Seachem Reef Complete
- Thread starter ReefStar
- Start date
Depneds on size of change, size of tank, amount used... suggestion is to not overodse, but do a few... ummm... test trails to see what specifically works for your tank with the specific water change amount, that and you need a stable calcium level first, the seachem product I believe is reef calcium... but there are also others out there... hope it helps!
Joe -- You'll want to wait at least 12 hours before re-testing Calcium levels. This gives the tank time to re-establish ionic equilibrium between Calcium, Magnesium, Alk, Carbonates, and etc. 24 hours is even better.
Just curious - why did a water change lower your Calcium level? Newly mixed synthetic seawater mix like Instant Ocean will have at least 400 ppm or more of Calcium, which is better than what a lot of reef keepers can maintain in their tank. Most of the time a water change is viewed as a sure way to INCREASE Calcium, not LOWER it.
By the way, FWIW IME nothing raises Calcium levels better or faster than dripping good old Calcium Hydroxide (Kalkwasser) -- unless it's Kalk with about 50 ml of 5% Acetic Acid (grocery store White Vinegar) added to a gallon of water before dissolving the Kalk powder. (Some reefers will advise you to limit the vinegar to 20ml per gallon, at least until you get used to the idea of putting Acetic Acid into your tank).
Some reefers use Calcium Chloride (Turbo-Calcium), but IME excess Chloride ions can unexpectedly raise salinity levels, lower your Alk, or even lower your pH by forming hypochlorus acid, HOCL.
Products like Reef Complete are intended to maintain existing Calcium levels by gently making up for routine continuous depletion by lifeforms, not to dramatically increase Calcium levels.
Just curious - why did a water change lower your Calcium level? Newly mixed synthetic seawater mix like Instant Ocean will have at least 400 ppm or more of Calcium, which is better than what a lot of reef keepers can maintain in their tank. Most of the time a water change is viewed as a sure way to INCREASE Calcium, not LOWER it.
By the way, FWIW IME nothing raises Calcium levels better or faster than dripping good old Calcium Hydroxide (Kalkwasser) -- unless it's Kalk with about 50 ml of 5% Acetic Acid (grocery store White Vinegar) added to a gallon of water before dissolving the Kalk powder. (Some reefers will advise you to limit the vinegar to 20ml per gallon, at least until you get used to the idea of putting Acetic Acid into your tank).
Some reefers use Calcium Chloride (Turbo-Calcium), but IME excess Chloride ions can unexpectedly raise salinity levels, lower your Alk, or even lower your pH by forming hypochlorus acid, HOCL.
Products like Reef Complete are intended to maintain existing Calcium levels by gently making up for routine continuous depletion by lifeforms, not to dramatically increase Calcium levels.
I cannot say this with authority because I have not tested it in a controlled fashion, but I always add the Acetic Acid to the makeup water first, then mix in the powdered Calcium Hydroxide.
My reason for doing it in that order is to acidify the water first so that less Calcium precipitates as Calcium Carbonate when the powder is mixed. If you add the Calcium Hydroxide first, then add the Acetic Acid, you are asking the Acetic Acid to dissolve already-formed Calcium Carbonate, something that will take a while to happen for sure, and may never occur at all.
To be really sure that the order of addition does matter, I would have to mix an identical batch of limewater each way and then test both to compare the concentrations of free Calcium and Carbonate ions after they have come to equilibrium -- something I've not yet done.
If I do this experiment in the future, I'll post the results.
My reason for doing it in that order is to acidify the water first so that less Calcium precipitates as Calcium Carbonate when the powder is mixed. If you add the Calcium Hydroxide first, then add the Acetic Acid, you are asking the Acetic Acid to dissolve already-formed Calcium Carbonate, something that will take a while to happen for sure, and may never occur at all.
To be really sure that the order of addition does matter, I would have to mix an identical batch of limewater each way and then test both to compare the concentrations of free Calcium and Carbonate ions after they have come to equilibrium -- something I've not yet done.
If I do this experiment in the future, I'll post the results.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
