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Giesemann Alkalinity and Calcium Professional Test Kits

Giesemann Alkalinity and Calcium Professional Test Kits

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Giesemann Professional Test Kits are designed, manufactured and tested to standards that are unparalleled in this industry.

In reef aquaria, there is one important element that all LPS and SPS corals need in order to grow. We are talking about Calcium Carbonate. Corals build approximately 90% of the skeleton by combining calcium and carbonate ions from the water to form calcium carbonate.

There should be an equal amount of carbonate and calcium ions to ensure that corals have access to the basic building blocks to ensure constant growth and coral health. This means testing our tank water on a regular basis to ensure that all parameters are as stable as possible.

Giesemann Aquaristik, well known for their beautiful and ultra high quality lighting fixtures have developed a new line of high-accuracy test kits.

Giesemann Professional Test Kits are designed, manufactured and tested to standards that are unparalleled in this industry.

Giesemann calibrated droppers ensure that EVERY drop administered is exactly the same. You can do 1, 2, 3, 4 times the test and the result will be always the same!

All test kits feature a clearly printed expiration date and lot number!

All Giesemann test kits include multi-language illustrated instructions and professionally calibrated color charts.

All reagent bottles are clearly labeled making every Giesemann test kit easy to understand and use.

Alkalinity

Alkalinity is a way for us to measure the level of carbonate ions in the water. Natural seawater has an alkalinity ranging between 7 and 8 dKH. In reef aquaria, Alkalinity readings generally range between 7 and 10 dKH.

Giesemann Alkalinity Test Kit is an easy-to-use highly accurate titration test.

Testing Alkalinity:

1. Rinse the test vial in running water, then rinse the vial several times with aquarium water. Once fully rinsed, fill it with 5 milliliters of aquarium water using the included syringe for increased accuracy.

2. Carefully shake the KH-1 reagent bottle before use and then add 5 drops to test vial and swirl for 10 seconds. The sample should be light blue.

3. Mount the plastic tip onto the 1ml syringe.

4. Fill syringe with 1ml of KH-2 test fluid. Be sure to keep the tip of the syringe fully submerged when drawing reagent and stop when the lower edge of the black piston reaches the 1ml mark. There will be some air present right blow the piston. This is normal and will not affect the results.

5. Slowly add syringe reagent one drop at a time and swirl the sample after each drop. Continue adding until the sample changes from light blue to yellow.

6. Now, let’s figure out how much reagent we used. We can achieve this by subtracting the reading where the piston stopped from 1ml. An example would be If the piston stopped at 0.6ml, that means that we USED 0.4ml of reagent.

7. Multiply the amount of KH-2 used by 20 to obtain you tank’s dKH results or, you can simply use the chart included in the box. In our example, we used 0.6ml of KH2 reagent so our final dKH reading is 8.0.

8. Rinse the test vial and the measuring syringe with tap water and store.

Depending on your Alkalinity reading, you may need to supplement or adjust your current regimen accordingly.

Calcium

Calcium is the second basic component of Calcium carbonate. It is widely recommended to maintain Calcium levels between 400 and 450 ppm in reef aquaria which will create a equal balance of calcium and carbonates available for our corals.

Giesemann Calcium Test Kits are an easy and economical titration test that also delivers an incredibly high accuracy of 5 ppm!

Testing Calcium:

1. Rinse the test vial in running water and then rinse the vial several times with aquarium water. Once fully rinsed, fill it with 5 milliliters of aquarium water using the included syringe for increased accuracy.

2. Carefully shake the Ca-1 reagent bottle before use and then add 5 drops to test vial and swirl.

3. Add one level scoop of Ca-2 powder using the mini spoon.

4. Gently swirl the testing container till the sample changes to a light pink.

5. Mount the plastic tip onto the 1ml syringe.

6. Fill syringe with 1ml of Ca-3 test fluid. Be sure to keep the tip of the syringe fully submerged when drawing reagent. Stop drawing reagent when the lower edge of the black piston reaches the 1ml mark. There will be some air present right blow the piston. This is normal and will not affect the results.

7. Slowly add syringe reagent one drop at a time. Swirl the sample after each drop. Continue adding until the sample changes from pink to dark red/purple.

8. Now, let’s figure out how much reagent we used. We can achieve this by subtracting the reading where the piston stopped from 1ml. An example would be if the piston stopped at 0.1ml, that means that we USED 0.9ml of reagent.

9. Multiply the amount of CA-3 used by 500 to obtain you tank’s calcium results or, you can simply use the chart included in the box. In our example, we used 0.9ml of Ca-3 reagent so our final Calcium reading is 450.

10. Rinse the test vial and the measuring syringe with tap water and store.

Depending on your Calcium reading, you may need to supplement or adjust your current regimen accordingly.

Keeping our water parameters at optimal levels and ensuring that our corals have access to the very basic building blocks needed to grow and thrive will increase our success rate.

As reef hobbyists, we have one single job… maintain water quality… that is the key to enjoying a tank full of happy and colorful corals.

If you would like to learn more about Professional Alkalinity and Calcium Test kits and other great Giesemann products, head on over to Coralvue.com.

If you have any questions or issues with the product, don’t hesitate to visit our support portal at coralvue.com/support. Our friendly support reps are eager to help you with any questions or issues you may have.

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