I'm only 8 months in the hobby. I have a 45 gal tank with 10 fish and various corals. I'm struggling with nitrates in my tank, 2-3. Ive done several water changes to address with no success in lowering the nitrates. What I have been successful in doing is lowering my CA numbers. After my last water changed my numbers fell to 370. I dosed with 10ml manually and my doser is set to. 12ml 12 times a day. I checked my numbers this AM and the CA dropped to 370. I manually dosed again 10ml and retested this evening and my number fell to 325. My Alk is 13.7 and salinity is 1.023. Any ideas on why my CA numbers aren't increases and why my nitrates aren't falling. The water I'm added to the tank is nitrate free. I have an RO/DI system verified waters coming out clean.
Low Calcium tried to raise by dosing
- Thread starter ezellt
- Start date
Shamous113
New member
whats your magnesium at? and what salt are you using?don't chase your nitrates, they don't have to be 0, my current tank cruses along at 10-15. Only nitrites and ammonia have to be 0.
ReeferNoob4ever
New member
I'm still new at this but that seems like high dkh to me. 8-12 is the range correct? Also checking magnesium is a good idea to rule out that issue as well. What's your pH?
Shamous113
New member
correct range should be 8-12 depending on the salt that you are using.
The high alk and low ca could be a symptom of low mg, do you see any precipitation of calcium carbonate on objects such as heaters and pumps? ph can fluctuate depending on the amount of co2 in the air in the room and a lot of people don't chase it.
When you say calcium carbonate build up is would that be representative of white dots I have to scrape off the glass? Is so yes I have that. Yes my Alk is high. I normally keep it at 11 to 11.5. When I did my 10 water change yesterday my Alk skyrocketed to 21 but I got it down to 13.7 today. Still working on getting that in the right range as well.
Shamous113
New member
IMHO yes it is something you should test for especially if your having problems balancing every thing else. also what are you dosing to raise the ca? and did you shake/roll the bucket of io salt prior to opening it, it use to be that some times they settle during transport. I use io salt for my system but from the 200 gal boxes which is separated in to 50gal bags, I'm always fighting the alk being lower in a fresh mix than what I like my tank at.
Shamous113
New member
no it's like a white hard film that you have to scrape off the heater. ouch that alk is thru the roof. what test kits are you using?
ReeferNoob4ever
New member
Maybe bad tests but if I read about this it seems like your chemistry is a miss. Maybe magnesium is to blame. Maybe overdosing something. When I come across this it seems to be due to kalkwasser.
homer1475
New member
Guarantee the MAG is put of wack. You cant raise calcium or alkalinity if your magnesium is low.
Might want to have a read through this sticky.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2588686
Might want to have a read through this sticky.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2588686
mcgyvr
New member
huh? how did your alk get to 21 with a 10g water change (I assume 10 "gallons" you don't seem to put units on your numbers) Must be a testing error as thats just not possible..
Or your salt may have settled or is bad..
11-11.5 alk is also too high and most certainly if you have low to no nitrates/phosphates..
With low nutrient systems you want alk in the 7 to low 8 range
2-3ppm of nitrate is also TOTALLY FINE... and not an issue at all..
I actually recommend switching to regular IO salt vs reef crystals too..
I agree though a mag test is in order here..
And you parameters should be "stable" and figured out BEFORE you add corals..
Thanks to all who responded. I went to my local fish store and got some guidance. They told me the Bionic products I use to dose have magnesium in them. After I explained what was going on they agreed with some of you all and felt I may have over dosed, not sure how but anything is possible. They suggested 100% tank change. I did that today and all my levels are good. Thanks again for your help!
ReeferNoob4ever
New member
I'm still a noob and am learning that salt water mix is usually sufficient to keep up with a modest tank. No need to dose at all. Just do regular water changes.
BTW 2-3ppm is nothing especially with that many fish. Maybe look into carb loading and less feedings.
BTW 2-3ppm is nothing especially with that many fish. Maybe look into carb loading and less feedings.
