Calcium qestion

[Boat Racer]

Randy I didnt want to ask questions on the thread started about purple up to de rail his thread so I'll ask it here.

I mentioned in that thread that I have used the product for calcium called REEF FORMER by NATUREEF.Its a calcium hydroxide with strontium additive liquid.Its in a see through bottle and when it sits the calcium settles to the bottum and you must shake it well.

It states on the lable that its highly alkaline.My question is,would that alkaline they warn about be enough to maintain the alkalinity in the water if I used that product as my main calcium suppliment?

It says that you should mix it to make 16 gallons of kalk but I dont dose that way.When I did try it I dosed a capfull directly to the tank and it seemed to work very well.It kept the calcium up very nicely.

I use Kent Marine DKH-Pro buffer for alkalinity and Kent Marine TECH-M for mag.

 

[Boat Racer]

The rreason I ask this is because its aparent that the majority rules that purple up is a boguss product allthough it seems to work for me however I would be willing to try something else if the results would beneffit my growth.Thanx

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Calcium hydroxide is lime, and can be used to make limewater (I dose limewater). If dosed properly (dripping or otherwise very slowly), it is a great way to supplement calcium and alkalinity, and raise pH.

Direct dosing can be done, but isn't optimal, IMO. It risks getting more impurities into the water, and only a small amount can be added at once without the pH getting too high.

I give lots of details on what such products are and how to use them in this article:

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

 

[Boat Racer]

Thanx that was a good read.I did however skim a bit so maybe I missed this part.

I see that the addition method I use not the drip may increase the ph to high to fast but how about the alkalinity?DoesLime water keep the alk in check or would I still need to add the DKH pro buffer for that or maybe Bicarb?I would think that if it raises the ph it may slowly raise the alk too.Maybe not.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Limewater provides alkalinity, but if you add it in sudden bursts, you will not be able to boost the alkalinity much each time without the pH getting to high on each burst. Boosting alkalinity by 0.5 meq/L (1.4 dKH) with limewater will boost pH by a whopping 0.6-0.7 pH units.

When using limewater appropriately, there is often no need for anything else to be added to the aquarium to maintain calcium and alkalinity.