calcium

[randy jr]

i do water changes but i cant get my calcium to drop passed 550 need help

 

[spinoleo]

what test kit are you using and are you dosing anything?

 

[randy jr]

my test kit is red sea and i'm not dosing anything in my tank

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

RODI or tap? What brand of salt? Are you measuring your hewly mixed saltwater or just the tank?

 

[randy jr]

reef crystal is the salt and i started my tank in march 2011 so im new and my coarls are not growning i test my tank onces a week and it test ok but calcium is to high

 

[pascal32]

(1) check your alkalinity (KH) - if this is low your CA could be high.
(2) check your salinity on a refractometer (preferably calibrated) - if your salinity is high you will get high CA
(3) check with another test kit

if your KH and PH are good I wouldn't sweat it.

read this article: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[randy jr]

if my salinity and ca is to high is that y my coarls are not growing

 

[pascal32]

its worth checking salinity and KH - it's the first stop for any issue and should be done weekly. It is really best to calibrate a refractometer using 35ppt solution. BRS has it for cheap, little bottle will last a year.

in its simplest terms [and for that matter all I understand] KH (alkalinity) is an indirect measurement of available carbonate and bicarbonate which corals need to form their skeletons which are made of calcium carbonate. Seems that you would be short a building block

 

[tmz]

550ppm calcium won't harm anything. Not sure how reliable the red sea tests is in any case. Reef Crystals usually comes in at around 500ppm. You could try measuring some newly mixed water after it ages overnight to see how much you are adding with water changes. Sometimes the mix in the buckett is not even. Salinity includes calcium alkaliity and many other things ,so when its high or low these elements vary with it. Alkalinity is used faster than calcium 1 dkh drop in alk equals only 7ppm calcium; so, it's a more critical measure.

 

[randy jr]

i tested my tank today and here are the numbers
ammonia is 0
nitrate is 10
alk is normal
ph is 8.4
nitrite is 0.05
phosphate is 0
calcium is 550
salt is 1.024
if someone can help me and tell me if my numbers are off please let me no thank you for your help

 

[pascal32]

those numbers are pretty good - I would raise the salinity to 1.026 slowly (add some mixed replacement salt water and let evaporation do its thing which will raise salinity)

The nitrate I prefer below 5, though some people believe 10 is good for LPS. Stay on top of your water changes and that number should stay or drop a little.

what is normal KH for you?

Like Tom said the CA at 550 isn't anything to worry about - when i see high CA numbers I like to look at KH as there is a relationship between the two (and often it is low). with your KH good and a good PH I wouldn't do anything about it.

 

[randy jr]

thank you for helping me

 

[victorcan]

Get yourself a salifert test kit, deffinatly the best method outside a probe... and 550 isn't gonna hurt ya.. wouldnt go much higher but most people fight to get their calcium up not down my ca. is always 510-520ppm I use oceanic saltmix and dose kalk daily and most of my corals are doing great with that... well hang in there and dont worry soley on #'s, dont get me wrong I test every 5-7 days but I generally watch my corals to determine whats going on.. Pick up some xenia and keep it away from all other rocks as it spreads like a weed, but its a great monitor for reefs, when they arent pulsing or are shrinking I know i need a water change hang in there and good luck ...