Homemade Two-part Calcium And Alkalinity Additive

[Matthew5664]

Well as some of you may have seen on the web there a homemade Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity additive guide floating around so I thought I'd give it a go and got some pic for you all because we all like the pics!!

This is for those whos pH normal to low. If your pH is on the high side then you'll find another guide on the web link.

First to get the tech info on the additives Click here

For a video click here then click the little picture of Dowflake.

As for mine I took the ideas from the sites and had to alter them a bit us gallons to litres for us brits

Right first the Math. I know we all hate it but it must be done to get the correct strength in each solution. Now it does say two parts but there are three, don't know why it says two but it does.

For the fist part you take 500g (CaCl2) Calcium chloride to make 1 us gallon. Therefore 1 USG is 3.79 Litres so divide 500 by 3.79 and you get 131g per litre

For the second part you take 594g (NaHCo3) Sodium bicarbonate to make in 1 USG. Therefore 1USG = 3.79L so 594/3.79 = 156g per Litre

And the third is 64oz=1990g (MgSo4) Magnesium sulphate to make 1USG. Therefore 1USG = 3.79L so 1990/3.79 = 525g per Litre.

With that in hand I got on the web (ebay) and bought my ingredeance for £17.65 total!! This was 500g of CaCl2, 500g of NaHCo3 and 600g of MgSo4. I have found that may places sell these the last one is Epsom salt found in chemists, the Sodium bicarb you would find in a supermarket or again in the chemists. Only the calcium part I had trouble with but eBay again came to my aid

So with all the bits delivered I went about drinking allot of Ginger ale from the local shop 24p a litre, three of them and I was on my way!

Right time for some pictures I think.

Here we have the chemicals needed

Then they were weighed out and bagged (I know the last ones a bit small but it’s just for show) the idea of the bag (you'll know if you watched the video) is that you can just cut the corner and you have a ready made funnel.

Here we have the 1000ml (1L) bottles marked with pen at the 1L line (use measuring jug to get exact volume)
As the instruction on the first link state this is to make a total volume of liquid so you have to allow for displacement by the solid. This is way you just don't add 1L water to the solid. And I'm sorry for the blurry picture.

Right next you add your chemicals to the bottles remember we had those in bag well cut the corner and off you go.

Then you add the water. RO is good DI could be used anything else will upset the chemical makeup of the additive. I used RO. Top up to the line to make 1L total solution.

At this point I've posted the topic by mistake I'm sorry. I'll continue>

With allot of shaking most of the solid should dissolve. Some of the chemicals used aren’t pure so some solid will remain at the bottom. Also a word of warning when making the Calcium bit the solution will get hot due to the chemical reaction but it does not get to hot.

Then last of all if you’re a right nerd you can use word on windows to create labels for your supplements!

Anywhos hope this will help some of you and save you some money in the long run.

Just a note> The Calcium and Bicarbonate solutions should be used in equal parts but not together and the magnesium as an ion balance once and a while.

Please don't just tip them in willy nilly test and test again before adding anything to your tank the only add 30-80ml at a time! These are very strong solutions.

I can't take responsibility for any loss dew to the use of these.

All that said enjoy.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Before you go adding willy-nilly stuff, I must stress, you should have a good understanding of what your adding and why.

Alkalinity
Calcium

Not only should you know what your adding and why, make sure you TEST all parametrs that your are altering. DONT add anything unless you noticed a trend in the quick decline of calcium or alkalinity, most often noted by people who keep SPS and corals with calcium carbonate (CACO3) shells under top conditions.

If you mix synthetic sea salt, apart from a few brands that have had trouble lately with their alkalinity, and change water frequently, you shouldnt need additives, bar calcium for those corals who suck it outta the water.

Another alternative, very well known, is Kalkwasser, a saturated solution of calcium hydroxide in fresh water. This can be purchased as builders lime at your hardware, and can buffer your Alk and Calc. in one hit.

Kalkwasser

Have you tested your water Matthew? What are your levels?

I think this post is informative and good for those who might need help with this, but I think it might be better suited once youve tried it out, tested water every day to weekly, and monitor pH swings, which can occur and kill your tank. Im not saying this because I dont think youve done your homework Matthew, just a word of caution for those reading.

 

[Matthew5664]

As long as the supplements are added in equal parts there should be an upset in the ionic balance therefore the pH should not raise more than 0.15 to 0.35 pH units on addition. Only the Calcium content in (ppm) and the Alkalinity (KH or meq/l) should have the largest change.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Sweat. Perhaps my original opst was a bit weary. I found the time to watch that video and read Randy Holmes Farley's article. Very informative. Im going to do a bit more research and ask around. I might end up stopping adding my Calc buffer, so I can raise my Calc and Alk at the same time. Although, I think Kalkwasser should give the same results. I dunno....lol. Thanks Matthew, I shall look into it abit more, keep us pdated.

 

[Matthew5664]

Well for a update

After work today I tested the water for Ca and Alk they where as follows

Ca= 390ppm (ok if a little low) 380-450 being good range

Alk= 7.8dKH (again on the low side of ok) 7-11 dKH being good

With this in mind I'm going to dose 45ml of parts 1 and 2 tonight and test tomorrow. All goes well should have a 10ppm raise in Ca and a 1.3dKH raise in Alk.

Watch this space

 

[SkiFletch]

*Waits patiently*

 

[steelhealr]

A few quick questions:

1) How old is your tank?
2) What corals do you have in there?
3) What is your pH?

The reason I am asking you this is because your parameters are totally normal. Why are you dosing with a homemade concoction? Just curious. SH

 

[Matthew5664]

To see if it works. No point making it and not using it.

Let’s call it curiosity and one large chemistry experiment. As I'm not allowed to blow things up, I'm doing this.

I just have too much time on my hands.


Tanks 5 months old

1 large P. flexuosa and cople of softys

pH is 7.9-8.1


Here is some of the info i've found. For the resons stated here I'm using the Ca supplement rather than Kalkwasser.

Calcium choride
Advantages:

The advantages of calcium chloride and buffer are:
•Calcium chloride is widely available and inexpensive.
•Calcium chloride dissolves rapidly and it is possible to mathematically determine how much is needed.

Disadvantages:

When this method is employed, it tends to be used as a bolus type of supplementation method. That is, when it is determined that the calcium levels are low, a large amount of calcium chloride is dumped in to correct the problem. When the proper level of calcium is reached, the addition of calcium chloride is stopped.

•If a measurement of alkalinity is not undertaken, the calcium level may be fine, but the alkalinity level drops too low. This causes one of the coral's main sources for carbon to be reduced. If this is not corrected, a drop in pH may occur due to the tank's loss of buffering capacity. When this is realized, buffer is usually added to make up for the reduced alkalinity. At this point, one of two things happen:

•The calcium level drops and the cycle is repeated, or

•The system becomes stable for a short time and then additional supplements are added as needed. Even if the system is stable for a short time, depending on the buffer used, some elements may start to accumulate to unnatural levels. Sodium and bromide in particular may build up, as they are contained in high levels in most buffers. As a result, some animals may begin deteriorating for no apparent reason. If the source of the problem is determined, then the only course of action to remedy the problem is to do more frequent, and larger, water changes. This can shock the animals, or possibly get the system back to the point where the problem originated.

This system may work fine in tanks where lesser amounts of calcium are consumed, for example, tanks with small amounts of coralline algae and a small population of soft corals. In these tanks, the above problems should not occur.

Kalkwasser.
Advantages:
European aquarists have been using kalkwasser for the past twenty years with great success. Some of the advantages of this method are:

•Kalkwasser is simply calcium hydroxide dissolved in water, so it is very straightforward to use.
•There are many different manufacturers of kalkwasser, including Kent, Seachem, and Warner Marine, with all of them having relatively the same high quality.

•Kalkwasser adds virtually nothing to the water that is deleterious (harmful), only calcium and hydroxide ions.

•Kalkwasser precipitates out phosphate, which allows calcification to occur better. Due to its high pH, phosphate precipitates out as calcium phosphate.

•Kalkwasser is also relatively easy to make and is inexpensive. All that is required is to add the dry powder to water and shake it up. Note: Allow the cloudy mixture to settle out and then use the clear liquid as make-up water.

•Now there are even kalkwasser reactors available that do the mixing and stirring. These have come to be called "Nielsen reactors," after their initial advocate.

Disadvantages:
Unfortunately, there are also some shortcomings to the use of kalkwasser. The disadvantages include:

•Kalkwasser dissolves poorly in water; only approximately 1.5 grams are able to dissolve in a liter of water. As a result, if the tank's evaporation rate is low, it is difficult to maintain the calcium level through the use of kalkwasser alone.

•Kalkwasser is also a caustic (corrosive) alkaline agent, so care must be taken when mixing it up so that the dust is not inhaled.

•Kalkwasser has a very high ph (12.00+), so it should not be dumped into the tank in large quantities or it will raise the tank's pH levels to excessively high levels. Note: This can be used to an advantage by dosing it slowly at night when the tank's pH typically drops. As a result, dramatic changes in pH can be reduced.

•Over time, the use of kalkwasser lowers the alkalinity in the tank. As a result, buffer also has to be added from time to time when kalkwasser is used.

•The biggest drawback is that kalkwasser needs to be fresh. It should not sit in its mixed form for very long or else it interacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide and converts into insoluble calcium carbonate. As a result, kalkwasser should be mixed up daily before it is added to the tank.

Also if you reed THIS article on the supplements I'm using you will see for a "homemade concoction" allot of time and maths went into it by a Doctor of marine biology Randy Holmes. I go some way to trusting his calculations and for my own peace of mind I've worked through them myself.

This artical explains how to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme

And this will help you solve Calcium and Alkalinity Problems

All these go along way to helping you understand Calcium and Alkalinity, and would advise all to reed them.

This Thread was to show you how to implement what others have done. If you don't need it don't do it. As for me I like playing and it's all been in the name of science. (Mwarhhhhhh evil laugh)

Now I'm off to take over the world with my army of genetically engineered flying sharks

 

[steelhealr]

If you like to experiment, I guess this makes sense. There isn't much in your tank right now, thank goodness. On paper, your tank is completely normal and dosing makes zero sense EXCEPT FOR EXPERIMENTING. Think twice before doing this. Why not just find a plastic tub from Walmart, fill it with sand, create the same parameters as your tank, and experiment on non-living animals? SH

 

[Matthew5664]

Nice Idea in theory but I would have to recalculate the amounts for the main tank when it needs it. This way the calculations are done (I did them twice to make sure) I know about how much I need to add to raise the levels by X amount. This is now in the testing phase I dosed the tank last night after lights out and the fish had go to sleep ( this way they are not swimming around with 'pockets' of high Ca or Alk) and tonight I will test the levels again. With these results I can then recalculate how much I need to give to get a more precise measurement.

To do this in a plastic tub would be good but I would need to have the same volume of water, water movement, amount of LR and sand (CC in my case). All that would be a little impractical.

I do take onboard what you are saying and I would never just tip things in without researching it first. I took me 3 months research before I even bought the tank!

All that said, the next phase would be to then test the Ca and Alk in say 1 month to see how much decline in the level there is then work out the correct dose knowing that it will be right.

PS whats a non living animal? .......... a dead one?

 

[SkiFletch]

PS whats a non living animal? .......... a dead one?

My EX

 

[Matthew5664]

I take it you don't get on?

 

[SkiFletch]

I take it you don't get on?

Not exactly but I digress. Still waiting on your results

 

[steelhealr]

sssssstttt....OUCH. lol SH

PS..non living animals was typed correctly. SH

 

[ostrow]

What's the experiment?

This is tried and true. I've been using this recipe for over a year and a half. I use a Cole Parmer Masterflex dosing pump on about 6hrs a day, probably dose 100ml - 150ml of each part. And I drip kalk for all my topoff.

You can guy all of the ingredients in large bulk amounts. The calcium chloride can be found in 50lb bags. The bakind soda obviously can be found in huge amounts. The kalk can be found as pickling lime in 50lb bags. The trickiest is the magnesium but even that can be had in large amounts. I do half epsom salts half mag flake.

Works great and costs pennies compared to the brands sold for the hobby in tiny amounts.