Wiedertäufer
Nov 21st 2007, 08:53 AM
Here in the greater Vancouver region, we have very soft water. For those raising plants, snails and other things, this can be problematic.
Source of Calcium: Calcium Carbonate - cheapest source is probably a beer/wine making shop. They often sell smaller quantities at low prices. They often carry other calcium sources as well like calcium chloride.
Source of Magnesium: Epsom Salts - any decently sized drug store should have some pure Epsom salts. London Drugs sells it for $5 for 2 kg. You can put the extra in your bath water or dose your house plant water with it because you'll likely never need that much for your aquarium. Just make sure it's just Epsom salts, if it says it has anything else in it, avoid it. If it says USP on the package and no mention of other ingredients, it's as pure as you'll likely be able to get.
Source of Calcium & Magnesium: Dolomite - from most garden centers and whatnot. Often sold in huge bags that are way, way bigger than we would ever need. Some places sell smaller quantities. It never hurts to take a small container or ziplock bag the next time you go to a place that sells it though, as often bags get torn and they might give/sell you a small amount from such a bag-- just ask. As per the Epsom salts, check the bag for indications of any other additives.
Dolomite also absorbs very, very slowly. So rather than have your water be cloudy, you can put it in your filter between media. This may not work depending on your filter type though. You'll have to figure it out.
Amounts for Calcium Carbonate & Epsom Salts:
1 teaspoon (~2 grams) of Calcium Carbonate per 25 litres of water will increase KH and GH by 4 degrees. (degree is 17.9 ppm).
The amount of magnesium depends on what you're trying to accomplish. You'll want to figure out how many mg per litre you'll want in the tank. Lake Tanganykia, for example has 43 ppm and sea water has almost 1300! Epsom Salts contains about 10% magnesium. So to increase by 1 ppm, you'll need 1g of Epsom salts for every 100 litres. The increased sulfate levels from Epsom salts should be negligible, especially for planted tanks where the plants will us up the sulfates, sometimes rapidly.
Unfortunately for dolomite, the rate it dissolves in water is related to the pH of the water, so I don't know of any hard and fast rule. Also, the higher the level of CO2 present, the faster it will dissolve. As well, Dolomite and Dolomitic Lime are slightly different, the Dolomite has more magnesium, but the dolomitic lime will dissolve much more quickly (though still slowly). Domomite is also available in chips as well as powder and the chips take longer to dissolve.
As with adding any mineral, these will effect your pH, GH and KH. Make sure you understand how that's going to work before you start dosing your aquarium. It is often best to make such changes slowly, over time, instead of massive single doses.
Hope someone found this useful.
Source of Calcium: Calcium Carbonate - cheapest source is probably a beer/wine making shop. They often sell smaller quantities at low prices. They often carry other calcium sources as well like calcium chloride.
Source of Magnesium: Epsom Salts - any decently sized drug store should have some pure Epsom salts. London Drugs sells it for $5 for 2 kg. You can put the extra in your bath water or dose your house plant water with it because you'll likely never need that much for your aquarium. Just make sure it's just Epsom salts, if it says it has anything else in it, avoid it. If it says USP on the package and no mention of other ingredients, it's as pure as you'll likely be able to get.
Source of Calcium & Magnesium: Dolomite - from most garden centers and whatnot. Often sold in huge bags that are way, way bigger than we would ever need. Some places sell smaller quantities. It never hurts to take a small container or ziplock bag the next time you go to a place that sells it though, as often bags get torn and they might give/sell you a small amount from such a bag-- just ask. As per the Epsom salts, check the bag for indications of any other additives.
Dolomite also absorbs very, very slowly. So rather than have your water be cloudy, you can put it in your filter between media. This may not work depending on your filter type though. You'll have to figure it out.
Amounts for Calcium Carbonate & Epsom Salts:
1 teaspoon (~2 grams) of Calcium Carbonate per 25 litres of water will increase KH and GH by 4 degrees. (degree is 17.9 ppm).
The amount of magnesium depends on what you're trying to accomplish. You'll want to figure out how many mg per litre you'll want in the tank. Lake Tanganykia, for example has 43 ppm and sea water has almost 1300! Epsom Salts contains about 10% magnesium. So to increase by 1 ppm, you'll need 1g of Epsom salts for every 100 litres. The increased sulfate levels from Epsom salts should be negligible, especially for planted tanks where the plants will us up the sulfates, sometimes rapidly.
Unfortunately for dolomite, the rate it dissolves in water is related to the pH of the water, so I don't know of any hard and fast rule. Also, the higher the level of CO2 present, the faster it will dissolve. As well, Dolomite and Dolomitic Lime are slightly different, the Dolomite has more magnesium, but the dolomitic lime will dissolve much more quickly (though still slowly). Domomite is also available in chips as well as powder and the chips take longer to dissolve.
As with adding any mineral, these will effect your pH, GH and KH. Make sure you understand how that's going to work before you start dosing your aquarium. It is often best to make such changes slowly, over time, instead of massive single doses.
Hope someone found this useful.