-----Original Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
Behalf Of Shane Clays
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 9:42 AM
To:
'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: RE: Alk and pH questions...
I
like them a lot. They have been around for a long time, and honestly,
might
be hard to find because b-ionic and such have done a much better
job
marketing their products (does anyone on this list carry them?). I get
them
at the LFS. Basically, they are a small block of calcium and the larger
the
tank, the more blocks you use. My 70 gallon uses 4 of them per week. It
is
nice because you plop them in the system, and then the only thing you
need
to worry about it your alk. You, of course, have to keep an eye on
your
calcium levels, but once you get a pattern established, you will know
when
to replace the blocks, and how much alk buffer to add daily. I have them
in
my sump. They also add strontium to the tank.
It takes a month or
so of measuring calcium and watching the blocks. Soon
you see a pattern of
days where your calcium will go up a bit (after the
addition of blocks), will
level off and then as the blocks dissolve, calcium
will drop. The goal is to
know how many blocks to add to get calcium to
level off at 420-450 ppm,
and then when that starts to drop and you need to
add more. I also watch my
pH. If my pH starts to go up higher than normal,
that is an indicator to me
that the calcium levels are starting to drop. I
then will test and add
more. The nice thing is that if you find your
calcium levels are not
where you want them, you simply add another block or
add less next time. I
was struggling with the whole pH/alk/caclium thing
then after I started using
these, it has been smooth sailing (well, except
for my recent concern of my
alk being to high).
Honestly, these are probably the easiest calcium/alk
system that I have ever
used. I am sure a reactor would be even easier, but
my pocket book does not
think so, right now. Speaking of pocket book, these
blocks are a bit pricey.
I spend about 25 bucks every 6 weeks to keep the
calcium blocks in my 70.
Then I have to buy pH/alk buffer as well. To
me, they are well worth it.
Very reliable easy system to
use.
IMO
Shane
C.
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 9:21
AM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: Alk and pH
questions...
Havent heard of
calcium blocks, what are they, are they easy to
use
and
control the calcium levels
with??
Steve
---------- Original Text
----------
From: "Shane Clays"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, on 5/31/01 9:49
AM:
Calcium is running about
420-450. I add a pH/alk buffer in a 2
gallon
drip
daily. That keeps my alk up,
and then I use Sea Lab calcium blocks
for
the
calcium. That keeps calcium
steady at 420-450. I think it has just
been
the
addition of the buffer daily
that has caused the alk to rise. I
have
noticed
that it rose
slightly from week to week, and would counter that
by
skipping
addition of buffer
one day a week (my tank uses about .20 meqs of
alk
per
day). I had recently switched
products. I think the new product is
a
little
more effective than
the other and thus caused the alk to rise more
than
I
expected. When I did my test
this weekend, it was higher than
normal, but
my
calcium was still at 420. Now
that the alk has gone down (back down
to
3.6
over 3 days) my calcium is
around 440ish. I have started adding
the
buffer
again, and am
watching it to see how fast it causes the alk to rise
back
to
the 4-4.5 meqs level. Since
this is acceptable, I am no longer
worried
about
it!
Thanks,
Shane
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, May 31,
2001 8:31 AM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: Alk and pH
questions...
How is your calcium Shane, if
my understanding of water
chem
is
right a
low
calcium could cause alk to
rise.
Steve
---------- Original Text
----------
From: "Shane Clays"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, on 5/31/01
9:19
AM:
Thanks. I figured as much, and based
that question on the
assumption
that an
alk of 4.6 was way to high for a reef
tank. Now that I am
not
concerned
about that anymore, I have started my
normal daily dosage of
pH/alk
buffer.
My problem was I thought I needed to
bring the alk down, and
I knew
that
when I did so, the pH would drop as
well, so I wanted to
keep the
pH
up
while the alk dropped. No worries now
though!
Thanks
again,
Shane
C.
-----Original
Message-----
From: DBW
[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30,
2001 7:18 PM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Alk and pH
questions...
Shane,
>Also, are there any good products
to help keep pH
up
without
affecting
the
>alk?
No such thing. You mess with
one, you mess with the
other
too.
If you are having low pH problems,
and have
satisfactory
alkalinity
levels,
then you should be looking at gas
exchange not
adding
something
else
to
"fix" the
problem.
Catch
ya,
DBW |
The Caretaker, OZ REEF Marine Park
Melbourne | http://ozreef.org/
Australia |
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the only tool you own is a
hammer,
every problem begins to resemble a
nail.
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