CaCl2 and Too much Chloride

[FishWorks]

Hi All,

Just wondering if dosing CaCl2 solely as a calcium source adds too much Chloride?
I know its a trace nutrient, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing right (imbalance)?

I don't have a tank right now as it is really inconvenient from Covid Lockdown, but I will try to describe what I would have done.

I do prefer CaCl2 over CaSO4 because of ease in solubility.
Dosing 15ppm of Ca (after every WC) will add 26.53ppm of Cl. Then add another 2.73ppm of Cl (3x a week) from KCL. I have no idea how much Chloride comes in my Tap (Perhaps I should visit my local university and have my water tested). So all I have now on paper is 34.72ppm of Chloride weekly.

Dr. Barr and his team said that Chloride is needed in small amounts, however, high levels of Chloride also still has positive effects.
Also, they said in the 2006 Barr Report article that 140ppm of Chloride is safe for most plants. Link Below:
https://barrreport.com/articles/sod...ic-macrophytes-volume-2-issue-7-july-2006.19/

Other informal references:

Calcium Chloride Dihydrate

Hi, I'm using calcium chloride dihydrate as a source of Ca. I'm using 100% ro and replenish with mgso4 7h20 and cacl2 2h2o, so I have about 5-6gh. My question is, is chloride safe for plants and fish?

barrreport.com

Calcium

Good day everyone, I want to clarify something, are all type of calcium (dry) like calcium sulfate and carbon carbonate safe for our plants in the tank? Because I'm looking at amazon, they have calcium sulfate and carbonate products available. But non of them specifically are saying that it's...

www.ukaps.org

I plan on testing usage of CaCl2 over 6 months in a tank with Aquasoil. Then will report my findings here.
Can I get your opinion? Do you think the aquarium will be okay with my Chloride in Tap + KCL + CaCl2?
I am not sure if its worth the trouble to get my Tap water tested for Chloride levels.

 

[Wookii]

I've seen no specific ill effect when using CaCl2 to plants or livestock, and I believe it is used in several leading branded shrimp mineralising salts.

If you can obtain it, Calcium Nitrate is an alternative to reduce the amount of Chloride added, and covers part of your Nitrate dosing at the same time.

 

[ElleDee]

I use CaCl2 as my calcium source and also have never seen any ill effects. And though I have seen people give warnings about too much chloride, I've never actually heard a first hand account of someone who used too much and it wrecked havoc. I'm sure there is an upper tolerable limit, as there is with most things, but it probably surpasses what people typically dose plus their tap water amounts. I haven't read that Barr Report to see what the basis of that 140 ppm threshold is, but that's several times more than you are proposing.

 

[FishWorks]

I've seen no specific ill effect when using CaCl2 to plants or livestock, and I believe it is used in several leading branded shrimp mineralising salts.

If you can obtain it, Calcium Nitrate is an alternative to reduce the amount of Chloride added, and covers part of your Nitrate dosing at the same time.

Thats reassuring. I shall try CaCl2 for 6 months. If the CaCl2 fails (which I doubt), then I can switch to the CaNO3.
Thank you very much for sharing your observation.

I use CaCl2 as my calcium source and also have never seen any ill effects. And though I have seen people give warnings about too much chloride, I've never actually heard a first hand account of someone who used too much and it wrecked havoc. I'm sure there is an upper tolerable limit, as there is with most things, but it probably surpasses what people typically dose plus their tap water amounts. I haven't read that Barr Report to see what the basis of that 140 ppm threshold is, but that's several times more than you are proposing.

That gives me confidence on my results when I try CaCl2 for 6 months, hopefully no ill effects on my part. Thanks very much for sharing your experience.