Calcium Chloride

[moonmachine]

Hi ,does anyone use calcium chloride in its raw form? most additives seem to contain it especially the two part additives, just in a watered down form. Does anyone know of any adverse/long term effects?

[Rabbit]

If you use it to maintain your calcium levels you will eventually end up with a severely unbalanced tank (you will have too low an Alkalinity). 2 part additives have the Alkalinity as the second part to make up for this.

CaCl2 is great for bringing the Ca levels up if they are too low for your Alkalinity levels. However in most systems using waterchanges is probablly better.

For maintaing Ca/Alk levels better to use a balance additive such as Kalk or a reactor. Levels can be raised by a reactor in a balanced system. Kalk can sometimes raise levels (but is often ineefective at raising levels on its own....vinegar supplementation can improve this)

If your tank is small or demand for Ca/Alk is low then water changes plus a 2 part addative such as C-Balance can do the job.


For further info see Andy Hipkiss's wonderful web pages (http://www.andy-hipkiss.co.uk/)


HTH

[moonmachine]

I was going to use kents coral builder to raise alk apparently it will not take the ph above 8.3

[Rabbit]

what matters is what your ALK is in relation to your Ca. For balance pH isnt important (though it is important elsewhere)

Using 2 separate products to bring Ca and Alk up by the same relative amounts will be dificult, and your tank will drift out of balance, almost inevitably.

[elliot]

Would you not also get a build up of chloride?....

Elliot

[Rabbit]

As chloride is a major constituent of sea water you'd need to ad a hell of a lot of CaCl to screw the chloride, esp if you do water changes.

[elliot]

Cool thanks ...

I recall reading something somwhere - highlighting it as a potential problem....

Thanks

elliot

[Rabbit]

That isnt to say it isnt possible....just IMHO not easy to do.

The other side od it is what you add to increase/maintain Alk is usually based on NaHCO3. The Sodium and the Chloride to some degee cancel each other by providing NaCl for your sea water.

[tuan]

There's more info on this FAQ: http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16474

[moonmachine]

Ah thanks for the link tuan.