Is it necessary to dose calcium?

[bttay]

I wonder if is it necessary to dose calcium. It seems that our tap water does not contain calcium. And if I only dose trace element (which does not contain calcium too) and NPK, will there be a deficiency in calcium?

How do I dose calcium? CaNO3?

Thanks.

[David]

Are you plants showing signs of calcium difficency? and are you dosing pottasium?......if both counts are not so, there is no need to add CaNO3. Which type of trace element are you using currently.

[nbk3]

But what if i am dosing CaNO3 for its NO# or nitrate content ??

[PeterGwee]

Wiser to dose with KNO3...K is less of an issue if slight OD but too much of Ca without balancing the Mg can cause growth issues.

[juggler]

I think the NO3 content from Ca(NO3)2 is far greater than the Ca level you can bring up. So I believe it can be used as a source of NO3 too.

There was a discussion some time back on our tap water contents. It has Ca and Mg as well.

More tap water info: Potable Water Quality (Typical Values)

[bttay]

Hi David and everyone,

I think there is sign of calcium deficiency. A few fast growing plants have bent, twisted leaves. I currently dose KNO3 and my PO4 is 0 according to my test kit.

Should I use CaNO3 plus KH2PO4 instead? That will give me Ca, NO3, PO4 and K right?

Thanks.

Tay

[theodore]

Please note that Calcium Nitrate (btw, it's Ca(NO3)2.4H20 and not CaNO3) will give you a lot more NO3 than Ca per dose. E.g, each 10ml dose (of my prepared solution) to my 2ft tank gives me 4.725ppm of NO3 and only 1.530ppm of Ca.

I dose it for NO3, Ca is just an added bonus in case I fall short on my water changes.

[nbk3]

hmmmm........ would it be safe to assume that in populated tanks , the Nitrate levels will continue to slowly increase due to the wastes that are beind continually produced ??

OR since plants also take in NO3 (nitrate) , the levels would deplete rather fast , while wastes and rotting stuff will provide only a minimal amount of it (NO2 first then to NO3) ?

[theodore]

NO3 level tends to drop rather fast (5ppm per week) in my high-light (>4W/Gal) tank.

The only exception is the period right after a major rescaping. My suspicion (no tests conducted) is that gunk I stir up during the rescaping provided a fair bit of ammonia for my plants.

[nbk3]

hmmmm..... in that case, would it be better to literally over stock a tank ??

[Plantbrain]

I'd just add a little CaCL2 instead/in case the Ca might be low. Extra Ca will not hurt any plant.

If you use Ca(NO3)2 instead, make sure to add extra K2SO4 for the K.
Both method will work(KNO3 + CaCl2 etc)
Regards,
Tom Barr

[jacian]

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On 8/12/2003 1:57:45 AM

hmmmm..... in that case, would it be better to literally over stock a tank ??
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Nope. It is easier to control the nutrients level via fertilization than fish waste.

[geoffrey]

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On 8/12/2003 12:25:46 AM

Should I use CaNO3 plus KH2PO4 instead? That will give me Ca, NO3, PO4 and K right?

Tay
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To get meaningful amount of K from KH2PO4, your PO4 will end up very high too. Best to use K2SO4 or KNO3 for K. CaNO3 is a good alternative for NO3 and best when you need Ca too.

[nbk3]

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On 8/12/2003 9:21:21 AM


To get meaningful amount of K from KH2PO4, your PO4 will end up very high too. Best to use K2SO4 or KNO3 for K. CaNO3 is a good alternative for NO3 and best when you need Ca too.

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hmm..... how about K from K2SO4 ?

[geoffrey]

Most people use K2SO4 for K without qualm. For me, I am dosing so much NO3 with KNO3 that I don't need K2SO4 at all. For my tanks, a kg of KNO3, 250g of KH2PO4, some CaCO3 tablets and 250g of Rexolin APN is all I need for my PMDD. I do have K2SO4 and MgSO4 but I hardly use them this days.

Ever thought of using Aqua? It has almost everything.... makes dosing alot easier.

[sherchoo]

I'm curious why nobody has mentioned Seachem Equilibrium.

[limsteel]

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On 8/17/2003 11:48:44 PM
I'm curious why nobody has mentioned Seachem Equilibrium.
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I'm curious why nobody has mentioned Coral Chip.

[Plantbrain]

Coral chips take a long time to add any significant amount of Ca to the water. Hard to dail in a certain amount or raise the Ca levels if low.
You might try fine grain aragonite sold at the LFS in a filter etc. That would work best, the smaller the grain size, the better.

CaCl2 dissolves very fast, SeaChem's Equilibrium works well and has other things besides Ca and Mg, and cost more than CaCl2. CaCl2 is cheap(perhaps 15 Singapore Dollars for 2-4 Kgs). This amount would last perhaps for 500 liters about 2-4 years with weekly water changes.

As long as your GH is 3 or higher, generally you are okay. Adding the aragonite to the filter should do the trick if you want a little more, if you want more certain/precis control, try the CaCl2.
Ca(NO3)2 ain't bad for a little extra Ca with the NO3.

Regards,
Tom Barr