Two part alternative calcium source

[dirtyBit]

Since I live in Southern California and we have not seen snow since the last ice age, DowFlake is pretty hard to come by. I found this calcium chloride additive for pools called: Calcium Hardness Increaser. According to the MSDS it contains:
Calcium chloride 75 - 97%
Sodium chloride 1 - 2%
Potassium chloride 2 -3%

Anyone know if this is safe for aquarium use?

Link to the product:
http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdoor-Living-Hot-Tubs-Saunas-Pools-Pool-Chemicals/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbxa3/R-202245641/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[HighlandReefer]

The information provided does not contain the amount of contaminates in this product. All these products have contaminates. The accepted contaminate level of copper for humans is much higher than for reef organisms.

[disc1]

That might be a lot of potassium.

The calcium chloride percentage says 75 - 97% That's a pretty big range they're giving themselves. I'm assuming it's because of the unknown hydration state, so the balance would be water. But that makes it hard to dose because you really don't know which number to use.


Assuming their numbers are by weight and you don't mind doing the testing yourself to verify the content of calcium, let's see how much potassium that would be.

To get 1ppm of Ca in 1L of water takes 2.775mg of CaCl2.

Since this is at best 97% that means we need at least 2.86mg

or at worst 75% we need 3.7mg.


Since it is between 2% and 3% KCl, let's apply those numbers to get best case and worst case.

Best case, using 2.86mg @ 2% KCl gives us 0.057mg of KCl which is 0.03mg of K+.

Worst case using 3.7mg @ 3% KCl gives us 0.111mg KCl which is 0.06mg of K+.

So for each 1ppm of calcium you dose to your tank, you are dosing between 0.03 and 0.06ppm of potassium.

Say you're dosing 10ppm per day of calcium. Then this is also adding 0.3 to 0.6ppm per day of potassium.



Someone else will have to tell you whether that is too much or not. I just do the maths. :)

[Crypsis]

As per Randy's article

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#1

"Calcium chloride dihydrate (Dowflake) can often be obtained at stores such as Home Depot as a deicer. All-Clear calcium chloride for pools is repackaged Dowflake."


Not sure which brand you have but you should be able to find the All-Clear calcium chloride in the pool section of low's or home depot. I know you don't have a shortage of pools in southern california. ;)

Also I've bought from both of these places in the past.

http://buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Category=239&Sub=124

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/calcium-alkalinity-magnesium/calcium-supplements-for-aquariums

[dirtyBit]

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll have to keep looking. I’m in the process of trying to find magnesium chloride which for some reason is also impossible. If anyone knows of some good substitutes in the LA area, please point me in the right direction.

[disc1]

Really I don't know if all the hassle is worth the few dollars you end up saving. Look at the prices on BRS or one of the other websites. It's not that high.

[HighlandReefer]

+1 with what David has stated. ;)

[dirtyBit]

Ok done and done. Just ordered from BFS. Came out to $32 so it's not too bad. Now I have to figure out the best/cheapest way to dose it.

[HighlandReefer]

HObbyists seem to give good reviews for the BRS dosers when put on timers. ;)

[Crypsis]

I dosed manually twice a day for the past year or so and had some good coral growth. I got tired of it though and picked up a GHL Profilux dosing pump which doses 24 times per day and keeps my levels rock solid. It's not cheap though.

BRS has a dosing pump for around $80 but you would need two of them and a digital timer.

[dirtyBit]

I think I'm going to start with a couple of syringes with air valves attached. When I get tired of that or things go horribly wrong, I might upgrade to one of those fancy dosers. Although I did see a pretty cool DIY doser made of a couple of aqualifters on timers using air valves on youtube.