Calcium to HiGH?

J

JohnPaulR

New member
Hi everyone,
Before I start I just want to say I'm new to the hobby and anybody is fully welcome to comment. So, I have a biocube 32g and it is fully cycled. It's been 3 months after the cycle and I only have a pair of clowns in there. Now I want to add coral so if I do I wanna make sure all my parameters are good especiallly my calcium. Below are my parameters.
Calcium- 520ppm
Alk - 400 ( is carbonate hardness same thing as alk?)
Ammonia-0
Nitrate- 0
Nitrite-0
Phosphate .5 ppm
Ph- 8.3 ( Ive been working on bringing it up and it's finally where I want it to be, and I think it raises the alk to. People at my lfs gave me a product called seacheam ph buffer)
Thanks to everyone that reads and comments.
 
Calcium at 520 isn't bad. What salt are you using?

Also, stop worrying about your pH and don't use that buffer. The LFS took you for being new and got an easy sale. Just make sure you have good surface agitation and your pH should be just fine. Most tanks run below 8 with zero issues.

As for the alkalinity, I'm not sure what 400 is. Try to find a calculator that converts that to dkH. Somewhere 8-12 is acceptable.
 
I'm currently on the road I'm going to test alk with my Stratford carbonate hardness kit when I get home. And if it is high is there a way to bring it down?
 
I'm pretty sure with that high of alkalinity and calcium, your tank would look like a snow globe with all the precipitation. Test with your kit and have a LFS test it as well to double check.

I would have a tough time ever trusting that LFS again though.
 
Yea, since I'm new I wanna do whatever I can to ensure the safety of the inhabitants. I would hate to have something die due to a dumb mistake. And to answer ur previous question I use coral pro salt by Red Sea
 
JTL said:
Check the Mg.
Click to expand...

+1

PH buffers are reef destroyers.

Ph only reacts to CO2 in the water, the more there is the lower it goes, and it has a mind of its own. Truly a spoiled little brat that is best ignored and sits it the corner and pouts.
 
Alright i did the alk test. It says each drop is worth 1dkh and it took me 20 drops to get to the endpoint of the test�� What do I do? I'm thinking it's because of that dumb marine ph buffer it says that it raises the alk. Any suggestions on what to do?
 
I agree with the pH. It's going to be what it's going to be is how I look at it. Mine will drop to 7.7 at night and sometimes hit 8 during the day. I just checked my apex and it is 8.3 because the family and I are away camping and the CO2, well 6 people and 3 dogs aren't there.

Definitely recheck the alk, I highly doubt it's 400ppm.
 
Water changes will get it down. Do 20% for a couple of weeks and you will have it down. It is not going to kill anything at this point. Just wait on the coral. It may come down even faster but the only way to do this is by dilution.
 
I'm going to wait it out until tommorow and check in the morning if anything changed but if not I'm definitely going to do a water change. Just out of my Curiosity would alk like mine kill soft coral? Or would it even kill coral?
 
Would alk lower on its own? Or would I have to continuously do water changes until alk is reasonable. Would alk affect soft coral? At what point would alk kill coral? And I'm still going to do a water change in the morning. Surface agitation in the tank is great water is moving and rippiling all the time. Anything else u guys can reccomend?
 
Alk will go down on its own - if there are stoney corals (LPS, SPS) to use it up. Otherwise not so much
 
Alright, I need help ph went down and at this point idk should I worry or not. Did water change 2 hours ago and I just tested the alk and it's at 17dkh... which is still high but it went down at least���� would an alk of 17dkht kill lps corals ? Or would it help them grow? Idk I'm a noob so just tell me if I sound stupid��
 
High alk 11 or 12 dKH is ok by some reefers but 20 dKH is just too high. Why even risk putting corals in there until you get it under control. A couple of 20% water changes will bring it down considerably.
 
JohnPaulR said:
Alright, I need help ph went down and at this point idk should I worry or not. Did water change 2 hours ago and I just tested the alk and it's at 17dkh... which is still high but it went down at least���� would an alk of 17dkht kill lps corals ? Or would it help them grow? Idk I'm a noob so just tell me if I sound stupid��
Click to expand...

Ignore the da** ph! You can NOT do anything about it unless you reduce the CO2 and if it is above 7.6 it is is just fine.

One more time - Ignore the ph.
 
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