Human Calcium Supplements for Reef Tank

moz

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Is the any reason not to use calcium supplements designed for human consumption in a reef tank? The only reason I am thinking about this is ease of use, put a number of tablets (amount determined by testing) in a autofeeder, and you have a dosing system.
Some of the products I've thought about are;
Effervescent tablets containing Calcium Lactate-Gluconate, Calcium Carbonate and Elemental Calcium or Calcium + Magnesium.
Would vitamins be detrimental?
 
Something i've been thinking about.Maybe Hennie can give us some input.
 
I use the Vital dolomite as caluim supl... It contains Ca, Mg and Vit D. So far no ill effects. They dissolve slowly away in my sump. I don't test Ca levels though. I only monitor growth rates...
 
Yeah - I understand your issue Mekaeel.... BUT, this would only occur if you have not found the "sweet spot" in the amount of kalkwasser you add at a time.... my pH varies SLIGHTLY.... but not really enough to worry about..... I add kalkwasser at least 5 times a week nowadays.... up to 120ml at a time.... (more calcium usage - more corals)...
 
All tablets contain binding compounds which personally i wouldn`t add to my reef

Agreed. I also suspect that most tablets will be pretty insoluble in our tanks (they might melt, but the calcium won't dissolve into the water) as they are designed to be absorbed in our stomachs, which are pretty acidic.

Don't have any personal experience, though, so I could be totally wrong...

Hennie
 
Jacques,I was looking for something that wouldnt raise the ph of the tank.Thats where the problem lies with kalkwasser.
Not too badly if you have the correct dosage, and if it does raise it too high due to high demand then split it into a morning dose and evening dose, cheapest way of maintaining alk and Ca.
 
You can also add white vinegar to the kalkwasser to drop the ph a bit and to make more calcium available.
 
I use the Vital dolomite as caluim supl... It contains Ca, Mg and Vit D. So far no ill effects. They dissolve slowly away in my sump. I don't test Ca levels though. I only monitor growth rates...

hey lappies how many of those tablets do u dose a day?
 
I use the Vital dolomite as caluim supl... It contains Ca, Mg and Vit D. So far no ill effects. They dissolve slowly away in my sump. I don't test Ca levels though. I only monitor growth rates...
The only thing that worries me here is no testing so you dont know what the results are and what are the long term effects of the binding compounds?
 
Hey guys. Furbz, I add 2 per day. I add Vit C with them into a wet/dry trickle filter.

I'm not to sure on the binding compounds. Sure they are in some of the other vitamins, but dolomite is a mined substance that is processed into tablet form and Vit D added. So far I can't see any ill effects. But I will start monitoring in the near future... I was guessing that the dolomite offers a similar buffer capacity as tufa rock and the like in the system...
 
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