Is there a single supplement that contains the same elements as put out by a calcium reactor. if there is i could mix it in a auto top up tank to keep everything basically ok.
one supplement to reproduce what calcium reactor produces?
- Thread starter mandarinman
- Start date
Broder
Mudshark
I only dose Calcium chloride and bi-carb. Obviously not at the same time.
I need to test morning and evening to check kh and ph swings cos my newer spses arent happy
Not a good idea to add supplements to the top up tank as evaporation rates can vary as the temp of the days change.
I hear what you are saying. i just cant afford a carx at the moment.
Thanks i will look into it as well as what ivan mentioned
I hear what you are saying
butcherman
Moderator
what about simply increaseing your Water Change to keep up with your demand and also not run the risk of over dosing.
That has also gone through my mind
I do frequent water changes with various brands of salt and still couldnt stop SPS losses....I think there is a degree of dosing required still....I cant figure it out...
butcherman
Moderator
how much WC do you currently do?
You should not be dosing anything you haven't tested for!
If your having problems with SPS it might be from instability, lighting, flow, parasites only if you can accurately pinpoint you have a shortage should you attempt dosing and even then there are no guarantees.
The good thing about a water change is that it replaced(doses) loss elements it a Balanced ratio. You can never overdose with a water change!
the tank is only four weeks old although i moved all my liveerock and livestock from tl 450. I do however agree that it will be easier to just do a nice waterchange on a weekly basis and adjust anything after i have tested it. i did about twenty litre waterchange this morning.
butcherman
Moderator
Out of curiousity. What are your CA and alk levels?
Waterchanes no matter how frequent will not keep your calcium and alk parameters in check unless they have higher than normal levels.
Think about it this way, your tank has a ca level of say 420. After a week your levels have dropped to say 400 due to coral uptake. Now you do a waterchange with a salt that has a calcium content of 420ppm. If you do a 50% waterchange then the calcium level will only go back up to 410. So your waterchange helped but its still down. The nett effect is a loss of 10ppm and after 6 weeks of 50% changes your ca has dropped from 420 to 360ppm. So unless you are doing a 100% waterchange it will not maintain the levels.
And the ca content of salt varies greatly between brands and can range from 380 to 500+ and this will make etermining the percentage waterchange even more tricky.
If you use a salt like seachem that is known to have higher than normal calcium levels then it could work depending on you concumption but it means that you still have parameter swings on a weekly basis. You want to keep parameters stable day in and day out. Therefore if you dont do daily changes then your parameters will swing over a period such as your waterchange regime.
So basically, waterchanges will not work. You need to get your daily consumption rate and dose on a daily basis to keep stuff as stable as possible.
Think about it this way, your tank has a ca level of say 420. After a week your levels have dropped to say 400 due to coral uptake. Now you do a waterchange with a salt that has a calcium content of 420ppm. If you do a 50% waterchange then the calcium level will only go back up to 410. So your waterchange helped but its still down. The nett effect is a loss of 10ppm and after 6 weeks of 50% changes your ca has dropped from 420 to 360ppm. So unless you are doing a 100% waterchange it will not maintain the levels.
And the ca content of salt varies greatly between brands and can range from 380 to 500+ and this will make etermining the percentage waterchange even more tricky.
If you use a salt like seachem that is known to have higher than normal calcium levels then it could work depending on you concumption but it means that you still have parameter swings on a weekly basis. You want to keep parameters stable day in and day out. Therefore if you dont do daily changes then your parameters will swing over a period such as your waterchange regime.
So basically, waterchanges will not work. You need to get your daily consumption rate and dose on a daily basis to keep stuff as stable as possible.
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butcherman
Moderator
So are your saying a water change has no value in a SPS tank? Doesing unless your testing every day and know exactly what you are doing, can cause more damage that good. Especially in a small tank where stability is even harder to achieve.
Once Water changes do not keep up with your demand, one should start using Kalk to maintain your parameter.
Once Water Changes and Kalk no longer meet your Needs/Demands, would i start considering doesing other products, or using a CA reactor.
Once Water changes do not keep up with your demand, one should start using Kalk to maintain your parameter.
Once Water Changes and Kalk no longer meet your Needs/Demands, would i start considering doesing other products, or using a CA reactor.
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No that is not what I am saying.
Replenishing the major elements are not the goal of waterchanges. Waterchanges are there to get rid of excess nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate that build up due to feeding and to replenish trace elements that we dont dose. Since SPS does not like high nutrients waterchanges are just as important.
Any form of dosing should be done only when you are aware of the actual consumption. Once you have your daily consumption worked out you can make a solution that will last a week or longer. Just because you dose daily does not mean you have to test daily.
Waterchages will never keep up with the demand of SPS. Maybe in a softy tank where calcium and alk are not used as much.