Crushed shells for calcium?

[blackcloudmedia]

So I live near a VERY abundant source of seashells and oyster shells. The question is can I crush these shells and use them for calcium in the tank. The shells are in the form of calcium carbonate of course but will the absence of calcium in the water "pull" the calcium free radicals out of the shells? If this works then I have about 30 mega tons of shells I could sell you guys lol :lol: just kidding Florida FWC

 

[Anonymous]

bealsbob






Most will say no to slightly. There needs to be very low flow and and pH to dissasociate the calcium.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, you need to have acid rain to dissolve the shells first. So practically, it is not very useful.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Did you just call me bealsbob? Im actually serious on this one guys. Its 20 bucks for a bottle of calcium and Im not exactly rich. My tank soaks a LOT of calcium up and that gets expensive. Im doing research to see if I can use hydrochloric acid to convert the calcium carbonate into calcium hydroxide. Thats the secret is turning carb into hydro.

 

[Slayer]

8) Hell yeah. Go man!!! I make my own charcoal from hardwood.
If you figure out a way to do let me know.

 

[Anonymous]

8) Hell yeah. Go man!!! I make my own charcoal from hardwood.
If you figure out a way to do let me know.

It is not that far fetched. Various limes are made from oyster shell for thousands of years.

Im doing research to see if I can use hydrochloric acid to convert the calcium carbonate into calcium hydroxide.

*ALL* you need to do is to remove the water molecule, and you don't need HCl.... :wink:

Seriously, it is not worth the trouble. In a calcium reactor, reefkeeper acidify the water with CO2, and use it to dissolve the shell. Unlike the HCl, CO2 does not stays in the water forever, and you won't have to deal with the ionic imbalance issue.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Sweet dupaboy, an intelligent answer. Given that the ambient air contains carbon dioxide would running an airstone through a column of crushed shells do the job? I dont have CO2 tanks laying around.

 

[trido]

Its 20 bucks for a bottle of calcium and Im not exactly rich. My tank soaks a LOT of calcium up and that gets expensive. .

Have you ever heard of pickling lime. Some of us reefers mix it up and call it kalkwasser. Two bottles cost me $12 and lasts four months. Ive seen your tank specs and corals and two bottles would probably last you at least six to eight months. If you can't afford that I would recommend you get a different hobby. Maybe goldfish.

 

[Anonymous]

Ambient CO2 is too low to be effiicient. You do need to use CO2. Check out commerical calcium reactor (and be forewarned about the sticker shock).

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Well I ran my expiriment. I didnt add liquid calcium to the tank for two days. Instead I added a basket of a fist sized amount of crushed shells. I just ran a calcium test and registered 400 PPM. My tank has always had a problem staying above 300. My PH and ALK are fine as is my other trace elements like MG. So Im going to continue to monitor it for two weeks and see what happens.