Forums

[Wrassman]

[glow=Green, 3, 99%]SEACHEM'S REEF COMPLETE

As I stated in my review of Reef Calcium, when it is used with an "ionic calcium supplement", it can provide "enhanced levels of coral growth." *Seachem's Reef Complete is just such an "ionic calcium supplement." *But, it is not just calcium. *It is an "optimized blend" of ionic calcium, magnesium, and strontium in amounts "proportionate to typical utilization ratios (100:5:0.1)."

Actually, Reef Complete and Reef Calcium are meant to be used together, synergistically. *Reef Complete contains the ionically balanced calcium, magnesium, and strontium salts necessary, along with alkalinity, to become carbonates and bicarbonates in the calcerous skeletons of corals, etc. *Reef Calcium, on the other hand, supplies the "rich source of metabolic energy to help maintain peak coral growth" by utilizing the "bio-available pathway." *Together, they bring the levels of calcium in a reef tank far beyond what typical calcium supplements can attain.

Reef Complete delivers 560x MORE calcium than the same amount of kalkwasser, without all the trouble and mess of mixing and dosing kalkwasser. *And most importantly, at least to me, this product works seamlessly with Seachem's other products. *Since they are all forumluated to work together, you don't have to worry about chemical conflicts and overdosing -- simply follow the label's directions.

Which brings me to something that I believe should be mentioned at this point. *All of Seachem's products are formulated to be pH 8.3 in the bottle. *This means that the more Seachem products you use, the more stable your pH becomes. *There is a Seachem Reef Buffer which specifically raises your pH to 8.3 (if you had a problem maintaining that level), but ALL of their products are fixed at pH 8.3. So, you never have to be concerned with overshooting your pH mark.

Since Calcium is depleted in our tanks more rapidly than other elements, it is essential for us to find a simple but effective means of replacing it when we discover by tests that it has fallen to an unacceptable range. *Depending on our tests, we may determine that this has happened a week after a water change. *Other tests (and other brands of Ca supplements) might last a little longer.

The Reef Status: Calcium Test, by Seachem, measures all types of calcium, including the gluconate calcium in Reef Calcium. *You can imagine that if you used a typical test for Calcium chloride, you would not get a complete answer, since it would not be including the complexed gluconate form of calcium. *One of the benefits of Sechem's approach, though, is that the calcium, since it is in several "bio-available" forms in the tank, will be more readily used by the plants and animals in the tank, but also, it will remain in the tank for a longer period of time.

Kent Marine's Liquid Calcium and Turbo Calcium are not balanced approaches to calcium addition to the aquarium, can result in immediate alkalinity loss and carbonate precipitation. *When that happens an adjustment will become necessary by adding more Liquid or Turbo Calcium.

With Seachem's overall balanced approach, it is much more difficult to accidently get things "out of whack." *People have told me that they feel much more confident using the Seachem products than they ever felt using any of the other manufacturer's products. *Again, just read the label, and follow the directions.

Next, Seachem's Reef Builder[/glow]