Instant Ocean Calcium Booster

Have any of you guys tried this product? The instructions say 5ml for every 50gallons on a weekly basis. I tried it last night. My calcium was at 390. Just tested the water now, about 8hrs after, and Calcium is still at 390.

Should I dose more today? What products are you using to supplement Calcium?

 

i use advantage calcium has beginer, intermediae, expert

 

You only dose more if you want your number to go up. Otherwise, that's a maintenance dose that you're giving.

 

i use instant ocean salt. and dose 1 teaspoon for 40 gallons once a week. tank volume is a 65 plus 20 gallons sump but minus displacement and sump not full i say 65gallons lso not very many corals yet

 

It says to dose 5ml per 50gallons every week until desired level is attained. Do you think it is possible to overdose with this product?

 

It is possible to overdose. It's also possible to underdose.

The thing is, your consumption rate isn't set in stone. For example, this week, your consumption rate might be what's added in that 5mL of additive. However, since the coral consumed that 5mL of additive and used it to grow bigger over that week, the next week it requires 5.1mL. The week after, it requires 5.2mL, again because of the growth. Eventually, you get to the point where it's noticeable that the coral needs more, say 6mL. Then, you remove a coral from the tank, and it goes back down to 4.5 mL.

So, you can either underdose or overdose. The objective is to keep your calcium level the same. What I always recommend is to buy test kits for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium (all 3 are interlinked, and one level affects the others), and use them to find out what your levels are, where they're going, and what to dose of a given additive.

To help you out, there's a calculator HERE on this site. I would reccommend writing down weekly testing numbers in a spreadsheet of some kind (free program available at openoffice.org), as it makes it much easier to keep track of what your demand is, and thus how much to dose.

 

So I followed your advice and dosed more than what was recommended.

I dosed 5ml/10 gallons instead of 5ml/50 gallons.

My calcium was at 380 (19 drops via API test kit). Now, 3 hours after, it's 420 (21 drops). Now that I'm at my target Calcium level, I'll try using a spread sheet as you suggested.

Thanks.

 

Are you dosing an alkalinity supplement? If your tank is using ca, it's using alk faster, so you should be. Generally I think a 2-part solution is the best way to go, but you could also just buy a separate buffer if you think there is a benefit to this product.