oh man, calcium at ridiculous levels...might be on to something

[latazyo]

so several of my corals are now showing signs of distress and losing polyps

I got my salifert calcium test kit in today and tested the water

my calcium is sitting at 115 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so I am in the process of a water change already so that'll get done tomorrow and taking DST's advice Im goign to test the water change water for its levels prior to adding it to the tank

I have no experience in working with calcium, so it seems that there are several ways

1. kalk drip (sounds scary to me)
2. kalk reactor
3. calcium reactor

can someone make any suggestions about how to correct my calcium levels (we'll see how the water change raises them, but it can not maintain them)

 

[!wrass!]

Two part is also an option. I use kalk drip but 2 part is super easy.

 

[mpcart]

Make up some fresh saltwater and test for Calcium - just to make sure there is nothing wrong with your test kit.

For a 37g tank I'd use a two part mixture to get your calcium up. Once its up you could continue to use the two part or try kalkwasser. I wouldn't bother with any reactors on a tank that size.

-Mike

 

[JxMetal]

I drip kalk. super easy. I'm assuming you go through less water evap than I do. I use an aquadose and set the drip rate so my levels don't change.

 

[Reefbox]

I do the two part. it is ez and super cheap.

 

[latazyo]

I just read up on two part, so basically I'll mix up the products and then figure out how much to add each day to maintain levels

is that correct?

so in the beginning I slowly raise it to where I want it, then after that I add XXX amount to the tank daily in order to maintain the levels

do I understand that correctly?


edit: will I be able to find any of the ingredients to two part now? I thought the DOW flake was for melting ice

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10427036#post10427036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by latazyo
I just read up on two part, so basically I'll mix up the products and then figure out how much to add each day to maintain levels

is that correct?

so in the beginning I slowly raise it to where I want it, then after that I add XXX amount to the tank daily in order to maintain the levels

do I understand that correctly?


edit: will I be able to find any of the ingredients to two part now? I thought the DOW flake was for melting ice

Yes but try testing your kit as suggested above by testing a batch of new salt water mix. Also note that at the begining you may need to add more of one solution than the other to correct the unbalance. Once both Calcium and Alkalinity are at the proper levels you can add the two parts in equal amounts.
I would also recommend testing your Magnesium. Low magnesium levels could lead to low calcium levels.

Yes Dow is for Ice melt but many aquarists use it for adding Calcium.
There is a business on line that can provide you with the ingredients www.twopartsolution.com

 

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10427086#post10427086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
Yes but try testing your kit as suggested above by testing a batch of new salt water mix.

This will not work if the salt is the original problem .

John

 

[scbadiver]

Hey Leighton, I used to do nothing but drip kalk in my old 75 gal and I've never had a healthier tank. I dripped a gallon a day, but about 2 times a week I'd have to drip 2 gallons to make up for addt evap. I'd loose just over a gallon a day. Dripping is easy and should keep you pretty close after you get it all balanced out. Also, dripping is cheap. Gallon milk jug, 1/8 inch airline and a valve. Bag of Mrs. Wages pickling lime and you're set.

 

[ncox38]

According to the chemistry calculator it is not a good idea to try to raise your levels with kalk. kalk is good for maintaing alk and calc, but 2 part is the better way of raising them.

Dow flake and Peladow are hard to find right now, I had to get some from a fellow reefer. I dont have very much, but I could give you enough to make a gallon of calc. the baking soda and epsom salts are available at sams for next to nothing.

 

[latazyo]

John, Im taking your suggestion and testing the pure saltwater this time

is there something in particular I should be looking for, or should I just do a general assay of tests?

thanks ncox38, I'll see what I can get from twopartsolution for now, but if that's not an option I'll take you up on that

robbie, dripping kalk is scary to me, especially if I have to mix it up everyday

 

[Sk8r]

If you have a kalk reactor, it merely pushes your topoff water through a watery chamber with half a pound of kalk, a stirrer to keep it saturated, and a locline outlet to your tank: ro/di only dissolves a certain amount of kalk, and the delivery is pegged to your evaporation rate. It's not too hard to DIY a reactor. It satisfies the draw on your alk and your cal simultaneously with no snowstorm. I used to be scared of these things, but having had every kalk accident known to man, I can swear they're safe, if you only can manage your topoff pump without accidents. They can, however, be messy: spilled kalkwasser is a PITA to get up.

You SET your level with doses to your tank: your kalkreactor then maintains it. It will not overdose if you don't have a topoff accident in which your pump floods your tank...

It may eat up more mg than you're used to.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10427667#post10427667 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by latazyo
John, Im taking your suggestion and testing the pure saltwater this time

is there something in particular I should be looking for, or should I just do a general assay of tests?

thanks ncox38, I'll see what I can get from twopartsolution for now, but if that's not an option I'll take you up on that

robbie, dripping kalk is scary to me, especially if I have to mix it up everyday

Just test Calcium, Alkalinity and if you can Magnesium. Specially Calcium if the salt mix and the test kit are OK, IO shall test at around 380 to 400 ppm, Reef Crystals at around 400 to 420 ppm, Oceanic at 475 to 525 ppm, Tropic Marin at around 380 to 400 ppm, tropic marin Pro at about 420 ppm. as a general guideline.

There is also as mentioned earlier by darksilenttype that your salt mix might be defective but chances of that are a lot more remote than the chances of the kit being defective. If the kit measures withing the ranges above then the kit will be OK and you have very low calcium in your system and calcium supplementation is needed.

Remember that if your tank alkalinity is OK you need to use a calcium only supplement. Kalk adds both Calcium and alkalinity if you try to boost your calcium with it for every 100 ppm of calcium you add the alkalinity will shoot up by 14 dKh!
So use Dowflake, Peladow, Kent's turbocalcium, ESV calcium chloride or similar calcium only supplement.

 

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I would check for Ca Alk Mag and PO4 . I have a hanna meter if you want to meet up at MS sunday I will bring it and we can test your salt mix for PO4 .

John

 

[latazyo]

my salt brand is coralife, would I expect those 350-400 ish values for that too?

John, I'll let you know by tomorrow night about meeting at MS

 

[dphins]

Make sure you let MS test your water. You could have a bad test kit or be doing something wrong. I use coralife from MS and my calcium is over 400 without adding any calcium.

 

[inwall75]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10427605#post10427605 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ncox38
According to the chemistry calculator it is not a good idea to try to raise your levels with kalk. kalk is good for maintaing alk and calc, but 2 part is the better way of raising them.

Agree completely

Dow flake and Peladow are hard to find right now, I had to get some from a fellow reefer. I dont have very much, but I could give you enough to make a gallon of calc. the baking soda and epsom salts are available at sams for next to nothing.

Things are about to get R E A L interesting. DOW is leaving the Bromide business. The only reason we were able to get cheap CaCl2 was because their processing to remove the Bromide left them with CaCl2. Now that they are leaving the business, they are going to leave the Bromide right where it was....in the Dowflake.

DOW has announced that the Bromide in all their CaCl2 will go from its normal ~150 ppm to 8,000 ppm. And Bromide levels in salt mixes now are already at 200-600 ppm Bromide. NSW is 65 ppm.

Just a heads up quoted from Boomer

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10428354#post10428354 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by latazyo
my salt brand is coralife, would I expect those 350-400 ish values for that too?

John, I'll let you know by tomorrow night about meeting at MS

Yes you shoud see around 380 to 420 depending on the salinity of the mix.

 

[latazyo]

thanks guys, water's mixing right now, should have those test results tomorrow

I am going to try to bring my salinity back up to my "normal" levels (1.026), so this mix will probably be around 1.028

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10429683#post10429683 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by inwall75
Things are about to get R E A L interesting. DOW is leaving the Bromide business. The only reason we were able to get cheap CaCl2 was because their processing to remove the Bromide left them with CaCl2. Now that they are leaving the business, they are going to leave the Bromide right where it was....in the Dowflake.

Yes, their production since January 1 2006 includes the new level of impurity. Check the code on the bags. If it ends up on PC then it has the higher impurity.

http://www.dow.com/calcium/news/August_2005.pdf