Question on Alk/Cal

[Neoz]

I'm wondering how important it is to have a balanced Alk/Cal. I ask this because as long as mine are both within the acceptable range I leave them alone. I'm using this page to target my results..

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php


An example... I did a water change yesterday. I was using the last of the salt from the bucket. Tested my new batch of water.
My results using Reef Crystals.
Cal-500ppm
Alk-8.6dKH
I noticed those results are on the higher side from all my data from the previous water tests from the same bucket of salt. I'm led to believe from reading some older posts this may have happen because the bucket of salt was not mixed well enough. Entirely my fault.

But anyways back on track... So should I be trying to dial the balance of Cal and Alk in even better? Or is the theory as long as they are within the set levels everything is OK? Would I see better results in my corals?

I hope I'm explaining that correctly so you all understand what I'm asking.

These are my tank results tonight after my test results..
Cal - 480ppm
Alk - 8.0dKH

Leave it be or should I dial up my Alk more to balance my Cal?
Thanks for any advice..

 

[pimpinitup6969]

Dave, As long as your within the target areas you should be fine. What I find really important is keeping your calc, alk, and mag at a consistent level.

 

[superkat]

oh, don't even get me started on HOW EXTREMELY IMPORTANT it is to keep those two in check.

 

[Flanders]

assuming your test kits are accurate, you're out of whack. you need to raise your alk. anything over 450 ppm Ca is not considered to be within an acceptable value. the more important point, though, is that I've lost corals when my alkalinity fell too low, so I like to leave myself some leeway for it to drop without dropping off the chart and keep it more around 9-10 dkh. I have never noticed detrimental effects in any of my aquariums from low calcium levels, other than corals possibly growing more slowly.

this link explains how to fix it - you're in zone 4, so the buffer you need will depend on your pH level. HTH

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[Neoz]

So one my options at this point is to raise my Alk over the next several days to move into the target area? Doing this would mean my Alk target would be like 5 meq/L? Isn't that very high?

Option 2 would be to slowly raise my Alk and let my Cal fall slowly. I topoff with Kalk water. Combine that with my water changes and my system must not be using as much Cal as I suspect. I could just topoff with RO/DI water for a few days and see were I'm at.

Flanders thanks for link. Gary pointed that out to me once before but I couldn't find it when I was searching. So using that chart as long as I'm in between those lines I'm good? Or should I really dial it into the red box from that chart?

 

[Flanders]

I'd go with option 2 - discontinue kalk for a few days and buffer the alk slightly. that should set you right. the idea is to stay within the red box, or as close as possible.