Can someone help me with my maths?

[169468]

So, I got sucked in to the latest BRS promo and I bought some Red Sea Trace ABCD, which I really don't need for my nano tank. However, I have it now and I'm trying to see if I can/want to use it. The directions say that you can dose by calcium uptake, at 1ml per 20ppm calcium added per 100 litres (25gal).

The trouble I am having is that I am currently dosing Kalk and Baking Soda, so I am trying to work out what my calcium consumption is and how much of this stuff to add.

My numbers are as follows:

Water volume - 11 gal (that is what I have been working on for my Alk calculations)
Kalk dosing - 48ml per day
Baking soda dosing - 3ml per day

This seems to be holding my Alk stable at 8.5


Any help here would be appreciated. I am aware that the answer is going to be a ridiculously tiny amount (and probably not actually worth it in practice) but I'd be interested in the calculation process nonetheless. I've tried the reef calculator and the Red Sea wizard but I keep getting different results.

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

You can use the calculator at below link to calculate kalk contribution. Based on your numbers it says approx 1ppm of calcium a day from kalk if you are running 100% saturated.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/KalkContribution.php

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not a fan of dosing trace elements based on calcium consumption, since many, if not the biggest, trace element users in many tanks (macroalgae, microalgae, soft corals, anemones, etc.) consume no calcium.

That said, a calculator like the one above or this one below is how to determine the calcium consumption in your tank:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html

 

[169468]

Thanks, I hadn't seen that first calculator before and that is very helpful.

Is there a better way to calculate the amount to dose at home, or does it need an ICP test.

Is it even worth me bothering to go through all this hassle?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, I hadn't seen that first calculator before and that is very helpful.

Is there a better way to calculate the amount to dose at home, or does it need an ICP test.

Is it even worth me bothering to go through all this hassle?

IMO, it's unlikely to be better, in general, than using a product that is just advised as mL per gallon per day.

One certainly can go the full ICP route and dose only what and as needed, but that's expensive to narrow in on rapidly depletion ions.

 

[169468]

Thanks for all the help.

The Red Sea wizard suggests a massive 0.1ml per day, so if that's as good as anything else then I'll try that and see how I get on.

Thanks again.