need help

[LovenBama]

ok here goes....
I still manually dose two part Ca and Alk and recently changed brands(not by choice) and upon using this new stuff according to directions on the bottle for maintaining levels......I've manged to get my Ca to 580 and really don't know if I should do a quick water change ot let it come down slowly on it's own. What are some possible ill effects if any with levels this high? thanks in advance for any and all input or advice

Virginia

 

[KniLLifer]

Dont worry about the calcium, let it come down on its own. The big issue is with Alk, I wonder what thats' at? Check Alk before calcium as its more damaging. Anyways, you should be fine, just let the levles come down on their own.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I second Art's opinion.

 

[LovenBama]

Alk was in check...Mag elevated just a lil at 1460 and everything else was within norms except for phospates seem to be climbing up and I never had a problem until this summer with phosphates...
I have added a phospates absorber media to the sump that the lfs(we all know who that is) said works good but it hasn't done anything to help get them in check....guessing I'll just have to do weekly water changes to get the phosphates back in check starting next week after the mag and ca level out slowly and going to fed tank every third day until then. Sound like a good plan? Or maybe do like a 10% change daily? I just did a 25% change a week ago but (slapping self on the hand) I don't test like I should because I tested at least 2 times a week when I first got into the hobby and everything was always the same so I dropped down to only 1 time a week then maybe 1 time a month cause everything was always the same ....ya know those test kits are costly.....not to mention it takes well over an hour to do all 9 test on just one tank and I have 3....seeing how my routine of dosing hasn't changed and levels where always in check...I got real lazy and only tested when something didn't look right.....guess I've got to do better now.
With that being said...."yes" I've learned not to take my parameters for granite anymore when changing brands of anything. Lesson Learned.
Thinking that with the expense of the 2 part dosing and mag I just need to go ahead and get a ca-reactor and be done with it...but those kinda scare me....don't like the idea of the pressure filled canister sitting in the house always thinking those things could just explode for no reason.....I'm prob over reacting but are the regulators fool proof? and to think I work with high pressure equipment at work everyday...but they kinda worry me too.

 

[doorlady]

I will tell you that the couple of times that we dosed mag. we had issues, we will not dose that stuff again.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

only tested when something didn't look right

I don't see any problem with that. If your tank is stable, it should be okay to test some parameters only once a month or less IMHO. I keep an eye on my alkalinity and test it fairy frequently since it fluctuates periodically, but I test other parameters such as Ca and Mg infrequently.

With that said, if you introduce a new product such as a new salt mix or a new additives, it would be a good idea to test your parameters. Some activated carbon are known to have some phosphate. So are calcium reactor media. When I switched my salt, I was surprised that the new salt had a very high alk level.

As for the regulators and CO2 cylinders, it's quite safe to use. I have not had any issue with them for the past 10 years. I have a #20 cylinder on my 75G planted tank and a #10 one for my 180 reef. A CO2 regulator is often fitted with an internal pressure relief valve. The welding shop that I get CO2 from always swaps out my cylinder with a pretested and certified Aluminum cylinder so that I don't have to worry about getting my cylinder tested and certified. Although I own my cylinder, I end up getting a different one every time I get CO2. The only issue that I have had with this method is that I sometimes get a steel cylinder, which is very heavy for me, when they don't have an aluminum one on hand. I am careful about carrying a CO2 cylinder in my car, though. I secure my cylinder well so that it won't roll around in the trunk of my car and would not leave it in a hot car for any extended period.

I use both calcium reactor and a small amount of kalk in my ATO. Some people run a calcium reactor and a kalk reactor together. This is to counteract the low pH that a Ca reactor tends to produce.

On the other hand, I am curious about automated two part dosing/Balling method which is dosed using peristatic dosing pumps.

 

[gflat65]

I was going to recommend the kalk in the top off, too. If you run a pump in the top off to keep it stirred up (running only occasionally), you're somewhat replicating the effects kalk reactor. Adding kalk can help make the skimmer more efficient at PO4 removal. The potentials for issue are mostly when the top off bin is low (pumping kalk precipitant into the tank and raising pH quickly). I've spiked my pH to 9.7 for a day or two before. Didn't lose anything, but not something I let happen again.

 

[doorlady]

Tomoko, we use the liter meter 3(auto doser) on our main display tank and love it, want one for our 120 in our bedroom but the are so expensive we willhave to wait a while.

 

[LovenBama]

levels looking better tonight...Ca has dropped to 540 ( I tested this 3 times to be sure I didn't misread such a drop, I do have a lot of corals in the tank tho) and phospates are back down to 1.0 after dosing phosbuster lastnight but I must say that the ph dropped down to 8.0 but I buffed it so hopefully with time and patience it will all get back to norm in a day or two......fish aren't too happy with me not feeding them as well as I was but oh well....they'll be fine
Gonna give the Ca-reactor some serious thought after this tho...maybe it isn't that scary knowing there are no kids runnin around here to mess with it I guess
Thanks everyone for their input into this

 

[KniLLifer]

Try to stay away from PH buffers. They are generally waiste of money and can cause issues with ALK and not being able to get the Cal to Alk balanced just right. I never worried about my PH through my tank life, and noticed once Calcium and Alk were ballanced PH would stay stable. My PH was rarelly over 7.8 until I added the Kalk reactor. So... "PH buffers have no lasting effect on the PH in a reef tank".

Art