lowering calcium

[tundra420619]

i am having some issues with my tank and corals not doing so well
right now i am testing temp-76 ph-8.4 alk-1.8 calcium-sky high i cant even get a real number
can anybody offer some insight on how to help my tank?

 

[rbursek]

I think you have to let it come down on its own, how did it get that high?

 

[tundra420619]

overdosing calcium
taking advice from the wrong people

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sky high means what?

With most kits you can use a second syringe of titrant to get a true value. Just add the values for the two syringes together.

If it is really too high, then waiting for it to come down on its own is often the best plan, or more aggressively and not usually necessary, doing water changes with a low calcium mix like Instant Ocean.

This article has more:

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[tundra420619]

i was wondering about that
i have both a red sea calc test and salifert test
i can grab more solution and just add numbers together and get a definite number.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yep. Let us know what you find.

 

[tundra420619]

Randy

i have read that article and learned alot.
i do fall into the zone 4
would you recommend waiting or using sodium bicarbonate?
thanks

john

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Let's see what the value comes out before deciding on a plan.

 

[tundra420619]

i think i did that right and i got 630

it took about 1.25ml to change the color

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

OK. What salt mix do you normally use? If something like IO, then a 25% change will drop it to about 560 ppm, which is the high end of where most folks keep tanks.

And do you have a high demand tank with a lot of SPS, or not? If so, just maintaining alkalinity with a buffer or baking soda will allow the calcium to fall on its own. It will do so in a lower demand tank too, but may take longer and/or may result in more precipitation on pumps, etc.

 

[tundra420619]

i am using coralife salt mix
i only have LPS in my tank

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Coralife is a pretty high calcium mix to begin with. About 560 ppm in Billy's tests:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1287118

How big of a tank are we talking about? If not too big, I'd personally either just let it drop on its own, or get some Instant Ocean and use it for a water change or two.

FWIW, elevated calcium is really not any sort of emergency situation, especially if you can otherwise maintain alkalinity in the 7-11 dKH range.

 

[tundra420619]

i have a 34g tank maybe 27g of actual water

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A water change might be straightforward then. 5 gallons would drop calcium nicely, although might also drop magnesium.

 

[tundra420619]

a water change with coralife or instant ocean?

 

[Icefire]

leave it like that, I use Coralife and High CA or MG is okay with no problem.

Your problem is your ALK, 1.8 = 5 dKh (I had 4.5 once and lost all SPS/LPS/Xenia).

raise that to 9dkh (3.25meq/l)

 

[tundra420619]

Thanks everybody for your help

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just maintaining normal alkalinity while watching the calcium slowly drop is a fine plan.