calcium high

[Angler Lover]

I tested my calcium to day and it is up arround 620, how high is too high and should i do something to get it down faster or just let it come down naturaly?

thanks

 

[seapug]

test your alkalinity. If it's low, use baking soda to raise it to 10-12 dkh and it will make the Calcium more available to the corals. If it's in the good range, just leave it alone and it will probably come down on it's own over time. My tank ran up in that range for quite a while and never had any problems from it.

 

[Angler Lover]

thanks
my alk is 7dkH how much baking soda would i add?

 

[lancer99]

6 grams (1 teaspoon) of baking soda will raise alk in 50 gallons by 1 dKH, according to this article: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

You probably know not to add it all at once

-R

 

[McCrary]

Aim for a calcium of 450-480 and an alkalinity of around 9-10dkh, a alkalinity of 12 can sometimes be a little too much for sensitive coral and alkalinity swings will cause rapid death of many corals. I would let it come down naturally. I would bet that your calcium test is off, a calcium reading of 620 is very high and pretty unusual. Also, what are you using to raise the calcium?

 

[McCrary]

Have you been noticing any snow in the tank? You could be causing the alkalinity in the tank to fall by adding too much calcium, the alkalinity would precipitate out of the water as the calcium rose. So if you are dosing a two part, this could be the problem.