When to use calcium buffers?

[mario8402]

Hey everyone,
I went to a frag swap and won Kent Marine's Calcium Buffer Part A & B ( 2 bottles ) in a raffle and was wondering when I would be needing to use this? There are 2 bottles as mentioned 1 blue and 1 purple. Can they be added seperately? From what I read on the bottles, one raises calcium and the other make sure alkalinity and ph stay the same.. is this correct? Just wondering because the LFS told me my calcium was a bit high, but someone suggested that my alkalinity may be low due to that.. Just wondering, dont want to add something without knowing exactly what its going to do

[Dyngoe]

Quick synopsis:

You want Calcium ~400-440. You will need to test this with a CA test. The thing about alkalinity is it helps maintain PH. As you add CA, if your alkalinity is too low your PH will change. So, you need to watch your alkalinity when adding calcium. If you calcium is already OK, don't mess with it.

[fishflyer]

A few years ago I read this article and it helped me out a lot.

Check this out Chemistry and the Aquarium
1. Read the article
2. Test your water
3. Use the calculators on 3reef to figure how much of your Kent 2 part to add.

After I did these three things my corals and coraline were very happy.
Good luck

[m_lacom99]

As said above... test before you use.... I test everything i supplement my tank. I use the seachem calcium and i add some once every week or so. Great article fishflyer. I remember reading that.

Marc.