SPS question(s)

[Shooter7]

I've been tempted from time to time when I've seen frags of various SPS corals come available, but I've always refrained because of the fact that I do not yet have an adequate system in place for maintaining alk, pH, and Ca levels. My water always tests out in the realm of a pH at 8.0, I forget my exact dKh but it was something like 7 or 8, and the Ca ranges relatively high, but I assume that's because I don't have a bunch of Ca hungry corals. At the moment, coralline growth is moving along nicely on my back glass and base rock, and my orange monti cap has tripled its size since being placed in there at the beginning of the year. What I'm wondering is, if I were to go ahead and pick up some SPS corals if/when they come available, what is the potential effects of them being in a tank that doesn't have the planned kalk addition to it yet that I intend to get around to doing one of these days? Am I looking at just a possible slower growth rate out of them until I can add the kalk, or do my numbers reflect something that could cause them to die? I believe that the light I have would be good, as they would all be on the upper part of my rock structures and I would think that flow would be good too as my two Seio 1500's are directed across the tank from both directions and therefore would be blowing right across where the corals would be. thanks for any insight.

 

[Nanook]

Calcium and alkalinity supplementation via a calcium reactor or additives will be necessary. Limewater by itself will not be effective for stony corals.

 

[Shooter7]

Increasing the levels by using additives, then maintaining with limewater won't be enough....even for just a handful of stony corals? (maybe 6 - 8 total, well, have to include my LPS ones too)

 

[Nanook]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7156682#post7156682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shooter7
Increasing the levels by using additives, then maintaining with limewater won't be enough....even for just a handful of stony corals? (maybe 6 - 8 total, well, have to include my LPS ones too)

Yes, that will work fine...I said you would need a calcium reactor or the addition of additives

 

[Shooter7]

I was talking about using the additives maybe once at the beginning then maintaining with kalk without having to use additives again, or maybe just infrequently. I just don't want to get into the need for having to use additives alot. I was thinking you were talking about that even with kalk I'd have to be constantly adding additives as well as the kalk.

 

[Nanook]

It really depends on how many stonies you have and their rates of calcium uptake. You will have to check vigilantly and as they grow, expect the need for supplementation.

 

[Im Lon 2]

I'm sure in time I will have to add a CA reactor but for now I'm using the following to maintain my levels. Once I get to where I having to add these biweekly I will purchase a CA reactor, but right now I get by over a month with out having to add anything but Kalk (Kalk is done on a Kalk reactor for all topoff.)

• I use
• Driveway heat to add CA
• Baking soda to add Dkh
• Mrs. Wages Pickling lime for Kalk.
• Epson Salt for Magnesium.
  
  My levels are
• CA 450
• Dkh - 8
• PH - 8.2
• Magnesium 1425

Here is a link that helps figure out how to use those above.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2004/chem.htm
Here is how I knew of how much to add of each, other than Kalk.
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Like Dave said, depending how many SPS corals you have and how much they use, will determine the need for a CA reactor or just adding additives. I only have 12 SPS frags (1 1/2 - 4 inchs)and I don't even have to add but about ever month and a half. I believe water changes will also help keep the CA and Dkh up depending on the salt brand but I could be wrong on that statement.

 

[Shooter7]

See Lonnie, your post just begs more questions from me as I try to understand the chemistry side of this stuff. You say you add the driveway heat and baking soda, as well as kalk. I was under the impression that one could use whatever additives added to their tank to get the various parameters where you want them, and then kalk would be used at that point to maintain. You say, though, that you're adding these things monthly. So the kalk is not enough to maintain your levels and you still have to add? I may simply put off the kalk thing and save for a calcium reactor then. Hell, the way things are going around here, I may end up having to sell everything before the end of the year and all of this work trying to figure things out will be for nothing anyway. :rolleye1:

My other question is still out there though. If I were to pick up some stony frags, would my system shortcomings just temporarily stunt their growth, or would it be bad enough to kill them. I don't want to kill anything. thanks

 

[Im Lon 2]

Kalk is more for making your PH stable. I believe it adds to CA and dkh a little but not for a system that is using a lot of CA.

Also if I'm not mistaken a lot of people that run CA reactors drip the Kalk also to bring the PH back up to 8.2. You don't have to have a Kalk reactor to drip Kalk you can mix it and then just drip it in a 1 gallon milk jug.

The stuff I listed above has not gost me more than $20 over the past 6 months, and that was on 350 total Gallons.

Driveway heat at Wal-mart was $5.99 (only used 2 cup so far)
baking soda at Wal-martwas $1 for a small box ( I have used 2)
Epson Salt also at Walmart $2.00
Pickling Lime was $2.80 Just now getting ready to open my 2nd bottle.

All your test were they should be.. Priceless!!! Sorry had to through that in.

 

[spongebobby]

I keep SPS without a reactor.I check my Ca and Alk every Sat. morning and use that handy calculator to figure how much I need to add. I've been doing it awhile now and I use 10 tsps of Seachem Adv. Calc. and about 12 tsps of the Seachem reef builder for Alk.I'm amazed at how consistent the numbers are from week to week. I have pretty good growth and things look great.

It can be done just a little more work and $$$$.

 

[chadfarmer]

remember that these measurements are in parts per million


there are plenty of people maintaining a tank with just the 2 part additives

most people upgrade to a kako reactor and or a calcium reactor after they are dosing every day and is more work than fun

 

[Shooter7]

That's one of my concerns Spongey, I don't have lots of $$$. Matter of fact, I have even far less to work with than I did just a few months ago. So I was concerned about how much additives would cost me on a system volume in the neighborhood of around 130 gal or so. Was hoping that if I just had a half dozen or so SPS, along with my few LPS, that a simple kalk set up would do me ok for now. Kind of sounding like no though.

 

[DrBDC]

Right now on my system I dose 2 gallons per day limewater saturated and about 1 cup each of the homemade 2 parts. That accounts for a 2 dKh per day and about 14 ppm calcium per day usage if that's any help to you. I'm not sure what the output of a ca reactor is. I guess if you can get someone to take thiers offline for about 2 days to stabilize and then measure the drop over a 24 hour period it would give you a general idea for a comparison.

 

[Shooter7]

Doc, do you just mix the 2 part stuff in with your limewater as it's being put in?

 

[DrBDC]

No, it will precipitate out as when limewater is saturated it causes impurities and excess to precipitate. It has to be done seperate. You could use something like a litermeter 3 that has the 2 remote pumps and set those to X number of ml a day on the 2 remotes and then have the main limewater one run to evap. I don't have my limewater go to evap as I want to know exactly how much a day is going in the system and I set it for 2 gallons. Right now it just happens to be all my evap replacment but I'm not sure how that will work out through the seasons and a/c etc. I used to do it for all replacement and just increased or decreased the amount accordingly. I'm going to set up a ro/di line w/selenoid and dual float switches to take care of the difference if I find any.