Problems with my calcium

[juannnn]

I recently changed to randy's two parts progressively, I started with the kh and everything was fine, now I've added the calcium. Buy calcium chloride hydrate and dissolve 250g in a gallon of water. And I add but I can't raise or keep Calcium in stable values, I know it's strange but I don't know what's going on.
I used the first mix and everything went well, the calcium was stable. I have made another mix and that is when the problem started.
Its very strange....

 

[Rigoberto]

Precipitation?

 

[juannnn]

I don't know, if it is the reason how can I solve it?

 

[juannnn]

My parameters
Kh 8
Mg 1380
Ca 300
nitrates 0
Phosphates 0

 

[Gtinnel]

For the alkalinity part did you make it with baking soda, or baking soda that you baked in the oven?

 

[juannnn]

For the alkalinity part did you make it with baking soda, or baking soda that you baked in the oven?

I use NaOH and Na2SO4 for my kh. I have high pH thanks to that.

 

[juannnn]

Part 1 - The Calcium
Dissolve 500 g of calcium chloride dihydrate
Part 2 - The Alkalinity and Sulfate Part
Dissolve 374.7 g of sodium carbonate (594 g of baking soda that has been baked; = 3.535 moles of sodium carbonate) plus 68.7 g of sodium sulfate in enough water to make a total volume of one gallon.
Part 3- Magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate. He hasn't started dosing it yet because I have old Marin fauna sales

 

[Gtinnel]

I use NaOH and Na2SO4 for my kh. I have high pH thanks to that.

I use Randy’s recipe 1 and I have seen where you can replace the sodium carbonate with sodium hydroxide, but I don’t know about the sodium sulfate part. If the alk part you used is the strength of Randy’s recipe 1 then why only use 250g of calcium chloride and not the full 500? If you dose the two solution in equal quantities you will only be adding half of the needed calcium.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My parameters
Kh 8
Mg 1380
Ca 300
nitrates 0
Phosphates 0

How much of that calcium recipe did you add? It's a pretty weak solution to dose.

300 ppm is low enough that I'd suggest confirming it somehow, such as using the same test kit on some new salt water.

 

[juannnn]

I use Randy’s recipe 1 and I have seen where you can replace the sodium carbonate with sodium hydroxide, but I don’t know about the sodium sulfate part. If the alk part you used is the strength of Randy’s recipe 1 then why only use 250g of calcium chloride and not the full 500? If you dose the two solution in equal quantities you will only be adding half of the needed calcium.

For calcium chloride I use 500gr per gallon of water but the ca is not stable

 

[juannnn]

How much of that calcium recipe did you add? It's a pretty weak solution to dose.

300 ppm is low enough that I'd suggest confirming it somehow, such as using the same test kit on some new salt water

I have tried another calcium test and the result is the same. The salifert test in principle is not the problem I have a very high calcium intake, I would add about 70ml to get it above 400. But recently I have noticed that I could not get it stable and it was going down little by little, currently I add 120ml of ca and it continues to go down. Magnesium is stable but consumption is very low, approximately 20 ml.

 

[Gtinnel]

For calcium chloride I use 500gr per gallon of water but the ca is not stable

In the original post you said you only add 250g of calcium chloride to make the solution. If the 500g is the amount you use then idk, my thought was that you were making your solution too “weak”.

Buy calcium chloride hydrate and dissolve 250g in a gallon of water.

 

[juannnn]

In the original post you said you only add 250g of calcium chloride to make the solution. If the 500g is the amount you use then idk, my thought was that you were making your solution too “weak”.

Yes you are right, in the first post I wrote it wrong. I do it with 500gr of calcium chloride. I've been using it for a month and at first everything went well, the first gallon prepared perfect. The problem has arisen recently.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes you are right, in the first post I wrote it wrong. I do it with 500gr of calcium chloride. I've been using it for a month and at first everything went well, the first gallon prepared perfect. The problem has arisen recently.

The amounts you are using are small, IMO.

120 mL will boost calcium in your system by less than 5 ppm.

If you want to correct from 300 to 420 (be certain you have confidence in your testing before doing this), then you will need more like 3 liters.

 

[brucey]

I have the same issue
I moved away from the Red Sea premixed solution in 5l containers to a DIY mix to cut the cost. Mixing up 200g calcium chloride into 1 litre and making up 5 litres at a time.

my calc is barely stable at around 350-380 whilst I try and sort calcium back to normal levels.
Ive not managed to keep up with my weekly water change so my drop in calcium has been exaggerated and I’m reliant on dosing this much weaker concentrate solution.
(the extra doser noise is driving the misses nuts so I’ll try a more concentrated mix)

 

[juannnn]

The amounts you are using are small, IMO.

120 mL will boost calcium in your system by less than 5 ppm.

If you want to correct from 300 to 420 (be certain you have confidence in your testing before doing this), then you will need more like 3 liters.

But what could be the reason for using 60ml a day to go to 120ml a day and that my calcium continues to drop? I have used it for a while and it has worked well for me. Could you make the strongest mix of 1000gr of calcium chloride per gallon of water?

 

[brucey]

Hey
The difference in strengths basically
So even dosing double still isn’t enough. You need to dose more subject to knowing your tests are accurate.

for me red sea is much more concentrated than I first thought

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

But what could be the reason for using 60ml a day to go to 120ml a day and that my calcium continues to drop? I have used it for a while and it has worked well for me. Could you make the strongest mix of 1000gr of calcium chloride per gallon of water?

Lots of things impact apparent demand for calcium and alk, especially when it is very low (as yours is).

I don't really think it is worth the time and effort to try to determine these factors when the solution is very simple and normal for a reef tank: just dose to offset the apparent demand.

 

[Dburr1014]

You don't have to dose equal parts.
Just double up your calcium part until you get it where you want.
Assuming your test is correct.

Silly question, you did mix it with ro water right?