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Thread: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

  1. #1
    Registered Member HarryDk's Avatar
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    Question Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    As small/micro pits appear more and more on my fish face, I'm suspecting mineral deficiency in my tab water (KH/GH ~ zeo, I do not have TDS meter so I can't say for sure), so I'm thinking of experiment with the mix ratio below found here:

    3 part Calcium Sulfate
    1 part Calcium Chloride
    1 part Magnesium Sulfate

    Question is: what is the different between Calcium Sulfate and Calcium Chloride, how do they benefit the fish and plants?
    I have like a million tons of Calcium Chloride and Epsom salt in store lol, but Calcium sulphate is fairly expensive to get.
    Do I need Calcium Sulphate? or I can go 4 part calcium Chloride and 1 part Epsom salt?

    Thanks you all

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    I have never experienced HITH with any of my fish even though i have KH and GH both zero ,if i may advice you to have a bag of corals pieces or common sea shells or oyster shell in your tank to buffer against PH crash.
    Discus gets fair bit of their minerals from their food ,try to give them variety of food and you be fine ,i would not mess with too much calcium salts.

  3. #3
    Registered Member HarryDk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    I totally agree Sayid.
    However I do not think this is HITH, could be some kind of micro pit due to lack of nutrition. My problem with these guy are some will eat just about any thing, other will only eat Algae tablet and blackworm. I tried hard to keep them well fed, but some of them aren't gaining weight as I want.
    Now I just came back from a 6 week trips, one of them gotten super thin, another one have mild sight of cloudy Eye.
    That is the reason why I want to go to pp treatment for the first time, thus changing my approach to add a bit of mineral in my aging barrels to see if there are improvements.

    Btw, where do you live? I would love to visit you one day to see your fish , I livee in Springvale with a few discus keeper around.

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    Registered Member bluelagoon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    I would not use calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate together.Too many sulfates IMO.Calcium carbonate might be better.Did you measure your PH?Just curious when you say no KH/Gh at all.mmmm.I used calcium chloride in my marine tank,also.
    Last edited by bluelagoon; 10-05-2017 at 10:40 AM. Reason: added

  5. #5
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    Calcium Chloride will often work as a calcium suppliment for Fish for short term . I've used it many times.

    An alternative is crushed coral added to your sump..its a slower effect and can bump up your pH but if your water is poor in kH, poor in calcium, I'd try it as it will slowly release... usually people start with about 1 cup in a nylon stocking per 55 gal tank and adjust it from there. You can also use crushed oyster shells which are availible at feed stores that cater to chickens. I have low calcium here, and use it in many of my tanks and especially in my densely packed ones.


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  6. #6
    Registered Member HarryDk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    Quote Originally Posted by bluelagoon View Post
    I would not use calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate together.Too many sulfates IMO.Calcium carbonate might be better.Did you measure your PH?Just curious when you say no KH/Gh at all.mmmm.I used calcium chloride in my marine tank,also.
    Marvin, my PH always be 7, in rare occasions it is between 7-7.2; and yes, out of tap water in Melbourne, we have nearly zero KH/GH, I prevent PH crash by a bag of crushed coral and increase buffer slightly to 1. This tank is have 9 fish in 500L, so I do 90% wc once a week and PH remain stable.
    I tried Calcium carbonate before, didn't quite like it as it is not very soluble at PH 7.0, and the white milky colour remain for hours, also tried Calcium Bicarbonate, but it act so quickly lol.
    Quote Originally Posted by brewmaster15 View Post
    Calcium Chloride will often work as a calcium suppliment for Fish for short term . I've used it many times.

    An alternative is crushed coral added to your sump..its a slower effect and can bump up your pH but if your water is poor in kH, poor in calcium, I'd try it as it will slowly release... usually people start with about 1 cup in a nylon stocking per 55 gal tank and adjust it from there. You can also use crushed oyster shells which are availible at feed stores that cater to chickens. I have low calcium here, and use it in many of my tanks and especially in my densely packed ones.

    hth,
    al
    Thanks Al, I always had a good size crushed coral bag in my sump, boost my KH to .1 lol. So I will mix 4 part Calcium chloride and 1 part Epsom, try small amount first with my drip bucket over an hour. Hope my fish will like the adjustment.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    When dissolved Calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate dissociate to give a mixture of magnesium, calcium, chloride and sulfate.

    Sulfate doesn't have a significant biological function and to humans makes things taste bitter. Calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate is probably the safer and cheaper option. Calcium sulfate is plaster of paris, I wouldn't like to try and get that into solution.

    Do it slowly, try and bump up your KH by 0.5 units each week until you get to where you want.

    Also, I would prepare the solutions of calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate separately and dose them at opposite ends of the tank or dose one after the other a couple hours apart, often times kinetics of dissolution will cause a temporary fine white ppte in the water column that can be avoided if the dosing is spaced out.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Calcium Sulfate vs Calcium Chloride ?

    Al,

    I am on Municipal water here in Connecticut that is very soft. My TDS is about 58 (temperature adjusted) out of the tap and a 6.6 pH after 24 hours. I am doing about 75% WC every two days on a BB 55 gallon with 5 adult discus. I am concerned with the pH drop (over one day). I have been thinking of adding crushed coral to my filter as well as aging barrel. Is it as simple as monitoring pH, kH, and gH between tank and aging barrel and ensuring they stay matched? Someone mentioned to me in passing that they just keep the crushed coral in the filter and do water changes directly from the tap. I disagree as I thought with the big discus WC, the mismatch would be a negative.

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