Calcium Consistently High Without Dosing

[SigmaVX]

I’ve been running a 32 gal AIO reef tank for about a year (with a lid). The Ca constantly runs high (500 to 550 range). This is meassured 2x per day on a Triton and have verified with a Salifert kit. I was using Tropic Marin pro salt which runs high on Ca but bumped down to the regular version when Ca would not go down. At one point I did a large water change (50%) and still the Ca comes back up gradually.

My Alk levels are stable at around 8.75 - 9.0 as I doses daily with a apex DOS. I’m really stumped as to how my Ca levels could still be up without adding any Ca other than salt mix. Could it be the Mortar? What could I be missing? Also can high Ca trigger polyp bailout?

Tank has some dry rock that I sculpted with E-Marco Mortar. Have some snails, shrimp, clowns, a few LPS, and a few soft. I’m using mechanical (floss with filter polish pad), bio (marine pure), and chemical (carbon or chem pure). Do 10% change weekly consistently.

 

[Tankkeepers]

Do you use rodi or tap?

 

[Tankkeepers]

I ask cuz my tap is crazy high in cal and mg dkh of 18

Also it's got a bunch of iron and silicates

 

[Tankkeepers]

And ime high cal will affect things like shrimp that molt the worst

But honestly 550 is high yes but not crazy high and should just add extra lead way as long as your in balance

Example

A calcium level of 500 mg/l is higher than most people run their tanks at but as long as your alkalinity level is also running high it may not be an issue. ... Therefore, check for a desired calcium level between 400 and 450 ppm, and alkalinity levels between 2.5-3.5 meq/L (7-10 dKH).

If you get to high it'll come together in the water and cause what looks like snow

 

[Tankkeepers]

The best thing to do is check everything and watch the coral if it's happy then leave things alone and maintain rather then change as the change might tick things off worse then running high

 

[Tankkeepers]

What is your ph ? And what is you mag levels you didn't mention anything other then high cal so honestly it's alittle hard to say

 

[Garf]

I’ve wondered about this Marko mortar. I’ve used Portland cement and pH goes sky high during curing because of the calcium hydroxide.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, 550 ppm calcium is fine and some salt mixes start about that high.

High salinity will also push it up, as will dissolution of calcium containing minerals.

 

[SigmaVX]

Thanks for all the tips. To answer a few Qs:

1) Ph is around a 7.8 to 7.9 and hooked up to a reactor to add CO to the tank. I struggle to get above 8.0 without a refugium.

2) I use rodi water and I may start to test that to see (it did not occur to me)

3) alk seems easy to control with the DOS and is dialed in around 8.75 to 9.0 to leave room for mistakes

Corals are not too happy but I think that is tied to the phosphate levels (around 0.6) that I have been fighting since a vaca left me having to use pellets (I normal do frozen food).

One reason I bring this up is because I read in another post that phosphate was high in their tank. That leads to algae and tendency to clean sand more that may stir things up. That’s just a guess. Right now I feel like it’s the mortar but after a year it’s still creeping.

 

[SigmaVX]

Quick current snapshot.

 

[Sean Clark]

I would verify the Trident Ca levels again. Either with a different test or have someone else run the Salifert test as this is a well known issue that Tridents can report erroneously high Ca values.

 

[SigmaVX]

I’m not experienced enough to know if this has an effect but I should mention that the shrimp and hermit (which is somewhat large) sometimes molt in places where I may not notice.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m not experienced enough to know if this has an effect but I should mention that the shrimp and hermit (which is somewhat large) sometimes molt in places where I may not notice.

That should have no impact on calcium or alk. Molts are made from an organic polymer.

 

[susiecubed12]

I’ve been running a 32 gal AIO reef tank for about a year (with a lid). The Ca constantly runs high (500 to 550 range). This is meassured 2x per day on a Triton and have verified with a Salifert kit. I was using Tropic Marin pro salt which runs high on Ca but bumped down to the regular version when Ca would not go down. At one point I did a large water change (50%) and still the Ca comes back up gradually.

My Alk levels are stable at around 8.75 - 9.0 as I doses daily with a apex DOS. I’m really stumped as to how my Ca levels could still be up without adding any Ca other than salt mix. Could it be the Mortar? What could I be missing? Also can high Ca trigger polyp bailout?

Tank has some dry rock that I sculpted with E-Marco Mortar. Have some snails, shrimp, clowns, a few LPS, and a few soft. I’m using mechanical (floss with filter polish pad), bio (marine pure), and chemical (carbon or chem pure). Do 10% change weekly consistently.

Some calcium are sold in concentrated form and need to be diluted.