# Dosing Ca



## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Hey all,

I have been noticing what I believe to be Ca deficiency in my tank. I would like to try adding nutrients in different ways to test what my real problem is. I have CaCl2, CaCO3 and Barr Booster.

First, I would like to add Ca from CaCl2. I will add this for 2-3 weeks and observe plant growth. I have alwasy read to add enough Barr Booster or Seachem Equilibrium to raise Gh 3 degrees. If I use this as a standard and add the equivilent amount of Ca that standard would add, how much Ca should I target in mg/l? 3 degrees is ~54ppm and if a good Ca:Mg ratio is 3:1 then I would need to add 40.5mg/l Ca to get the same effect. Is my thinking correct?

After 2-3 weeks depending on if growth improves, I will change to using the Barr Booster, raising the Gh by 3 degrees, and observe the results of that.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

99.239341 mg of CaCl2•2H2O will raise calcium by 1 dGH in 1 gallon of water.

Example - to raise 40 gallons by 3 dGH: 40 gallons x 99.239341 mg x 3 dGH = 11908.72092 mg / 1000 = 11.91 grams.

A degree of German hardness contains 7.146908 ppm of calcium.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Thanks Salt. I have CaCl2 not CaCl2*2H2O. 

This is consistant with the Fertilator so its good to know that is right. Also, thats really good info to know about 7.146ppm Ca in 1 degree Gh.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Thank you Salt. I just checked with Greg Watson's site, where I purchased my CaCl2 and in the site it is listed as CaCl2 dihydrate which is CaCl2*2H2O. The package I got only says Calcium Cloride. I will couble check with Greg and post my findings here as to what Caxxx it actually is

Also, thats alot for this:

A degree of German hardness contains 7.146908 ppm of calcium.

Thats good to know!


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

Some people have checked with Greg in the past and he has said he believes it is the dihydrous form.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

I got an email back from Greg verifying that it is hydrated, CaCl2+2H2O.

This means that adding the Ca equivilant of 3degrees GH to 50 gallons requires 21.42ppm Ca which comes from adding 14.9grams CaCl2+2H2O 

Thanks for your help Salt!

Now, does adding 3 GH worth of Ca seem like a logical start to combating Ca defficency? I have no access to a Ca test kit right now so I will take a few samples, before adding anything, for later testing.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Just a fun observation, but has anyone else noticed that when dissolving CaCl2 in water the water gets quite warm? Heh heh, it warms my hands.  But mixing Kno3 and KH2PO4 together makes the mixing water very cold. Just a fun fact that seemed to fit here...


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