Calcium overdose!!!

[NeuroLarry]

Due to an error on my part (don't ask) my tank was severely overdosed with calcium. Recognizing dilution is the solution to pollution I am doing water changes to correct it but wonder what fallout I can expect? The soft corals are looking pekid which is what alerted me to the problem. The green and yellow polyps are not extending. Thge fish and other LPS seem OK. On teh bright side I seemed to have a huge outbreak of very small aiptasia or some other creature that was inundating the corals and it is totally gone. Just wondered if anyone has any experience here. Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Overdosed with what exactly?

How high is the calcium currently? It can get pretty high without being an issue.

 

[NeuroLarry]

Well I double diluted the test kit and still ran out of reagent. I was dosing with 2 part solution using litremeter 3. Over Thanksgiving a little guest found and played with the bright buttons unfortuantely he dumped the remainder of a 4 gal bucket maybe 2 gallons over a couple days. Overall system is about 400 gallons. Lesson learned: even with litremeter use a small vessel of additive to limit the inevitable Murpheys Law.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It was only the calcium part, right?

If so, then it is basically calcium chloride that was added. Not as bad as other things you might have added.

Water changes are probably the way to go, maybe with IO salt mix that runs low anyway.

Try to get a real reading too. You can use as many syringes of titrant as it takes,a and then just add the values together.

 

[jcollins]

My two year old daughter OD'd my tank with calcium while I was out of town. I had a friend come over and do a water change, yea........ don't ask why the wife couldn't. Anyway, about 4-5 days later ALL of my fish, shrimp and clams died. Most of my sps bleached but came back. My softies and lps did great. It was such a bad experience that this is the first time I've posted about it. Things are great now and I have started to add new fish.

 

[NeuroLarry]

Yes it was just the B ionic part A, the IO idea is a good one thanks. So far fish and LPS are fine but the softies are looking haggard, haven't seen them since I did a 50 gal change this morning, brittle star bit the dust. Do fish have a parathyroid gland? If so it has probably shrivled to nothing.

 

[NeuroLarry]

Got home tonight and everyone looks pretty good! Got a new Ca test kit and near as I can figure the Calcium is 1800 after a 50 Gal H20 change. Picked up some IO for the next 50 gal change.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Oh, that high. Definite water change time. Watch alkalinity as you may have to supplement more than usual of the alk part and I'd want to keep alkalinity up.

 

[NeuroLarry]

Thanks Randy

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Good luck.