Re: Snail food [speaking of calcium]

[Mac Cool]

swarvegorilla:

> A handful of shellgrit never goes astray
> or ya can mix pure calc carbonate powder into their food.

The guy I got the snails and daphnia from gave me a handful of what he
called calcium carbonate, looks exactly like the stuff sold by pet stores
for removing nitrates (little white rocks). I've looked in stores and I
can only find two labeled sources of calcium... calcium sand (kinda
expensive) and turtle bones (cheap). What is my best, cheapest option for
calcium?
--
Mac Cool

[swarvegorilla]

"Mac Cool" > wrote in message
...
> swarvegorilla:
>
>> A handful of shellgrit never goes astray
>> or ya can mix pure calc carbonate powder into their food.
>
> The guy I got the snails and daphnia from gave me a handful of what he
> called calcium carbonate, looks exactly like the stuff sold by pet stores
> for removing nitrates (little white rocks). I've looked in stores and I
> can only find two labeled sources of calcium... calcium sand (kinda
> expensive) and turtle bones (cheap). What is my best, cheapest option for
> calcium?
> --
> Mac Cool

Well going to a landscape supply place is always a good bet.
The way it works is.
Shellgrit/coral/bones -> compact down to -> limestone which when heated
under crushed under pressure gives -> marble.
Really it's all calcium carbonate just in different forms.
A handful in a mesh bag inside a filter will maintain pH as well as 10
handfuls mixed into the gravel.... flowing water thing... but you have to
give it a rub off everynow and again to prevent to large a biofilm growing
over it and reducing it's surface area exposed to the water.
So landscaper (stone merchant) for limestone or marble, unless it's found in
ya local area.
Produce store (farm shop/petshop) for poultry grade shellgrit
Coral is harder to find these days but really you could just crush egg
shells into the water if it came too it.
All of these will keep water stable around pH7.6 in most tanks.
HTH's