Turbo Calcium
 

What's so "Turbo" about it?
I have time again, now, to continue trying to raise my Mg and Ca.
My targets are 400 Ca and 1,290 Mg.
On March 11th I was at 215 Ca and 1,005 Mg.
Okay...well that seemed a little out of ratio to me so I calculated 400/1,290 as is x/1,005. x= 312.
Okay....well let's get the Ca up to 312 first, then continue with the Mg and get that to 1,290. Then finish off with Ca to 400.
The package says to dose 1/8 teaspoon per 50 gal on a lightly loaded reef tank. Well I know from using it 5-6 weeks ago that 1/8 teaspoon did nothing.
So on March 11th I doubled the dose to 1 teaspoon on my 180+25sump=205gal reef.(1/2 tsp/50g)(I know Steve, not actually 205g:lol:)
The next days reading showed the Ca still at 215. So I doubled it again to 2 teaspoons. (Quadruple the package's recommended dose).
The next days reading showed the Ca still at 215. So I added another 2 teaspoon quad dose.
Today? You guessed it. Ca 215. "Turbo" my bum. So I have added another 4 teaspoons today. (8x the package's recommended dose!).
Tomorrow's reading should show some increase!

Anyone else have similiar experiences with this stuff?

Oh, wait. It's a Kent product. Maybe they forgot to put calcium in it! :lol:

Thanx much and cheers:smile:,

maybe your test kit is hooched? tried it with a friends?

Try Andy's calculator...

http://www.andy-hipkiss.co.uk/index.....uk/cacalc.htm

and a hint.....you might need a bigger spoon!!

Sorry to go off topic here, but I'm wondering the same thing about ALL Kent products since the salt fiasco. Dang, and I've been using Kent additives, but not the Turbo Ca, for awhile now.

BTW, this calculator lists Kent Turbo Ca....

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Bring your MG to proper levels first and your Ca will raise a bit. then tune your Ca. oh and like Brad said, throw away the teaspoon and get a measuring cup:mrgreen:

Steve

Ya. Looks like I need about 8 tsp a day over 10 days. Good thing I bought a pound of the stuff. Wonder why the heck Kent would say to start off with 1/8 tsp per 50 gal. That is just waaaay not enough. 8 tsp/day, for my system, is 16x that! :rolleyes: They are losin' my respect fast. (Not that I had any for them to begin with, as I just recently started buying their products. Two buckets salt, one good one bad, and this Turbo Calcium).

Steve,
I want to get the Ca part way up first. I think some of my LPS are suffering from the 215 ppm Ca.

Thanks guys and cheers:smile:,

Do what Steve says. He knows what he's talking about.

Your lps are suffering from both low Ca and Mg. BTW, what's your alk? If your alk is off, it will need to be addressed while you're adjusting the other two.

Alk is 8.4 dKH.

Cheers:smile:,

you can do a single addition to your Mg to bring it up.. not that much of a change.. I would for get the 8tsp/day thing and go 1 cup the day after you bring up your Mg, and the next day after that add another .6666666666 of a cup:lol: or if you are concerned about raising Ca by about 140ppm in 1 hour then just do 1/2 a cup a day ... I have raised Ca over 200ppm in one shot several times and not had a problem..

If you add the 1 cup.. do a Ca test the next day about the same time and recalculate you measurments first.. as I will guess you Ca will jump up about 20 to 30 PPm just from bringing your Mg up to 1350 to 1400

Steve

thats a normal range, lower than I like but nothing to worry about..

Steve

That sounds much better than dosing every day for an eternity.

Thanx heaps:smile:,

As was already stated keep an eye on your alk as well....as you raise your calcium your alk will have a tendancy to drop, you need to adjust both accordingly. I have used Kent turbo caclium and super dkh for over a year with no problems. I only have a 65 gallon tank though...your size of tank you might want to consider a calcium reactor once you get everything up to snuff.

Thanx. That's a good idea. It'll have to wait, however. Have other priorities on the shelf. 1). Better skimmer. (Running a Prism Pro Deluxe right now and it just ain't cuttin' it). 2). RO/DI. 3). Move to a more secure (read concrete and steel) building. Oh, and one of these days I'd like to maybe afford some, uh, livestock. Ya, livestock.....that'd be good. If I'd known this hobby was going to be so expensive, when I first started, I would have seriously reconsidered. (Ya, right:rolleyes:). Well...too far into it now. (That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!):lol:.

Cheers:smile:,

I think once you get things dialed in you will like the Kent product...I found the guide on the packaging is generally for maintaining your levels...not raising them. I can't remember what dosages I used to up my levels but it was more like 1-2 teaspoons a day until my levels were where I wanted them to be...now I require 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of calcium and dkh per day to maintain my levels...my calcium is 420 and my dkh is 10. Keep in mind that my tank is only a moderately socked 65 gallon though. I have 2 enchino frags, 1 monti frag and 1 clam plus what's in my signature in there is all. Good luck.

hooking up my ca reator was the best thing i ever did for my tank. i struggeled with low alk for months, within a week my levels have sorted themeslves out. even though i don't grow sps my tank still uses a ton of calcium and alk with all the coral.

Also keep in mind that Turbo Calcium is designed more for one time adjustments. Overuse can throw off your chloride levels.

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread but what should you use to maintain your clacium then? I have been using Turbo for that reason for over a year now. Thanks.

OK with me. It's all good.

Cheers:smile:,

try dripping kalkawasser at night.

I second the Kalkwasser AND Calcium Reactor... and people... stop buying Kent and other Aquarium Calcium Chloride products... go to a pool & spa place and buy a HUGE bucket for $20!!! EXACTLY the same product.. (77% Calcium Chloride - rest is moisture)

Steve is correct in saying that extended use of Calcium Chloride will eventually skew the chloride balance, hence using Kalk or a Ca Reactor for Calcium maintenance and only using Calcium Chloride for adjustments..

Oh.. one other thing... EPSOM salts to raise Magnesium... also I think helps offset the Chloride imbalance from using Calcium Chloride... but better ask chemist John about these things to be certain.. I hand it over to you Islandreefer... :mrgreen: This hobby doesn't have to be THAT expensive Mark... just wait until you get into $1000 skimmers and $500 powerheads... *YEESH*0X:

arn't epsom salts Mg Cl?

steve

Steve,

I'm pretty sure epsom salts are Mg sulphate (or sulfate, can never remember which), not Mg chloride.

reeferaddict,

With the amount of epsom salts needed to maintain Mg over long periods of time, sulphate (or sulfate) in the tank will go out of whack much more quickly than chloride would if using Ca chloride.

I certainly agree with both of you that dripping kalk to help maintain alk and Ca, then use a Ca additive to top up levels when it is required. Mg, on the other hand, is not a component in kalk to any significant degree, and would have to be added in much larger doses than Ca ever would.

Using a Ca reactor with the right media would probably solve a lot of chemistry problems, but I'm never going to have one, and many others are likely in the same boat as I'm in. As a result, I drip kalk nightly and adjust alk, Ca and Mg every week or two, though I should be more consistent and do it weeklly.

FWIW, here's the DIY additives article....

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

beverly,do you use randy's recipe and does it work good for you?

Gad, chill Jim. The expenses I refer to aren't just what I've spent up to now. It's also what I'm lookin' to spend in the future. You hit the nail right on the head. The skimmer I'm wanting to buy is gonna cost $1,000. Hopin' to get it in May. So, yes...it is THAT expensive now, IMO:razz:. $500 powerheads? Not for me, thanx.

Cheers,:smile:

For the most part, no, I don't use Randy's recipes. Already spend lots of time working with the chemistry of my tanks.
I do use baking soda and "baked" baking soda for alk, though. But don't know where to find most of the products he talks about, and don't want to spend the time finding out.

I pretty much use Kent's additives, but after the Kent salt fiasco, I'm not sure if I want to continue using their products at all. Am kind of looking around for alternative brands of additives. Any input would be great.

I would have taken your comment more lightly if you hadn't added that "YEESH" and that evil lookin' emoticon at the end. And what's up with that alien anyway? Is that gesture with his hands what I think it is? If so, what did I do or say to deserve that?

Cheers,

What about Seachem products? I have never used them, always Kent.

Ron,

Have asked this question on RC's chemistry forum and Randy replied with the following threads and articles....

"The new Seachem salt mix is seemingly a big improvement over the old Seachem mix, which had greatly elevated borate:

The Composition Of Several Synthetic Seawater Mixes
http://web.archive.org/web/200012150.../1/default.asp

Boron in a Reef Tank
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2002/chem.htm

The new Seachem mix is lower, but still has higher than NSW borate (apparently).

I've battled the Seachem folks here in this forum on their borate alkalinity kit, which I do not recommend:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=756622

The Seachem Borate Alkalinity Test Kit
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...e2003/chem.htm

Finally, Phosguard releases aluminum:

Aluminum and aluminum-based phosphate binders
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...y2003/chem.htm

and a follow up discussion with Seachem about it and some new data:

New Aluminum Release Data for Phosguard
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=219105"

Have read a few of the articles and threads, but not all of them yet. Was thinking about Seachem products as an alternative to Kent's, but now I'm not so sure.

Folks on RC's thread about Kent's low alk have been talking up a storm about Tropic Marin salt, but don't know what other products they produce. If you haven't already read it, here's RC's continuing thread on the low alk Kent salt issue for further info....

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

So, after pondering this some more....I think I may have misunderstood what you were "Yeeshing" at. The $1,000 skimmers and $500 PHs, right? I thought you were "Yeeshing" at my opinion that this hobby is expensive. I missed the good natured sarcasm:redface:. Please accept my humble apology for the misunderstanding :redface:. As for that weird alien, that totally threw me, man. I had to look it up in the smiley bank to see, first, if it was a Canreef smiley, and second, to see what it is supposed to be. (Not much of a sci-fi fan). (x-mas? What's that? Some kinda demon thwarting thing?) It seriously looks to me like it's offering the double whammy one finger salute.

Anyhoo...cheers:smile:,

I'm usin' SeaChem Mg to raise Mg. So far, so good. Added 1200g yesterday and the Mg is at 1110 ppm today. Added another 1200g today so it should be around 1215 ppm tomorrow. Once it's up to 1290 ppm, I'll do the Turbo Ca thing.
Once the Ca is up to 400 ppm I plan to maintain Ca with SeaChem's Reef Advantage Calcium. One advantage to this product, I'm told (and it also says so right on the package), is that it also maintains Mg and Sr. The guaranteed analysis says it contains 17 mg of Mg per 1g; and 0.34 mg of Sr per 1g.

Cheers:smile:,

Bev...., I thought we banned you from posting that many links in one post :mrgreen:


Steve

Well, yesterday the Mg read 1320 ppm so I overshot my target a bit. This raised the Ca to 265 ppm. Alk yesterday was 9.6 dKH.
So I added 100g of Turbo Calcium.
Today's readings:
Mg 1350 ppm.
Alk 9.9 dKH.
Ca 265 ppm. Huh? 265? I added 100g of the stuff!! This is getting kinda weird. I was only joking about Kent forgetting to put calcium in the product!

One thing I should mention is I have been treating for Cyano with Chemi-Clean at the same time. I have done two 10% water changes, but only one of those water changes was after the 100g Turbo Ca addition. (One 10% change was yesterday before the Ca addition, and the other 10% change was this morning). Seems to me to be too much of a coincidence for that second 10% water change to keep the Ca at 265. Besides....the salt is supposed to have Ca in it also, right?

I'll be adding another 100g of Turbo Ca tonight, but as yet, I still have not seen this product do anything.:sad:

Cheers:smile:,

I know this has been mentioned before but have you tried a different test kit? How long after you add the Turbo Calcium are you testing? I usually wait a good 2-3 hours for everything to get mixed real good. On a side note you are adding it to a 180 gallon + sump tank so maybe it will take alot to get the CA up? just grasping at straws here. LOL

Finally!!!
Got a reading of 340 ppm Ca 2 hours after tonight's 100g dose.:biggrin:
The homestretch now. Man, I bet I had those Kent lab techs shakin'. :2gunfire: Ya, right. :rolleyes:.

Cheers:smile:,

x-mas, aka Christmas, is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Johnny. It is usually held every December 25th.
The smiley you are refering to is OX, but don't ask me what the heck that means.

Sorry folks. A comedy of one error after another the other day. Just my way of pointing out my realization of that.

Cheers:smile:,

Well I'm glad I didn't say something like...."The day I buy a $500 powerhead is the day I'll eat a pound of Mysis." Haven't actually bought them yet, (lookin' at buying two), but I am researching $400-$500 powerheads right now, and will be making the purchase within the month.
You called it, Jim. My humble apologies.

As for the $1,000 skimmer.....thankfully the new EuroReef RS line are cheaper than there previous line(s).....but I'm buying two.....so, ya, $1,000.

Cheers,