Who Doses Calcium?

[Kevin34]

I am setting up a frag tank soon and really want it to be an environment where my corals will thrive so i have been looking into different calciums. who doses and what brand do you use? I have heard that the 2 part B ionic system is the best.

 

[roshi719]

I use the randy's two part mix from Bulk Reef Supply. It is basically the same as B-ionic minus the trace elements, only it is a whole lot cheaper. As long as you do a 10 % water change per week you will be fine on the trace elements, so B-ionic is just a waste of money IMHO.

 

[Kevin34]

what exactly do these calcium supplements affect? just calcium? or magnesium, alk, and pH too? are there things you need to watch out for if you use them?

 

[roshi719]

The two part system from Bulk Reef is actually three separate supplements. One for Calcium, one for Alk, and one for Mag. The beauty is you only dose what the tank needs. So if you test your levels and your Mag and Alk are fine, but Calcium is low, then you just dose the amount of calcium you need. It really is a foolproof system as long as you are willing to test your parameters. It comes a s a powder from them and you just put it in a gallon jug and mix it with RODI water. They even have a calculator built into their site to help you determine the proper dosage:
Bulk Reef Supply

 

[beaslbob]

I am setting up a frag tank soon and really want it to be an environment where my corals will thrive so i have been looking into different calciums. who doses and what brand do you use? I have heard that the 2 part B ionic system is the best.

I use Dr. Holmes-farley's diy two part.

It uses calcium choride ($20 for 50# bag) for calcium

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or soda ash (sodium carbonate) for alk. (grocery store)

and Epsom salts (drug store) and magnesium chloride ($30/ 50# bag) for magnesium.

See instructions here:

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

calcium chloride is avaialble for redimix concrete places.

calcium chloride and possibly magnesium chloride may be available for ace melters for driveways in winter.

Magnesium chloride is the hard to find stuff. I get mine from a local industrial chemical supplier.

this stuff is so cheap I give it away at our monthly club meetings. Of course I get simple corals in return also. :wink:

my .02

 

[JR's Reef]

I use the randy's two part mix from Bulk Reef Supply. It is basically the same as B-ionic minus the trace elements, only it is a whole lot cheaper. As long as you do a 10 % water change per week you will be fine on the trace elements, so B-ionic is just a waste of money IMHO.

I use BRS also but dont do a WC every week more like 1 time a month for me:nerd:

 

[Kevin34]

what are the best test kits? I have red sea but they are very confusing. especially the mag test. is salifert the best?

 

[AlexStinson]

good luck finding a non-confusing mag test kit. I've used Seachems reeflab and it was rediculous

 

[ahayes13]

i use salifert test kits for everything. they are easy to use and to read. and are fairly accurate as well.

as far as calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium, these are all things you will have to dose.
i use bionic for my alk and calcium. its a two part and is easy to use, gives good results, and give you directions on the bottles. magnsium i use tropic marin bio magnesium.
you will need to check your parameters. alk and cal. and mag. before you add anything to your system. so usually you should check and see what your levels are and then add the appropriate amount of each.

 

[ahayes13]

this is a good article with a general overview of the parameters of your tank. some of it may be a little in depth but does a good general overview. there is also a chart that i printed out in the beginning to give you an idea of ideal water parameters.

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[cee]

If you get peristalic pumps, you don't even need to dose. You can either adjust the solution strength to your tank's needs or control the speed and drip rate of the pumps. I've been doing this for years and much prefer it to a calcium reactor. Good luck!

Dave