Calcium chloride or calcium phosphate?

[orkaloca]

Hi all ^_^
I've found very interesting the use you do of liquid calcium for aquariums, but I'm just little perplexed about that...

I mean, that liquid calcium is a solution of calcium chloride at 20%.
Calcium chloride that contain calcium and chlorine.
Now... If for an aquarium are good both calcium and chlorine (but in large quantities chlorine could became problematic), for a terrestrial animal I don't think chlorine could be good.

Have you ever noticed problem in your snails, that could be related with chlorine?

So I was thinking about that and I've thounght that for a terrestrial animal could be better to use calcium phosphate, couse animals can use both calcium (for shell) and phospate (may be for some other metabolic process)

What do you think about that?

[Arno]

I think its good to remember we don't use that liquid calcium straight from the bottle but put only a few (2-3) drops in a few liters of water,so that would be not 20 % more like 0,02 % or less(i'm not the worlds greatest mathematician lol)

[orkaloca]

Yes, sure, I've read, but chlorine is present also if in little amount.
Are you really sure that this element is harmless?

[Paul]

Chlorine is rarely present in any significant quantity naturally and like you said, aquatic owners use it in tanks with aquatic snails and have done for a long time. Chlorine would be as harmful to them as land snails and no ill-effects have been reported that I know of.

There are small amounts of chlorine and calcium in tap water also, which we use to spray our tanks and clean the snails' food. Chlorine evaporates reasonably quickly so if you were worried, leaving the water to stand, with no lid, would significantly reduce the level of chlorine.

According to "Field guide to the land snails and slugs of eastern South Africa" snails can utilise calcium carbonate more effectively than calcium phosphate, so unless you could get it in a liquid form, it negates the reason to use it.

[orkaloca]

thanks for the replies, I'm more serene. I think I'll do like you say and I?ll leave the water stand for a while.
Now I'm curious to see how my snails will react to that "cure"