calcium
- Thread starter aznnutty
- Start date
i guess you guys are still in the unknown. you can use pool calcium, i know a bunch of people that do, but i don't know if anyone uses the brand from litehouse, i was told from an old saltwater store owner to use 99 if not 100 percent calcium but i can't find the same kind he uses.. i'm not paying a load of money for the same calcium..
DiscoReefRover
Active member
Im with you on that one Bro!!! Nothing from a pool supplys goin in my Tank I dont care if it is the same stuff Im not much on gambling esp. with My Poor animals taking the brunt!!!
you guys are titled to what you think, it's not my purpose to change your mind, makes no difference to me, i know it works and that's all that really matters, i was just wondering if anyone in this area has used light houses cal, i seen the thriving coral and sofies from the pool owner so im conviced, and his fish still looks verymuch happy.
DiscoReefRover
Active member
Personally I would take this question to the reef chemestry forum they would be of better help with reasuring your question I know from my own reading on that forum that alot of the companys offer these chemicals are changing there formulas to the point of not being reef safe no longer and exactly why I am glad I use ESV
JMO
Sean
JMO
Sean
serpentman
part time superhero
Calcium chloride is calcium chloride. Its the impurities you have to watch.
I am a bit leery of any long term dosing of DIY 2 part nowadays since Dow changed their formula and increased their bromine levels. Many, chemical companies source their calcium chloride from Dow which leads me to believe the same issue applies. Without knowing for sure, you are playing a bit of Russian roulette. According the chem forum, old Dowflake is ok or occasional dosing with the new one.
My only advice is to do what you must. However, living in the unknown is exactly the case. I won't put anything unknown in my tank. Some of these guys have anywhere from $3-$10K in livestock. IMO, its not worth risking to save $20 on proven 2-part.
I am a bit leery of any long term dosing of DIY 2 part nowadays since Dow changed their formula and increased their bromine levels. Many, chemical companies source their calcium chloride from Dow which leads me to believe the same issue applies. Without knowing for sure, you are playing a bit of Russian roulette. According the chem forum, old Dowflake is ok or occasional dosing with the new one.
My only advice is to do what you must. However, living in the unknown is exactly the case. I won't put anything unknown in my tank. Some of these guys have anywhere from $3-$10K in livestock. IMO, its not worth risking to save $20 on proven 2-part.
Fdfiremedic
New member
I was told that there is something added to the pool calcium that would be bad for your tank. Personally I would NOT use it.
which brings me back to my first statement of using 99% if not 100% cal with no other addatives I'm not asking this question because I found 100% pool cal, I'm asking because I haven't found anything close yet. Litehouse is the only place that has cal cloride in ingrediance but did not list what percentage or any other impurities
serpentman
part time superhero
Only a lesser extent, this is kinda like veterinary medicine vs human medicine. You can buy the same drug for your dog for 20% of the cost for yourself. However, would you take your dog's medicine? Both are the same, however, regulated differently. In the case of reef additives, (which although aren't regulated to the best of my knowledge), care is taken to test to make sure they are safe.
These guys claim their material is 100% calcium chloride.
http://secure.poolcenter.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NY595
However, with that being said, I am not sure they are held to the same reporting guidelines given the application. Therefore, I am not sure 100% isn't the same as 99.5%. This is something the chemistry forum might be able to comment on. Either way, I am sure there is nothing in there outright harmful as it is for human contact. However, there is supposedly nothing harmful in tap water, yet most don't use straight tap water in their tank either.
I don't mean to sound condescending. However, typical pitfalls most FW enthusiasts make when switching to a reef is to underestimate the delicate nature of reef water chemistry. Marine inverts such as corals are 100x less forgiving than the most delicate FW fish.
Personally, I would run whatever product you find by the guys in the chemistry forum. There are a lot of practicing chemists in there that can steer you in the right direction.
These guys claim their material is 100% calcium chloride.
http://secure.poolcenter.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NY595
However, with that being said, I am not sure they are held to the same reporting guidelines given the application. Therefore, I am not sure 100% isn't the same as 99.5%. This is something the chemistry forum might be able to comment on. Either way, I am sure there is nothing in there outright harmful as it is for human contact. However, there is supposedly nothing harmful in tap water, yet most don't use straight tap water in their tank either.
I don't mean to sound condescending. However, typical pitfalls most FW enthusiasts make when switching to a reef is to underestimate the delicate nature of reef water chemistry. Marine inverts such as corals are 100x less forgiving than the most delicate FW fish.
Personally, I would run whatever product you find by the guys in the chemistry forum. There are a lot of practicing chemists in there that can steer you in the right direction.
Aadler
New member
Plus ESV is just not that expensive... Also don't forget you need to monitor your ALK, so what are you going to use to raise ALK once your pool calc lowers it? buy just half of a 2-part? I can't follow the logic. Seriously what will it save $40 a year? maybe? Unless you have a 500g tank that is filled with sps and clams...
hehe.. my reef book told me that a chem discussion was going to start a heated battle.. lol.. guys gotta remember that i'm still new so i'm not really argueing, just probeing for answers.. aadler your asking about alk, meaning buffering capacity? related to ph? i heard cooking baking soda is used most often to regulate ph, would it also raise alk/BC?
heres a link to the first thread i posted about this subject a few months back..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1433246
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1433246
Esquare
Active member
The Mrs Wages will address calcium to a certain extent in low demand systems. It also raises Alk and PH. I'm dosing Calcium Hydroxide from the lfs in a DIY reactor right now. The stuff from the LFS wasn't that expensive (relatively) and since I had never dosed anything I wanted to be safe. May try Mrs Wages later but, the LFS stuff is still cheap relative to everything else in my system.
If you don't have a large bio load, the kalk (calcium hydroxide) either dripped or in a reactor may be a good starting point.
If you don't have a large bio load, the kalk (calcium hydroxide) either dripped or in a reactor may be a good starting point.
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