Until I have enough room to hook a calcium reactor to my tank, I am using pickling lime dripped in with a doser. I am using a Kent Marine gravity drip. I am adding a spoon full (regular dining spoon, no exact measurment) each time I fill the doser with water (which is about every other day, almost 2 gallons of water). What else do I need to keep in mind and add or subtract to maintain a good calcium level? Last time I checked, I was a little high on the calcium, so I backed off the amount of lime. Is there any other additives I need (iron, magnesium, strontium, etc..)? What will this cause my PH to do? Any and all feedback is welcome.
Maintaining calcium using pickling lime
- Thread starter Bud Green
- Start date
Amphiprion
Premium Member
Most balanced calcium/alkalinity additives, like limewater (or kalkwasser) will have some effect on pH--raising it quite a bit, a little bit, or dropping it slightly at first. What is your alkalinity reading? It is just as important as calcium and is typically depleted faster and is added simultaneously when using kalkwasser and 2 part additives. The only other additive I would use is magnesium (no pH effect) and only when testing warrants its use. I would just do regular water changes to ensure that the rest is ok.
reefworm
New member
I've done exactly what you're doing in the 29 to maintain calcium for the corals. I've used both the Kent super cal and Mrs. Ball's pickling lime. Both do an excellent job, but the latter is much cheaper. Dripping the lime water from a doser has had minimal affect on pH, raising it slightly. Nothing that can't be managed simply. The affect is pretty much dose related.
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