Alkalinity & Calcium

[dtracy1119]

If I dose alkalinity do I still have to dose calcium or does the alkalinity dose automatically maintain the calcium? It might be a stupid question but this would be the only way I'm gonna understand.

 

[Turtlesteve]

Not a stupid question, because it can be done either way:

If you dose kalkwasser (Calcium hydroxide or lime) you are ultimately adding both Ca and alkalinity. This is because the hydroxide ion reacts with dissolved carbon dioxide from the air to form carbonate (alkalinity is a mainly related to the carbonate ion concentration). So really this is ideal, except that it's often hard to meet the tank's demand with kalkwasser alone.

If you are dosing pretty much anything else for alkalinity (sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or half of any 2-part dosing system) then you still have to dose calcium separately.

 

[NS Mike D]

of course, test, dose, test

every tank will consume these differently so you'll need to test first to determine your consumption rates and then use one of the calculators linked on this site to determine how much to dose of the method you choose (and adjust as tank demand change)