spread throughout the tank.

I I need to get my calcium up to around 400ppm. For the last 2 months I have tried everything to increase the calcium but it will not seem to go over 200.
I first started dosing with Kent Kalkwasser using a drip IV tube method.

Then I tried using ARAGAMILK, placing drops in the tank and using it for replacement water. I am now using Tropic Marin Bio-Calcium and Three Little Fishes Kalkwasser and still no increase.

I dose the Bio-Calcium in the tank about every day and also I mix it in the water I use for my weekly water change. The calcium concentration increases while the water is in the plastic bucket, so I know the Bio-Calcium will work----JUST NOT IN MY TANK. I also dose Tropic Marin Magensium.

Last night I dosed the kalkwasser and this morning I noticed that the end of the drip tube had accidentally gotten summered into the sump. There was a thick crust of calcium all around the tip.

My questions are:

What is going on with this tank so that the calcium never increases?

My sump has a protein skimmer that churns up the water, should I be dosing the kalk directly into the tank instead of the sump?

I have Carib Sea Araganite for substrate. Is this impacting the Calcium in a negative way?

STATS:
55 Gallon tank Ammonia 0 ppm
5 small fish Nitrite 0 ppm
3 shrimp Nitrate 5 ppm 1 star fish Phosphate 0 ppm
2 Snalls PH 8.3
ALK 11 DKH

Salifert Calcium test Kit, Kent RO/DI unit
Wet dry with ETS skimmer, Iwaki external pump, UV, and micron canister filters. One air stone submerged in the tank for additional oxygen.

Thanks in advance

Jerrod

 

[Roach]

I'm not too sure why your calcium isn't increasing. Maybe your test kit is off. I have never used kalk, though almost everyone on this board swears by it. I use all the seachem products for additives. Their calcium supplement is really easy to use. Just mix it up with some fresh water and dump it into your sump. It took about 3 months before I started getting good corraline growth...now it's covering everything. I also raised my salinity up to about 1.0245. That really seemed to help as well.

 

[EmilyB]

I would be hesitant about additions of anything until you can verify your test results. Regular water changes should have your Ca much higher than this.

 

[Marcosreef]

Are you testing your magnesium?

If you are doing weekly water changes, then you probably don't need to add magnesium, IMO.

Check it to make sure it's not sending your calcium on a rollercoaster ride. HTH Marco

 

[Jerrod]

Thanks for your note

I thought it might be the test kit, so I bought a Salifert, a Sea Test, a Quik test, and now a Tropic Marin. They are all reading around 200ppm when the water is taken from the tank.

I added some bio-calcium to the change water in the bucket. I tested before and after the addition and the PPM increased which leads me to think that something is wrong in the tank.

The livestock is OK and the 3 rocks with the coralline are OK too, so perhaps I should just let the tank go, wait until after several water changes and test again.
I just can’t figure it out.

I don’t have a magnesium test but I will buy one. Will too much magnesium Impact the calcium?

Thanks all again!

Jerrod

 

[sMARTY]

Quite the opposite. The Theory is that not enough Mg keeps your Calcium and Alk out of whack. Your Mg should be in the 1200 - 1500 range. This will keep Alk and Calcium from fighting each other. Get your Mg up (once you start testing) and that may well solve your problem.

 

[sparks]

The Salifert kit is probably the best available here, for the money.

 

[esmithiii]

How long did you dose kalkwasser, and in what quantity? IMO, Kalkwasser is the very best way to increase calcium concentrations. All the other methods are not better, just more convenient.

Magnesium levels are critical to keeping Ca and Alk levels in the proper range.

In my 55, I dosed about 2-3 gal of kalkwasser a week. I would mix 2 teaspoons of the kalk powder in a gallon of water, let it set and then dose the gallon continuously 24 hours a day.

Give us more information, and we can surely help.

Also, coraline takes a while, sometimes up to 6 months to start spreading. Once it starts, thought it really takes off.

Ernie

 

[esmithiii]

Also, I dose mine in the sump. The protien skimmer will not remove the calcium. The crust of calcium you observed is normal. After a week or so, the crust on my drip line would be over an inch long!

Ditch the aragamilk and the bio-calcium and go back to dripping kalkwasser. I would do it 24-7 and shoot for a couple gallons of saturated kalkwasser a week. (Kalkwasser means lime water. Mix it full strength, 2 teaspoons per gallon)

What else do you have in the tank?

 

[Jerrod]

I mix 2 teaspoons to 1 gallon. I use a Kent drip doser which holds 2.5 gallons, so my initial dose was for about 2 gallons because the drip tube is in the middle of the container about 2 inches from the bottom. So there is always some fluid in the container when I add more.

Anyway I mix 2 teaspoons to 1 gallon on a plastic bucket, then gently pour it into the doser and screw the cap on tight. Then I let it sit several hours. At night I start the drip so that it is dripping 1 drip per second. In the morning I stop it, and then again in the evening I will drip the remaining fluid until it gets down to the discharge tube, then I mix up another batch and repeat.

I dose about 2 gallons a week, but I check the calc everyday to see if there is improvement----so far NOT. I let it drip into the sump, but then last night I tried letting it drip into the tank because I thought the skimmer and all of the increased oxygen it creates in the sump might have some impact. Well there was still no increase. I

I understand it takes a while for the coraline to spread, but I am afraid that with the low calc level that the coralline will die.

I will try to get a MAG test and see what it reads

Thanks for your help

Jerrod

 

[esmithiii]

For how many weeks have you been dosing? Stick with it. Kalkwasser is the best way to dose calcium, hands down.

Keep us informed. Let us know the results of the Mg test.

Ernie

 

[Jerrod]

Hey

I have been dosing the Kalk for about 3 weeks, but only about 2 days each week, so I guess I need to do it every day Huh?

I got a Mag test tonight. It is reading 990ppm so from what I have been reading that is too low.

I have tropic marin bio-mag but having used it as much as the calcium.

Do you think using the bio-mag will increase the mageiusm enough?

Thanks in advance for helping

Jerrod

 

[Marcosreef]

Yes, you can use the Bio-Magnesium... but it's going to take some time.

Max dose is 4 spoons per 30 gallons per day.
This will raise your Mg level by 20 ppm.

If your target is 1300 ppm, you will need roughly 15 max doses (days) to reach this.

 

[Common Sense]

Maybe this will help !!! Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium work hand in hand. Your alkilinity level must be correct for your calcium to stabalize around 400. If your alkilinity is too high it causes your calcium levels to fall. The magnesium acts kinda like a buffer for your calcium. When your alkilinity is off it will first bring down your magnesium levels before it forces your calcium level down. Your magnesium level should be around 1350. Check your alkilinty as this is very important. Keep up the kalkwasser drip. Make sure you use a powder form of magnesium to boost levels.

 

[Marcosreef]

Check out this article on Magnesium by Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley:

http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/library/articleview2.asp?Section=&RecordNo=2856

This explains how a low Mg level will impact Calcium and Alkalinity.

 

[Jerrod]

WOW

Thanks. I went to the web site containing the magnesium/calcium info and what think I get from this is that the Mag allows a greater concentration of calcium to be present before it will precipitate.

Since I have the bio-mag I can use it but it seems like it will take almost a month to raise the levels. It there a faster way or should I just wait out the month?

My alkalinity is around 12 DKH. Is this too high?

Does it make sense to continue to dose the Kalkwasser while the magesium is too low, or should I wait until it is in the proper range to resume dosing.

Thanks ALL

Jerrod