poor mans calcium reactor?

atlantisaquari

New member
i have a tank that has recently began to require really high amounts of dosing in my opinion. it is a 210 . it has been eating 5.5 full measuring cups of part 2( b-ionic calcium ) and like 3.5 of part 1 (alk) daily.

and yes the magnesium is fine.
anyway i decided to put a huge mesh bag full of crushed coral in the auto top off reservoir ( 10 gallon tank) full of ro/di water. the idea was that the ro /di water is so active that it would draw from the crushed coral everytime new water is poured in. i am still dosing the same.

just wondering if anyone had thoughts on this. its not that i am saying that this will make a huge difference. just maybe help in addition to the dosing 2 part and hopefully keep my dosing from getting out of control.


by the way my calcium levels tested at like 370 ish for months. and then about a week or so after i added the bag it tested at 470. i dont know if the dosing finally caught up or if the bag has made the difference, probably a little of both. but anyway. just wanted to see what you guys thought on this
 
again its just to help suppliment the dosing of 2 part.
i am kinda experimenting with this idea. i am going to lower the 2 part dose and see where it ends up , then i will know aprox how much this is helping.
i have tried a simular technique in freshwater aquariums in which i placed crushed coral in the media cartridges or in a media reactor and the ph came up to appropriate levels and no longer needed to dose ph up.
but i figured in this case ( the ro/di being so active) it would happen at a much faster rate. i understand that pure water is like a vacuum when it comes into contact with metals, minerals, non food grade plastics and others.
 
poor mans calcium reactor?

i have a tank that has recently began to require really high amounts of dosing in my opinion. it is a 210 . it has been eating 5.5 full measuring cups of part 2( b-ionic calcium ) and like 3.5 of part 1 (alk) daily.

and yes the magnesium is fine.
anyway i decided to put a huge mesh bag full of crushed coral in the auto top off reservoir ( 10 gallon tank) full of ro/di water. the idea was that the ro /di water is so active that it would draw from the crushed coral everytime new water is poured in. i am still dosing the same.

just wondering if anyone had thoughts on this. its not that i am saying that this will make a huge difference. just maybe help in addition to the dosing 2 part and hopefully keep my dosing from getting out of control.


by the way my calcium levels tested at like 370 ish for months. and then about a week or so after i added the bag it tested at 470. i dont know if the dosing finally caught up or if the bag has made the difference, probably a little of both. but anyway. just wanted to see what you guys thought on this
 
cool . i read the article and it actually describes what i am doing. and even confirms my theory that it may replace a percentage of dosing. the article says 2 to 10 percent less additives like 2- part. thanks. good read
 
The bag of crushed coral isn't what's boosting your calcium.

Personally for the ATO I would consider using kalk as the top-off. This will gain you *some* calcium and alk benefit.

However, you will need to do as mentioned above and bring in more calcium via another way.

Personally I am partial to the calcium chloride from www.bulkreefsupply.com
 
I think what most people where trying to say is that yes what you are doing will work, but if you change to kalk for your top off it will add more calcium and alk to your system, than just the crushed coral in the top off.

Kim
 
Saturated kalk is more like 40 meq/L alkalinity and 800 ppm calcium. It can be spiked 50% higher if vinegar is used.

I am suspicious about the different rates of consumption of the alkalinity and calcium parts, but as along as you're measuring regularly and the kits are okay, the measurements should tell you what to do. The calcium level has gone up, which is a good sign, too.

Those dosing rates seem reasonable for 800g of water, assuming most of it is in a display or lit tank.
 
not to trying to be rude, but once again with the not reading. it is a 210 gal tank. i never said that it would be a high performance calcium reactor. just a calcium reactor. anyway just meant that it could suppliment 2 part. i guess i should have made that more clear in the first post. but nobody would have actually read it anyway.
 
I read what you posted. And I said that yes it will work, just that it does not work very well.


But if you want your top off to provide more Ca and Alk, you should switch over to kalk. If you don't want your top off to provide as much ca and alk, you way will work.

Kim
 
yes. its in a restaurant and i dont want the employess there having to fool with kalk in addition to what they already have to do. if it drops my 2 part addition by 2 - 10 % like the article said then it is doing what i thought it would do . just thought some people might want to know of another option. its pretty trouble free, just drop it in the reservoir and voila! thats it. no real upkeep.
 
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