High Calcium Level

J

JusJim

New member
My 65 gallon has been cycling with live rock now for just under two weeks. All of the water parameters have spiked and started down or are down to 0 already with the exception of Nitrates which have been very High.

I've been doing almost daily water changes and finally have the nitrates down under 40.

A week ago I started adding purple up every couple of days, and (at the recommendation of the LFS) I also added Kent brand Iron and Tech-I (Iodine). Since I have 100# of live rock I used the dosage for 50 Gallons. The directions call for this to be added once a week, so I've not added any more yet this week....only the one dose.

The water changes have been around 15 gallons each, and I've done this 4 times over the last 5 days. I use Instant Ocean brand salt and let it dissolve at least 12 hours. SG is running 1.024 to 1.025.

Now to the question. I took a calcium reading this morning and the calcium level is at 585. Is that something to worry about at this point in time?

Does the Iodine, Iron, or Purple Up affect the calcium and if so should I continue to use them? Which ones?

TIA, Jim
 
I don't think the high calcium is from the instant ocean and the only thing that you're adding that might have it is the purple up. Never heard of it though.

You should also test your alkalinity and keep it in line. At this point your water changes though should keep things normal for a new tank.
JMO

SteveU
 
Alkalinity is in the normal range. It never did spike (not sure if it should of or not). Is 585 anything to worry about right now as far as the bacterial life (& Critters) growing in the live rock?

It should be ok to go on and add the iron and iodine supplements? Are they really needed at this point? I first added them last Monday, so today has been 8 days and the directions calls for every week.

The purple up is supposed to promote the Coraline Growth.
 
Calcium and alkalinty promote coralline as well as low phosphates. 585ppm calcium by itself is not really a problem but if your alkalinity gets high as well both will fall out of solution at worst and build up on your pumps pretty fast at best. No reason to have it that high and adding more of the purple up I'd assume will raise it.

As for the iodine and iron in a new tank I'd be concerned with it fueling diatoms, cyno and algae. You're gonna have those problems anyway on just about any new tank so I'd not add it now.

SteveU
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6952788#post6952788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JusJim


It should be ok to go on and add the iron and iodine supplements? Are they really needed at this point?
Click to expand...

there's not a truly accurate test kit for ether of those(if you cant test for it, dont add it)IMO at this point you dont need to add these and most likely never will. a good salt mix will have all you need, and most foods will add plenty of iodine. iron is rarely limited unless you have a lot of macroalgae
 
I would stop adding the purple up and the calcium will fall on its own. Especially with IO. It may take a bit since you have nothing consuming cal at this time but regular water changes should help.

Also check you newly mixed salt water to make sure your test kit is performing properly. IO usually tests between 320-360
 
OK, some interesting results...(I Think). I have 20 gallons of water that was mixed this morning. Salt is fully dissolived. Tap Water, Instant Ocean, and Start Right. When testing I get the same results as the tank water. 585 for calcium.

I then decided to test the tap water. Not sure if all test kits for calcium work the same, but this one (Aquarium Systems brand) you add too different things to a set amount of water, and then add the last chemical one drop at a time until the sample turns blue. You then multiply the number of drops by 15.

I got to the last step and figuring I'd need several drops, I added 5 right off the bat and the water turned blue....so the calcium in the tap water is somewhere under 75.

Could the fact that I'm keeping my SG at 1.025 have anything to do with the high calcium, since I do have to add some extra salt mix over what is recommended to get it to 1.025.

25 gallons of water calls for 12.5 cups of salt. I need to add 3 extra cups to get it to 1.025.
 
sg. will effect Ca levels but not buy that much. the "start right" is more for freshwater tanks that use RO/DI water, your salt mix has all the elements you need, i would stop adding that also and i would highly suggest using RO/DI water, not tap water. if you must use tap water make sure you dechlorinate it
 
I've used start right for years. It used to be a granular type product and it's now liquid. I Just thought that everyone used it. It seems to be what all the LFS's suggest around here.
 
I'd say if your mewly mixed salt water test at 565 like you said, then your test kit is bad. It is doubtful IO will test that high. Get yourself a new test kit or take a sample of your water to the LFS or a friends. I'm betting your test kit is shot.
 
I would avoid dosing Purple-Up since it is a cocktail mix of various ingredients, including some I wouldn't dose. Iodine, likewise, doesn't seem useful to dose. I do dose iron regularly to try to help macroalgae growth. Iron is consumed quickly in a marine environment, so testing isn't really needed.

One issue with the AS calcium test kit is that the color change requires some time to develop in some cases. What I did when I used this test was to titrate until the mixture turned purple, then let the vial set for one minute (a real minute), and then continue the titration. Usually it took a few drops for the vial to turn blue. That might explain the problem you're seeing.
 
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