Calcium Hydroxide/calcium Chloride

[rictheredneck]

does a calcium chloride solution have such a drastic effect on the ph the same as a calcium hydroxide solution does?

 

[pengy666]

Maybe not quite the right answer but it may shed a bit of light on the relationships of the chemical breakdowns etc

forgive me if its no use tho

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between
Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH

 

[rictheredneck]

lol i just read that like an hour ago...

 

[pengy666]

oops sorry dude!

It very informative tho, I have only skimmed over it,

I have to read it printe I just cant sit at a pc reading deep stuff lol

 

[SkiFletch]

Calcium Chloride does not have an effect on pH. The chloride ion is neither acid, nor base. Calcium Hydroxide (kalkwasser) however is a strong base with a pH of 12 and will negatively effect the pH of your tank if added improperly. If you want to use Kalkwasser you have to drip it into a sump, but if you want to use calcium chloride, you can just dump it in

 

[rictheredneck]

cheers ski!

just another question aswell if thats the case why do people use kalkwasser rather than chloride?

 

[Musho3210]

some want the ph to go higher lol. Kalk has a balance of Alk and CA, this is good for the tank. Im not sure if chloride has that balance... IME kalk doesnt help calcium that much but is better with alk and pH.

 

[rictheredneck]

ahhh right so people who use kalkwasser dont use a diff suppliment for their alk? makes sense...

 

[Musho3210]

i used to use kalk, it was great for alk, kept it at 9-10. Ph would always be up, but didnt help the calcium much at all. So if you mainly have calcium problems i wouldnt recommend kalk.

 

[rictheredneck]

well im just gonna start stockin up on my corals list mostly lps and would like a few clams so i think its time to start lookin at my stats just ordered some salifert test kits for nitrate calc alk magnesium already got nitrate calc but im after decent results im not too sure the reliablity of my old stuff. i have some calc chloride from work need to get some baking soda and some epsom salts if mag becomes a problem. im currently ruuning without phos remover so i ordered some rowaphos aswell i have a phosphates test its an oldish one but im gettin skint i could do with another koralia i only have 16 x turnover but thats gonna wait till i get paid. is there anything else i should be looking at gettin whilst the goin is good?

im a lil nervous ive never done any dosing b4 so i hope it all goes well and if it doest thats why you guys are gere to help me out right?

gonna get my stats right and try and keep them stable (shouldnt be hard i only have a chromis and a damsel in a 80 gal) for a few weeks and hopefully start introducing some friends into my tank eeeeeh happy days!

 

[Musho3210]

if you want to save money, buy GFO in bulk at two part solution.

 

[rictheredneck]

gfo? sorry

 

[SkiFletch]

GFO - Granular Ferric Oxide, and unfortunately you can't buy it from twopartsolution.com, its a US store only

Pretty much all GFO comes from the same manufacturer in Germany. Rowaphos and Phosban are the big 2 names but even bulk suppliers use the same stuff. Wish I could help out where to buy it in the UK.

A personal note on magnesium: Do your best to select a sea salt with high magnesium to start with. I believe Seachem and Coralife have high mg. If you don't, you'll find yourself struggling to dose enough of it as every water change will hurt you as opposed to help you... And of the 3 chemicals, magnesium is the hardest to get your hands on. Clac and alk are cheap/easy, but mg's a pain

 

[rictheredneck]

ahhh right so gfo is what commercial phosphate remover are made from, is that it? so if i could get my hands on some of that all i would need to do is chuck it in a nylon bag? end of?

nitrate, calc and alk test kits are here im not gonna tell you what my nitrate level is but i will let you know my calc and alk after the huge water change is that im doin

 

[Musho3210]

i need to read where people are from more....

GFO is considered one of the best phoshpate removers for its price now. Rowaphos, phosban are all GFO, but other things like i think kent phosphate sponge isnt GFO. But i also think GFO is quite expensive. Try to find a bulk supplier.

Coralife and Oceanic are high in magnesium acording to this test someone did. The problem is coralife has a lot of phosphate and Oceanic is low in Alk..... Nothings ever perfect i guess.....