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Question relates to calcium supplementation.

A few weeks back I began adding (Kent Marine) Calcium, Iodine and Strontium to my tank. It calls for

Quote:

50 Gallon Tank:
5 ML Calcium every day
5 ML Strontium & Molybdenum every 4th day
5 ML Iodine once per week

Being that I'm running a 35 gallon tank I've been adding 3.5 ML on the schedule. Unfortunately the outstanding Kent Marine bottles do not actually say how much of each substance is in each ML.
It does say:

Quote:

Calcium
Calcium (min) 10% or 100,000 PPM

Strontium & Molybdenum
Molybdenum(min) 0.06 mg/oz
Potassium(min) 24.00 mg/oz
Strontium(min) 466.70 mg/oz

Iodine
Iodine (min) 22.5mg/oz

I've been checking the usual things: ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, alkalinity and PH and it seems nominal. However; I was at the local pet store buying a dog collar and I decided to see if they had any Kalkwasser as this is what Ned said to use (not this Kent Marine Calcium stuff)...they did not but they mentioned that calcium levels should be checked because you can overdose the fish.

Of course I purchased a calcium kit and ran a test as soon as I got home and it's looking like my calcium is at 600 ppm. From what I can find this is too high. Optimal levels should be around 400.

I tried researching this theory of overdosing calcium online and all I found was how it relates to Alkalinity and PH. I didn't find any information that actually said that too much calcium will kill your fish, although I think it's safe to assume too much of anything is not good.

My PH and Alk look good despite the high calcium. Recommendations/insight?

Thanks & Happy Holidays.

sure
you can overdose calcium
...so a little bit often is suggested
(35 gallons is not a lot of water)

you just want to add enough to help the coralline algae grow

if you are at 600 and want to be at 400
just lay off for awhile

most brands of salt mix have almost everything you need
(argueably too much of some things)
so if you are doing regular partial water changes
don't worry too much about extra minerals
until you become a coral farm

as far as the other minerals go...
you don't have corals anyway I thought
...so save your money 'til you get a bright light and a lot of corals

orbit lights are on special !

it is tough to design a proper light for a 35 hex 'tho..
I'll think of something

I think you should buy your stuff here...
you'll save a fortune and I'll be rich !

A MH light from Omega Sea would probably fit well on a 35 hex.........

Admin wrote:

I think you should buy your stuff here...
you'll save a fortune and I'll be rich !

hahaha. I truthfully love the honesty. I only wish that I lived closer to your shop so that I could throw you some more business. Considering all of the advice you give out for free on this site, it's the least I can do.

Right now I'm using Instant Ocean mix. I setup the tank using a Red Sea kit that included a hydrometer and a PH test kit (if I remember correctly).

As for the lights, I'm currently running an 18" flourescent, I think it's Coral Sun or something. As a side note, the wife absolutely hates the purple light. I've been trying to run it quite a bit to promote the growth of the algae but it doesn't seem to be doing much (if anything). Then again, I don't know how slowly or quickly these things happen.

I did read that there are kits that include algae shavings that you can add to the tank but I haven't actively persued trying to find any of that stuff. Plus you never mentioned that as any type of solution so I'm figuring it's crap anyhow.

I'm open to any ideas on a better lighting solution. Perhaps I can make a trip up there this weekend, grab some lights and some critters.

It's not the bulbs, but the type of light you have. A standard floiurescent fixture isn't really Ideal. You should definitely take a trip to Ned's, but look at the power compact lighting. They are 96 watt bulbs, not 40W. You get a double Actinic bulb and a daylight bulb. Your wife won't even see that there is a blue bulb on when used in conjunction with the white.
As for the calcium, I would mix 2 teaspoons in a 1 gallon container and add that during the week. Do not add the residual calcium on the bottom of the jug, so you need to pour this in slowly. Once you empty the jug of water just fill the jug again. You can get a couple of uses out of the 2 teaspoons of Kalkwasser.

Hope this helps.

Josh

I'd be interested in getting some better lighting but (A) I'd like it to attach to the tank nicely without me having to weld it on or something crazy. (B) I can't really afford to spend $1000 on some lights

As for the kalkwasser, I'll try adding in smaller amounts mixed in with the gallon. I'm assuming that the 1 gallon container has water in it that has been chlorine/chloramine treated and salt mix added?

Just a gallon of freshwater. Once you mix in the Kalk you need to let it settle. The chlorine will evaporate from the water once it is exposed to the air over night. No need to salt the water. adding such small amounts won't do a thing to your salinity given evaporation from the tank anyways. Just make sure you are not dumping in the sediment from the bottom of the jug as it settles on the bottom. Once you mix the first gallon and let it sit overnight you will see what i mean.

You can get a number of nice lights for much less than 1000. See Ned's posting under equipment pricing for deals on lights.

I seen you mentioned the orbit lights earlier. Really the more specific you can be, the more it will help me...I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to all of this. I do try to read and research what I can but quite frankly it's easier to just pick someone's brain.

I think my current light is a 20" fixture and the bulb is 18". Unfortunately this is on a hood that is the wrong one to begin with. As I mentioned I think I'm going to have my buddy cut out a piece of lexan for me but I'm a lazy bum and I haven't gotten around to making a template just yet.

Also since you mentioned salinity, what do you typically do to balance out the salinity in your tank?

I was looking good for quite awhile, but recently I noticed a spike in salinity so I added some freshwater, this seemed to help out temporarily but now it looks like I'm on the low-end for salinity 1.024ish

I typically mix up 4 gallons of water and use 2 cups of salt.

on sale
special ends soon !

you can order over the phone

$ 140.85
CUR 20” ORBIT 2x40W PC STRIP

this will give you
aprox 2.25 watts per gallon
still not good enough for most corals
but you could do
brains, caulestrea, and mushrooms, and some anemone species

__________________________________

a better choice would be
$ 350.00
CUR 20” SUNPOD 1X150W 14K HQI
# 1X150W HQI
# 6 WHITE LUNAR
# 6 BLUE LUNAR
# 150W TOTAL, 1.3AMP

this would give you 4.25 watts per gallon
and you could then put in virtually any coral or anemone species

____________________________________________________

my Hawaii collector says the ocean there
is never below 1.023 and never above 1.025 salinity

temperature is never below 70 and never above 80 degrees F.

ok I ordered the low end ($150) setup to kick things off. Of course I'd love to be able to invest in something better but my wife is skeptical of needing adequate lighting. It's funny how this whole thing is working out...She wanted a saltwater aquarium, so I do all of the research and leg work, test levels, mix and change water...then I get to hear her complain about the costs associated with maintaining and upgrading the tank.

Picked up the light tonight. I should have my new plexiglass cutout tomorrow so I can setup the light permanently.

I will tell you, I scared the crap out of myself. I had to unpackage the light, take all of the rubber bands and styrofoam off and while I'm doing this I hear a rattling noise coming from one of the bulbs.

Thinking the worst, I immediately ran over to a plug only to find that all is well.

I'll say one thing, it's a definite step up from what I had. The nightlight LED's look super-cool.

wait until you move up to a metal halide

Finally got the plexiglass cutout right but I totally forgot to ask ned about the flip-top deal. Oh well.

I do have more questions pertaining to Ca/ Calcium.

First
What would be considered the danger-zone for my setup (35 gallons) for PPM calcium? I just tested and according to the bottle of "Purple Up" that I picked up whilst at Neds it says not to exceed 420 PPM for extended periods of time and something about precipitation.

My test read between 460-480 ppm.

Next (on Calcium affect on PH)
According to my notes my PH should be somewhere around 8.0. I noticed after I tested PH shortly after beginning to add the calcium (Iodine and Strontium also), that my PH shifted. My test only reads up to 8.6 and I was at 8.6. I did a water change and just tested again and I'm back to 8.0

Would also be helpful to know what the ugly-side of PH is..should I invest in a PH-high kit?

Last (on Calcium affect on Alkalinity)
I'm using the Red Sea Alkalinity / PH kit. I think it works pretty well for the PH but the Alkalinity is a pain in the butt to read. In the (unlikely) event that you're unfamiliar with this particular brand of test it's broken into 3 blocks
-Low 0-1.6 (mostly yellow, more bluw the higher it is.)
-Normal 1.7-2.8 (yellow and blue)
-High 2.9-3.6 (mostly all blue)

Maybe it's just me but this is by far one of the most difficult tests to read. Any recommendations on something easier to use?

Sorry...got off track. I also noticed that my Alkalinity seemed to be higher after adding the calcium. This might not be related at all to the calcium/strontium/iodine but aside from this chemical I don't add anything to my tank so I'm not sure how the PH or Alkalinity could have gotten out of whack.

I did try researching this some but I didn't find anything that gave me a real clear "For Dummies" answer.

Thanks for the insight.

I think you are worrying too much about everything.
In my experience, the more you test and try to adjust things the worse off you are.
This is what i would do.....
Use half doses of all the chemicals weekly. Don't try to do any water tests right after adding the chemicals. your tests won't give you accurate readings. Unless you are doing SPS corals the half doses will be more than enough. Many people don't add any chemicals and have unbelievable luck with their tanks. Just don't worry about the levels and you'll be fine. I promise your tank will be fine.

ok I'll take your word for it. I'd just hate to do something stupid and kill my little fish friends.