alkalinity and calcium confusing

[dandoozled]

My current calcium level is 340 and kH at 8, and I'm really confused on whether I am dosing incorrectly. I usually don't dose and first started yesterday because I noticed my birdsnest turning white... I dosed about 2-4 teaspoons of calcium till I got to around 380.. I haven't tested the water yet so the levels may have rose..
but the LFS recommended me to dose every half hour and test the water till it is where it needs to be. I don't have any product to balance out the alkalinity and I've been reading a little over the topic and am nervous my kH will suffer from me dosing... I'm dosing calcium mainly to attempt to save my birdsnest that started turning white :/
any advice, or thoughts?

 

[Marco S]

My current calcium level is 340 and kH at 8, and I'm really confused on whether I am dosing incorrectly. I usually don't dose and first started yesterday because I noticed my birdsnest turning white... I dosed about 2-4 teaspoons of calcium till I got to around 380.. I haven't tested the water yet so the levels may have rose..
but the LFS recommended me to dose every half hour and test the water till it is where it needs to be. I don't have any product to balance out the alkalinity and I've been reading a little over the topic and am nervous my kH will suffer from me dosing... I'm dosing calcium mainly to attempt to save my birdsnest that started turning white :/
any advice, or thoughts?

I am too new to the game to give advice on dosing, so I will leave that to the experts, but isn't white on a Birdsnest a sign of new growth? I do not currently have any SPS, but I noticed the top inch or so of a Birdsnest that was all white at my LFS and the owner said that was a sign of new growth. Maybe others can verify that or not...wouldn't be the first time someone got bad info from an LFS.

Either way, good luck and hopefully everything works out for you.

 

[dandoozled]

I am too new to the game to give advice on dosing, so I will leave that to the experts, but isn't white on a Birdsnest a sign of new growth? I do not currently have any SPS, but I noticed the top inch or so of a Birdsnest that was all white at my LFS and the owner said that was a sign of new growth. Maybe others can verify that or not...wouldn't be the first time someone got bad info from an LFS.

Either way, good luck and hopefully everything works out for you.

no it's def dying haha, it looked so beautiful at the store and after I put it in my tank it started losing its' skin, like it's being burned and it's been getting worse by the day to the point it doesn't even look like a birdsnest :/ Thank you though

 

[MERKEY]

A pic of the birdsnest would be helpful for us to help you


I am also too new to give real advice about dosing....but what I read up and did was get my levels where I wanted them by slowly dosing what I needed (calcium, alk. Mag) and then started dosing a 2 part.

If you are trying to run a mixed reef that's where numbers can get tricky. Decide what you want in corals and try to focus the tank numbers around those.

Much more knowledgeable members will chime in

 

[Vinman]

My current calcium level is 340 and kH at 8, and I'm really confused on whether I am dosing incorrectly. I usually don't dose and first started yesterday because I noticed my birdsnest turning white... I dosed about 2-4 teaspoons of calcium till I got to around 380.. I haven't tested the water yet so the levels may have rose..
but the LFS recommended me to dose every half hour and test the water till it is where it needs to be. I don't have any product to balance out the alkalinity and I've been reading a little over the topic and am nervous my kH will suffer from me dosing... I'm dosing calcium mainly to attempt to save my birdsnest that started turning white :/
any advice, or thoughts?

So to start alk and cal should be used and dosed at the same rate. Next never does or add anything unless you test and find you need it. Last water changes will add all parameters at once. Test daily keep a log and see how much you tank consumes each day. Then add what you need. Brs has a reef calculator that can help on how much to add.

 

[dandoozled]

A pic of the birdsnest would be helpful for us to help you

It could be new growth from the tips or something else from the base.

I am also too new to give real advice about dosing....but what I read up and did was get my levels where I wanted them by slowly dosing what I needed (calcium, alk. Mag) and then started dosing a 2 part.

If you are trying to run a mixed reef that's where numbers can get tricky. Decide what you want in corals and try to focus the tank numbers around those.

Much more knowledgeable members will chime in

this pic is from yesterday, it's nearly all white now and I've fragged the remaining living pieces earlier this evening :/

 

[MERKEY]

Ok ya something's going on.

What's your mag and phos at?

 

[dandoozled]

Ok ya something's going on.

What's your mag and phos at?

I don't have a mag test kit, but my phos is below 0.05

 

[dandoozled]

So to start alk and cal should be used and dosed at the same rate. Next never does or add anything unless you test and find you need it. Last water changes will add all parameters at once. Test daily keep a log and see how much you tank consumes each day. Then add what you need. Brs has a reef calculator that can help on how much to add.

yeah I don't have anything to dose alk yet, I dosed calcium because I want it to be over 400 so the birdnest frag I have doesn't just die. Will testing the parameters an hour after dosing give me correct test results or is too soon?

 

[MERKEY]

I'm not sure the exact time but I would think 1 hour would be enough to show a difference.

Try it

 

[Vinman]

yeah I don't have anything to dose alk yet, I dosed calcium because I want it to be over 400 so the birdnest frag I have doesn't just die. Will testing the parameters an hour after dosing give me correct test results or is too soon?

The two work with each other. Alk has to stay stable for ca to be used or it will just precipitate. I would test alk above any other test until I have it stable. Your birds nest needs flow and alk stability before it will start using ca. I have birds nest and it is a great indication for when my alk is out of wack.

 

[dandoozled]

The two work with each other. Alk has to stay stable for ca to be used or it will just precipitate. I would test alk above any other test until I have it stable. Your birds nest needs flow and alk stability before it will start using ca. I have birds nest and it is a great indication for when my alk is out of wack.

what do you keep your alk at? When I tested it earlier it was at 8

 

[MERKEY]

The two work with each other. Alk has to stay stable for ca to be used or it will just precipitate. I would test alk above any other test until I have it stable. Your birds nest needs flow and alk stability before it will start using ca. I have birds nest and it is a great indication for when my alk is out of wack.

I've seen this in a couple other threads.

Simply beautiful!

 

[Vinman]

I've seen this in a couple other threads.

Simply beautiful!

Not trying to discourage you but before you buy one more coral spend the $ on a few important test kits. Alk being one of them. Get into a solid water change schedule and get a 2 pump doser. That way when you test for alk and ca you will see a pattern that your tank is consuming and you can slowly dose both hour by hour. Stability and water changes with rodi based water will start rapid growth. Your tank will be happy and so will you. No one likes to watch there corals die so set the stage for success.

 

[Vinman]

what do you keep your alk at? When I tested it earlier it was at 8

8 is good as long as it stays 7.8 to 8.3. Try to keep alk from swinging more than .05

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Need more information if we are going to point you in the right direction.

- How old is your system?

- What calcium are you using?

- How long have you had the birdsnest coral?

Things you need to know: Nitrates and phosphates levels can either positively or negatively impact coral health. Before DOSING anything into your aquarium you first need to understand your parameters. Invest into solid test kits such as red sea or tropic marin. You need to test the following parameters: KH, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, P04, NITRATE, NITRITE, PH, & AMMONIA.

To cover the alkalinity and calcium question: Target your ideal Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium levels and REMAIN consistent with them as corals absolutely need stable environment. These 3 elements directly impact on anther (primarily the relationship between alkalinity and calcium). If there is an in-balance with one element the other is sure to follow. Another important component to coral health is understanding the daily consumption rate of Magnesium, Calcium, and Alkalinity. It is simple to identify the daily consumption rate by ceasing all water changes and supplements additives for a several days. Test all three elements at the same time each day and compare your results afterwards. For example, if ALK for day one was 9.0dkh, day two 8.6dkh, and day three 8.2dkh. This identifies the daily consumption rate of 0.4dkh per day. With two part dosing, dose equal parts of KH and CA.

 

[dandoozled]

Need more information if we are going to point you in the right direction.

- How old is your system?

- What calcium are you using?

- How long have you had the birdsnest coral?

Things you need to know: Nitrates and phosphates levels can either positively or negatively impact coral health. Before DOSING anything into your aquarium you first need to understand your parameters. Invest into solid test kits such as red sea or tropic marin. You need to test the following parameters: KH, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, P04, NITRATE, NITRITE, PH, & AMMONIA.

To cover the alkalinity and calcium question: Target your ideal Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium levels and REMAIN consistent with them as corals absolutely need stable environment. These 3 elements directly impact on anther (primarily the relationship between alkalinity and calcium). If there is an in-balance with one element the other is sure to follow. Another important component to coral health is understanding the daily consumption rate of Magnesium, Calcium, and Alkalinity. It is simple to identify the daily consumption rate by ceasing all water changes and supplements additives for a several days. Test all three elements at the same time each day and compare your results afterwards. For example, if ALK for day one was 9.0dkh, day two 8.6dkh, and day three 8.2dkh. This identifies the daily consumption rate of 0.4dkh per day. With two part dosing, dose equal parts of KH and CA.

oh wow ok, I didn't know that's how it worked thanks for that really useful information! My system has been up for 8months, 13.5g tank fluvo with stock lighting. The calcium I dosed was reef advantage seachem calcium, I was wondering why my calcium lowered even though I dosed the previous night. It seems that within a day I went from 360 to 340, so if I raise the calcium to where it needs to be along with anything else necessary. I'm losing around 20 per day.. to my current knowledge, I'll definitely start a log of this. Does calcium affect fish health? I couldn' find any information on this, and how much calcium is too much to be raised in a day? If I go from 360 to 420 is that to high of a change? And the birdsnest has been in my tank for 3 days now

 

[OREGONIC]

Pick a salt that has very similar parameters to where your tank parameters are or where you want them. Then get your tank stable as close to the parameters of the salt you chose as possible. This will allow you to do large water changes if you run into issues. I had good luck when I was newer being able to do 30-50% water changes when stuff seemed off. Also make sure you double check alk, salinity, and temp of the water you are using for your water change every time. I dont worry about cal as much, I test my first batch from every new bucket of salt then for every water change after I just check the other 3. I know if alk is good then I know the cal will be good.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

More Life = consumption of these elements. You need to order test kits, stop adding anything to the tank, and test at the same time each day and you will find out your actual consumption rate. Heres the thing, there is a pretty wide range that is acceptable to corals you just need to pick a number and stay consistent. For example: KH has an acceptable range of 7-12dkh and calcium has acceptable range of 350 - 500. If you experience low levels of calcium you'll notice your KH will be less stable. So yes calcium does affect the health of your aquarium thus affecting your livestock but you have a lot of room to work with. I think the issue with your birdsnest is related to inconsistent parameters and possibly issue with PO4 and nitrate levels.

 

[Krissreef]

If you dose the same amount of alk and cal but ur call is still low it means your magnesium is low. Test your magnesium, if its low continue dosing the same amount of alk and call but also dose magnesium to raise it up, eventually the cal is going to go up as well. I am having sort of the same issue where my alk is 7.7 cal at 370 and mag at 1240. I use a cal reactor and I have not dosed any mag for the last 2 years, it looks like I need to start now.