Homemade Two-part Calcium And Alkalinity Additive

[Matthew5664]

Well I just got hame and the results are in.......DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR (drum roll)

Ca came in at 420ppm, thats a 20ppm rise with a 40ml dose

Alk came in at 8.4dKH, thats a 0.6d rise with a 40ml dose

pH was the same at 7.9-8.1 (hard with colour charts, anyone know a good moniter?)

So all in all I think it went well. I was aiming for a 10ppm rise in Ca thinking I would hit 415 but 420 is still good. With the Alk I wanted about 9 but 8.4 is just as good.

Now the wait, one month just before WC, test and again after.

Results pending................

SH> handbags at dawn?

Still can't get my head around a non-living animal? could you explane?

Just found this "Generally a level above 400 ppm is desirable and many authors recommend 430-480 ppm calcium for these corals".Here

 

[Matthew5664]

Well after 8 days it was time for a water change with RedSea. After the change (15%) I tested for CA and Alk results are as follows:

Ca 390ppm
Alk 7.2dKH

Could work out why the Ca had dropped so much then the googling took place and I found the following info on the salt;


The calcium content of Coral Reef Red Sea Salt has been formulated such that after dissolving in normal tap water it will produce a solution that contains 380-425 ppm (dependent on the level of calcium present in the tap water) of calcium

So you’re saying if I use RO the level will be 390??? Well time for a Test. Sure enough it came in at 380.

So on with the dosing. Just like to add that I've experienced a coralline algae explosion.

Just thought I'd let you all know and could anyone recommend a better salt brand?

 

[SkiFletch]

Glad to hear things are working well for you matt. When I start stocking more corals I'll be following in your footsteps, but right now with a calc of 480 and alk of 12 I dont really need to dose