Add Vinegar or Not

[fio1022]

Hi Randy,
Is my calcium low?I only dose limewater approx 1.5 gal/day 150 system total volume.I was thinking of added vinegar but not sure of all the pittfalls or how much to start with.i usually mix up a 50 gal batch at a time
Here are my water parameters
PH 8.1-8.2
Amonia 0
Nitrate 0
DKh 8.0
calcium 390
Ive been adding more sps's and wondering if its going to be a problem.
Thanks for your time.

 

[bertoni]

Those parameters are fine. Vinegar is used to lower the pH or permit the addition of more lime to the mix. I don't see the need from the numbers you 've posted.

This article goes into details:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree. Gauge the amount of limewater being added by the alkalinity, not the calcium. Alkalinity responds a lot faster to over or under dosing than does calcium. Also, low calcium may come from water changes with a low calcium mix, but you would not want to dose enough limewater to make up for that as the alkalinity would go through the roof.

If it maintains alkalinity OK, and you want to boost calcium, just use a one time boost of calcium chloride.

 

[fio1022]

Thanks for the replies,
Being that all I want to do is increase my calcium how do I do the one time boost of calcium chloride.How much should I add as a starting point?
I've read the articles but I have a hard time fully understanding them.

 

[bertoni]

Just dissolve the calcium chloride into some RO-DI water and add to the tank, if you get the dry form. This calculator will help with the dose:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

 

[mattboy]

If you have several newly added corals, it's likely that your calcium/Alk demand may increase in the near future, and you might find that KW alone won't keep up with it. If that's the case you might read the article on Randy's DIY two-part and use that in addition to KW. Your tank ph seems a little low to me if you're adding that much KW; maybe the ph measurement is a little off, or did you possibly measure it in the morning?