Pure liquid calcium?

[MadSkillzMan]

hi guys. Im kinda new to all this, so bear with me

i have a good setup of LR and Base rock...i recently got a wicked light setup, 130watt PC ..its a 20gal tall tank so far with a clown, 2 snails and a hermit crab..theres macro algae right in the tank as i dont have a fuge (gonna do the AC70 HOB mod)

so anyway...i was hoping to grow more coraline faster..but the high lighting hasnt done it..so i read up., and saw calcium is the answer

now my girlfriends mother works at a vet. and she said she could get me PURE liquid calcium...now as far as i know calcium is calcium, but i didnt know if the stuff we use for SW tanks has other nutrients and wutnot in it. Its for animals with bone/calcium deficiancies and i guess used on humans as well

i guess she can get me an IV bag to drip in to go with this. Now i know id need a calcium test kit but before i go that far, is this usable?

thanks in advance guys

 

[bertoni]

There's not really any such thing as pure calcium, not that you'd want to be near. It might be a calcium chloride solution, which might be fine, but I'd stick to a more conventional approach until you can find out exactly what this solution is. This article might be useful:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

 

[Freed]

The calcium that corals and coralline alage use to build their skeletons is most likely calciume carbonate. The calcium used for bone in mammals may be something different that corals or coralline algae may not be able to absorb or even use. Do some checking first to make sure the "Pure" calcium is suitable for a saltwater tank. It may have impurities in it that could kill everything in your tank if you're not lucky. You may also want to ask Randy Holmes Farley in the chemistry forum if what you have is something useable in a reef tank.

 

[MadSkillzMan]

ok guys..yup checking is exactly what im doing, i dont wanna mess this tank up!

thanks for the help ill let you know what exactly it is

 

[old salty]

Check out some of the threads about using lime water to help with coralline growth.


p.s. pure calcium would not be a liquid.

 

[MadSkillzMan]

right i realize now pure calcium wouldnt be a liquid...i guess she can get a powder too that she uses on her reptiles.

i was reading about kalk ...does it not take care of phosphates? if so i might just go that route

 

[bertoni]

I use lime (kalk), actually pickling lime, and like it. This article might be useful if you are thinking about going that way:

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

 

[xtrstangx]

If you can figure out what kind of calcium it is, you can figure out a dosing plan.

As far as the comment about corals using calcium carbonate to grow, as long as you dose calcium and carbonate (essentially baking soda), you are fine. Alkalinity is the measure of carbonate in the water, basically.

 

[Pandora]

Just wanted to add that the "pure calcium IV drip" your girlfriend is talking about is most likely calcium gluconate. Used for hypocalcemia and cardiac conditions in both pets and people. The calcium part is an ion and is the same as deposited in bones/teeth, but the gluconate part is not something you would really want in your reef, it's an oxidation product of glucose (a sugar).

Stick with kalk, b-ionic, and the other recommended & tested sources of calcium.

 

[MadSkillzMan]

ok, she said that the white powder she has is calcium carbonate. how much of this would i need for a 20 gal? what kind of dosing plan etc?

Pandora, i will stick with kalk as i get more advanced in this hobby. id just like to see if i could get my coraline to grow.

now that i think about it, the guy that gave me the lr and clownfish said he was using stuff that he'd give reptiles, which i beleive was the same stuff (calcium carbonate)

 

[jgoodrich71]

Calcium carbonate, aka calcite and aragonite, is the same stuff your live sand and live rock is made of. It will not really help to raise calcium levels. It is not very soluable at seawater conditions.

Stick with the other stuff people have mentioned.

 

[Amphiprion]

I agree with all of the above. There have also been reports of precipitation of CaCO3 from solution (i.e. tank water) after addition of powdered aragonite or other forms. The presence of pure calcium carbonate is what initiates this reaction, so the other mentioned additives would be a better choice.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Well put out that cigarette when you add those chunks of calcium. :eek1:

Calcium carbonate is not the answer either as you can only dissolve about 20-30 ppm is RO/DI water. Randy has all sorts of solutions for calcium problems and the one using Dowflake calcium chloride is pretty cheap.

 

[bertoni]

That would be exciting. Is it a lot like sodium? I've seen that.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Yeah, Jonathan,

Produces calcium hydroxide and hydrogen gas.

Ca + 2H₂O ------> Ca(OH)₂ + H₂

Only thing different is that the reaction with sodium is so exothermic it ignites the hydrogen all by itself. With calcium you usually need an extra source of heat, such as a cigarette. All elements in Groups I & II, the exception is hydrogen itself unless it is under extreme pressure, will react is this fashion.