Calcium?

[BlueKoran91]

I now have SPS in my tank and was wondering the best way to test the calcium and other levels and which brand of supplements would be best for the tank...

[FireWater]

It all depends on the amount of sps and how much calcium and other elements they are sucking up.
I would recommend testin the water repeatedly and see what the levels maintain at after water changes and monitor it for a while prior to worrying bout what stuff to dump in the tank.

[ErikH]

Water changes then dose kalk through your ato. Cheap and simple, helps bind phosphates too.

[allan]

John is on the money.

Do a water change, check your calcium. Check again the next day. And the next day. And the next day.

You'll see numbers like 420, 410, 400, 390, 380... Then a water change will bring it up to (depending how large a water change you do) 410-415, cycle repeats. This means you should stick to just water changes. If your numbers drop significantly then you will/ should start adding sups.

Should bear in mind that its not how many sps you have, but rather how much sps mass you've in your system. One colony of growing sps may take more calcium than a dozen frags.

Oh, and also, the numbers above are random figures drawn to show an example.

Erik is right, IMO, about the kalkwassar... But I don't believe that your there yet. And in such a small system you really have to ensure that you don't overuse the kalk.



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[Big_Pun]

y'all forgot to ask how big his tank is lol. at 16g water changes should do the trick, weekly. but like John said test, for 5 days straight I would test and record it. see how much it drops, and if needed I would use B-Ionic from ESV. and test again till you get a routine that works

[FireWater]

Ah young'n I pay attention to details. She (manda) has a 16g nuvo that is a sweet upside down tank. Hence why I said to monitor first with water changes and see where that leaves her numbers at. May not have to dose anything with regular water changes.

[CoryDude]

I'd test longer than 5 days. Test at bi-weekly intervals for 2 weeks and see how ph,alk, and calcium are used. There's no magic supplement you can dump into your tank that will make you a successful sps keeper. Just be patient, get to know your tank and its needs, and supplement responsibly.


Salifert, seachem, and red sea make great test kits.

[allan]

I don't know Cory, testing daily for any length will give you an accurate consumption value, right? Worse case is that the value doesn't show, which would be my guess at this point due to the size of the system.

Steven from Polly's posted a little while ago a pretty good write up concerning calcium values.

Truth of the matter is that I don't know what such a small system would require to stay on top of the consumption values for the coral she has. Or even if her load would have a perceptible drop from day to day.

But I do agree that there is no single right way to dose.


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[Big_Pun]

the reason i asked him to do daily is the size of the tank when i had my nano's it changed day to day. A 5 day peek of levels can give him an idea whats going on. i would do 5 days of test and then water change then another 5 days. its going to be a PITA but after that we can help you decide what to do.

i know you only have a small system but the best test kit ive used is the HANNA checker for calcium. its easy and accurate, just need to make sure the water you use is zero tds, and itsd only 20-30 more than the other kits.

[Bill S]

Whatever you do, don't rely on "cheap" test kits.

It's likely that at least for a while, simply weekly water changes will work just fine.

[Troy Valentine]

Whatever you do, don't rely on "cheap" test kits.

It's likely that at least for a while, simply weekly water changes will work just fine.

+1 Almost nuked a tank because of a bad test kit....

Pay attention to the salt brand you buy. There are a few that might fit your application better than others. Moreover if you plan on regular water changes to maintain both major and minor trace elements. I would go with a salt mix with a higher calcium level like Oceanic.. Here is an Advance Aquarist article that goes into some detail about the topic. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1

[CoryDude]

I don't know Cory, testing daily for any length will give you an accurate consumption value, right? Worse case is that the value doesn't show, which would be my guess at this point due to the size of the system.

Steven from Polly's posted a little while ago a pretty good write up concerning calcium values.

Truth of the matter is that I don't know what such a small system would require to stay on top of the consumption values for the coral she has. Or even if her load would have a perceptible drop from day to day.

But I do agree that there is no single right way to dose.


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Ah, you're right Allan. I missed John's post on the tank size. Regular water changes will cover what is needed. But still, being a math major, I'm still a big advocate of using a larger sample size to determine overall trends.

When I switched over to a sps dominant tank, I tested the big 3 over a two week period every few days and graphed the changes. Helped me determine that water changes weren't going to cut it and helped me dial in my dosing routines.

[BlueKoran91]

Ok I'll keep all of that in mind...thank you guys for all your help :)