Esv B Ionic

Anyone Ever Use This Product. I Have Been Adding It Since Sunday And My Alk Has Stayed At 8dkh But My Calcium Is Still Only 360ppm. How Long Can I Use This For? Any Side Affects I Should Be Aware Of Or Any Suggestions?

 

It is made to maintain your levels when your Calcium and alkalinity are balanced. It is not made to do a large increase in either Calcium or alkalinity. At 8dKH, I would shoot for 425ppm in Calcium.

You will want to use some Calcium chloride to get to 425, then return to your two-part dosing. Chemistry and the Aquarium

 

That Is A Very Interesting Article. A Little Difficult To Understand The Graphs. So From What I've Read 8 Dkh(alk) And 360ppm(cal) Is On The Lower Spectrum. Should I Continue Adding Both Parts Of Esv Bionic To Get Them A Little Higher?

 

You can do one of three things. Use Calcium chloride as inwall75 mentioned (which is the cheapest), just dose the calcium part of the B-ionic, or water changes with a quality salt. Also make sure your magnesium levels are in the 1300-1500ppm range. ALL TWO PART CALCIUM additives and CALCIUM REACTORS are made two maintain levels not elevate them.

 

ESV B-Ionic is the most common, well known balanced additive used in this hobby. So what does that mean "balanced" ? It means that if you raised you Ca++ up 20 ppm they you would need to raise the Alk up 1 meq / l or 2.8 dkH. Meaning, equal amounts of Ca++ should be accommodated by equal amounts of buffer/Alk. However, this does not have be balanced exactly. Many prefer to have some addition Alk. ESV can only be used within reason based on Alk and Ca++ demands. Some can use this product just by itself, yet other must sup this product or use just one part depending on Alk and Ca++ demands of the tank. ESV should only be used once you are within range of balance otherwise you are wasting one of the parts.

As Curt has pointed out when Ca++ is very low, like yours, you are better off not using just the Ca++ part. You need something like Kent Turbo Calcium to raise it up around 410-425 and then start using the two-part ESV B-Ionic.

Currently your Alk of 8 dKH is fine but needs to go to 9 dKH to be balanced, if you went to 425 ppm. It is a good idea to have a little reserve Alk so you should go to 3.5 meq ./ l or 10 dkH for 425 ppm Ca++ or raise the Ca++ to 410 and leave the Alk at 8 dKH.. There is no need to go above NSW Ca++ ( 410) as it does or achieves nothing chemically. Matter of fact above 380 achieves nothing more, as far as CaCO3 using animals go. The growth rate is the same.

This calculator will help you understand and how to use various sup's and the amounts required to achieve what levels you want. This calculator also works off of Randy's diagrams, in the "Flash" mode, in the article Curt posted.



Reef Chemistry Calculator

If we assume you have 100 net gals of water , Ca++ 360 and raised it to 425, Alk balance is achieved at 3.2 meq / l or 9 dKH but should be boosted to at least 3.5 meq / l or 10 dKH for some reserve Alk. If we raise it to 410 no Alk sup is needed, 8 dKH is very good with some reserve. Before you do anything, get a Magnesium test kit and check that and raise it first, to about 1300 ppm. Low Mg++ will make it difficult to keep Ca++ levels up. Ca++ shoud not be raised more than 20 ppm / day and Mg++ no more than 100 ppm / day.

A guide on water parameters

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

More on Calcium and Alk

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
Chemistry and the Aquarium