Calcium in the Aquarium

ajones2n · Jul 10, 2014

What role does calcium play in the aquarium? Can anyone explain this in really simple dumb down terms.

joekool · Jul 10, 2014

Calcium is used by corals like you use calcium for strong bones. They use it for there building of the skeleton with other stuff as well.

bknapp · Jul 10, 2014

joekool said:
Calcium is used by corals like you use calcium for strong bones. They use it for there building of the skeleton with other stuff as well.

That's about as simple as it gets.

ajones2n · Jul 11, 2014

Cool thanks guys

Dowtish · Jul 11, 2014

You need to understand the relationship between Cal, Alk, and Mag. It takes a while to wrap your head around it, but you can have steady Cal without the other 2.

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

ajones2n · Jul 11, 2014

Thanks guys is there a test kit for all the above or are they just seperate kits you buy and monitor

NanaReefer · Jul 11, 2014

ajones2n said:
Thanks guys is there a test kit for all the above or are they just seperate kits you buy and monitor

RedSea Pro Kit is a good one. Contains all 3 for a good price. DF&S for about $42

ajones2n · Jul 11, 2014

Cool thanks man.

ajones2n · Jul 11, 2014

Is there any sort direct correlation between the three or are they completely independent variables?

Dowtish · Jul 11, 2014

to quote the link I posted:

Corals and coralline algae use calcium and alkalinity almost exclusively to deposit calcium carbonate. Because of this they use a fixed ratio of calcium to alkalinity, which is driven by the ratio of calcium and carbonate in calcium carbonate (1:1). The net consumption is about 18-20 ppm of calcium for each 1 meq/L (2.8 dKH) of alkalinity. The reason the amount of calcium varies is that the incorporation of magnesium in place of calcium varies a bit from species to species.