it is best to be careful of "wonder shells" because there has been this idea of
making "calcium pucks" from plaster of paris and in acid water it can really jerk the
pH around ... lethally.

the absolute best way to stabilize calcium or "hardness" is with dolomitic limestone
(not dolomite) which also has magnesium in it (which oyster shells do not). it comes
powdered and the right stuff looks off white with bits of black flecking in it. even
limestone chunks are good (but not marble). powdered dolomitic limestone stays in
the bottom of the tank dissolved on demand. getting the right stuff is not always
easy, but a lot is not needed either. Ingrid

"Jen" wrote:


"carlrs" wrote in message
ups.com...

Nitric acid production is on going in all healthy well cycled
aquariums. Proper kH is what is important here, and not just the old
school method of baking soda, which does not add the calcium needed by
all fish (in fact all animals), and also does not add necessary
electrolytes. There are many excellent ways of doing this from Wonder
Shells to bags of aragonite in the filter.


Can you explain this please? Are you saying that Wonder Shells are needed
in all aquariums? What are they?


Jen




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