i have an issue with calcium i connot bring the calcium level above 300ppm. i have been adding calcium for the past 3 days. my pink tip anemonie is very pale and closed up my polyps look ok but some are closed. i keep adding calcium every 2 hours or so. can any one offer any advise?
calcium issue
- Thread starter SGTG
- Start date
mandarinfanatic
New member
first thing is to test each perameter. without much info. i can give the following pointers. things to be aware of. magnesium is the base as it prevents precipitation of calcium within reason. it should be a minimum of 1260ppm but can be higher. calcium should be a minimum of 420ppm. once you have magnesium raised you should raise kh and calcium alternately bit by bit as they support each other bearing in mind kh should be dripped in to prevent precipitation of calcium as calcium carbonate.here are redsea recommendations. i have followed these with no problemsView attachment 216513
sent from my galaxy s3
sent from my galaxy s3
my mag is at 1160ppm, alk is low at 7. had to run out and get more buffer. waiting 2 hours for it to stabalise to recheck. i didnt get the mag booster because the lfs guy said it was good at that level but now am secound guessing him. i trust the people here and their advise. i will go out and get a mag booster tom after work in the mean time i will work on the alk and calcium levels or should i wait untill i boost the mag level before i add more calcium?
1160 is low. it needs to be atleast 1280 (natural sw) but 1350ish in reef tank. also mag plays referee between cal and alk. if not maintained then cal and alk will never stable.
so get the mag supplement and boost it up. once mag is up then u can stable cal and alk.
so get the mag supplement and boost it up. once mag is up then u can stable cal and alk.
thanks for the advise will raise the mag tom when i get the booster. this explains alot. i have a green mushroom also its small. it found a hole in the live rock and it wont come out. now that i learned about the role of mag and its importance of it hopefully it will come out when everything is stable. one more thing what role does iodine plays in the reef aquarium and where should it be at?
I would raise the magnesium to 1275 ppm or so, the canonical ocean average, but 1100 ppm is fine for maintaining the calcium level at normal levels. I ran tanks for years with the magnesium at around 1100 ppm because that's what IO measured.
I suspect the test kit is having problems or you need to add more supplement. The problems with the animals could indicate that there's a problem with the supplement, too. What are you adding and how much has been added each day?
I suspect the test kit is having problems or you need to add more supplement. The problems with the animals could indicate that there's a problem with the supplement, too. What are you adding and how much has been added each day?
ok i need some advise. my calcium levels are realy low 380 alk 5.5 mag is 1160. i have been trying to get the mag up adding 2 table spoons a day for 3 days and cant go up. added 2 tlbs of buffer to bring up alk and nothing and trying to raise the calcium. what am i doing wrong? i cant get them up no matter what i try. i lost my pink tip anemonie. i need to bring these 3 up. ph is 8.2 salinity is right where is supposed to be temp 79-80.
Those parameters are fine except for the alkalinity. I would raise that to at least 7 dKH with some baking soda. Raising the magnesium will require a lot of supplement. This calculator might help:
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
I'd raise the magnesium to 1275 ppm, but that won't help your corals. I ran tanks at 1100 ppm for years.
Anemones are fine with low alkalinity, though, since they have no skeleton. Something else caused the anemone's death.
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
I'd raise the magnesium to 1275 ppm, but that won't help your corals. I ran tanks at 1100 ppm for years.
Anemones are fine with low alkalinity, though, since they have no skeleton. Something else caused the anemone's death.
am using kent marine mag booster i have a 55 g but with the rocks and sand ill say its like 52 plus the sump and fuge is a 20g but i think there is like 10-15g the salinity is at 1.026 i used that calculator but am only adding 2 tbsp a day but it dont go up its still at 1120. and the calcium still not going up.
Justdrew
Dad with Triplets!
I am guessing you are using the Kent Tech-M for magnesium. If this is the product you are using, by plugging in 60 gallons into the reef chemistry calculator and your current and target levels of magnesium it tells you that you need 8.5 oz to 17 oz depending on which formulation you have. It explains there are 2 different concentrations of the tech-m on the market. Adding only 2 tbsp a day is not going to make a difference in your magnesium. You need to be thinking in half or whole bottles of tech-m to get the results you desire.
HTH
Drew
HTH
Drew
salinity is 1.025 the salt mix i dont remember the brand for some reason i cannot remember the name of it. i always pour the bag into a bucket. i will be doing a water change tom after work about 60% this time and see what happens with the salt mix and if that doesnt work i will pour in about 1/4 of mag booster every 4 hours. and see how that does. and if levels dont get better maybe i will try and use a different salt mix. what is the most popular salt mix people are using?
