Calcium dilema

jpontier212 · Jul 11, 2016

I have been dosing Natureef calcium for about 2 weeks. I'm fighting with Cal, alk and ph. I stopped dosing soda ash because although it raises ph it raises your alk A LOT. My alk was almost 15 dkh. It didn't harm my fish or coral that i could tell. So now that all the extra dosing has stopped, I'm just trying to get my calcium in check. I need to tackle my calcium and mg in check before i can deal with alk and ph. Recommended dosing is 5ml a wk to bring up cal to recommended range, what could be eating it up? I'm dosing 5ml/day since 2 days ago. Cal is 300 now, it was 280 day before yesterday. I tested my water and then took it to my friend's house who has a hanna calcium meter and tested just that. As far as corals i have
1 red mushroom
1 green acan
1 candy cane
1 zoantid

Diesel · Jul 11, 2016

What kind of salt you using?
The corals you have don't need as much ALK, CAL and MAG.
Don't trust the Hanna CAL checker as it is prone to many variables due to you have use 0.0 TDS water to test, a little of on that can give you a false reading.

jpontier212 · Jul 11, 2016

Diesel said:
What kind of salt you using?
The corals you have don't need as much ALK, CAL and MAG.
Don't trust the Hanna CAL checker as it is prone to many variables due to you have use 0.0 TDS water to test, a little of on that can give you a false reading.

I buy salt water from my lfs. I have yet to buy the first grain of salt yet. Could it be my rocks? I started my aquarium with 40 lbs of dry San Marco rock. I also have:
9 Mexican turbo Snails
5 hermits

Ubans13 · Jul 11, 2016

I am also new like you. I have a rose bubble tip anemone, acans, green torch, pipe organ, zoas and a duncan coral. I use reef crystals by instant ocean. All my parameters stay in check. We need alot more Stonie corals before we should even think about dosing something like kalk. How do you test?

Diesel · Jul 11, 2016

jpontier212 said:
I buy salt water from my lfs. I have yet to buy the first grain of salt yet. Could it be my rocks? I started my aquarium with 40 lbs of dry San Marco rock. I also have:
9 Mexican turbo Snails
5 hermits

Test you LFS mixed water before you do a water change and ask him what kind of salt he's using.
How long is that rock in your tank?
I'm afraid that your hermits if they are the blue legged ones are eating all your CAL.

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

melypr1985 · Jul 11, 2016

Things like this can often be fixed with a good quality salt mix. Our store uses Instant Ocean which is just fine for some applications and especially fish only systems, but it was giving me issues with my reef at home. I switched to Aquavitro Salinity and haven't had a problem since. I dont need to dose anything with regular water changes.

jpontier212 · Jul 11, 2016

Diesel said:
Test you LFS mixed water before you do a water change and ask him what kind of salt he's using.
How long is that rock in your tank?
I'm afraid that your hermits if they are the blue legged ones are eating all your CAL. [emoji14]

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

They don't mix it, i believe they call it sea water. The mixed stuff they call synthetic and it's like $1.25/gallon. But i will check his water next time i change water. My hermits are super tiny. I don't think they could possible easy that much calcium but after this week of dosing everyday and testing everyday i should know something.

Diesel · Jul 11, 2016

I hear ya.
Yes let us know as I believe the salt mix is off or you have a testing error.
Your hermits tiny or not will eat a lot of that calcium believe it or not.
They are master in cornering the CAL- BALLS and consume them right there

Sabellafella · Jul 11, 2016

Well the best way to raise your calc to levels of your liking is through water changes. Ive came across alot of threads in the last few months, of people equal dosing,using kalk ect to only find there parameters dropping (and raising without dosing). Usually with the result of them using a lower parameter(or higher) saltmix. Resulting in inconsistency with testing, and scratching of the head to figure whats going on. I acually just started to test my fresh saltwater everytime i mix a batch, just to math out the alk spike i get from the wc so its not dangerous. Its an overlooked topic, and if you indeed do water changes weekly,10%20. Eventually your waters parameters will match up with your salt mix

morpheas · Jul 12, 2016

One side note would be that, I personally, on the big three especially, never go by the recommended dosing. That's all a good guideline but nothing more than that. I did daily water testing with the salifert kits (Hanna for alk after I bought it, which is awesome!) and dosed accordingly. Only your system can tell you how much it needs and those needs change with time as you add/remove/dieoff etc.

Also, as suggested above, it's good to know what kind of stock are you working with. Usually when you mix salt you know from the manufacturer the numbers you should expect. In your case, since you don't know I follow advice above and test just to see where you're standing.

Finally, I know this might incur more cost but mixing your own water is an invaluable tool in removing an unknown variable from your routine. As reefers we battle every day with a slew of unknowns which often don't make sense. Whenever one of them can be eliminated for a reasonable cost I personally go for it. I'm not sure what kind of space/budget you have and if it's feasible to get an RODI unit but even if you don't and you could get RODI water from the store and mix yourself I think that would be a step forward. That gives you flexibility to choose your salt/gravity etc.

jpontier212 · Jul 12, 2016

morpheas said:
One side note would be that, I personally, on the big three especially, never go by the recommended dosing. That's all a good guideline but nothing more than that. I did daily water testing with the salifert kits (Hanna for alk after I bought it, which is awesome!) and dosed accordingly. Only your system can tell you how much it needs and those needs change with time as you add/remove/dieoff etc.

Also, as suggested above, it's good to know what kind of stock are you working with. Usually when you mix salt you know from the manufacturer the numbers you should expect. In your case, since you don't know I follow advice above and test just to see where you're standing.

Finally, I know this might incur more cost but mixing your own water is an invaluable tool in removing an unknown variable from your routine. As reefers we battle every day with a slew of unknowns which often don't make sense. Whenever one of them can be eliminated for a reasonable cost I personally go for it. I'm not sure what kind of space/budget you have and if it's feasible to get an RODI unit but even if you don't and you could get RODI water from the store and mix yourself I think that would be a step forward. That gives you flexibility to choose your salt/gravity etc.

I don't really have the room for an RoDi system but I'm looking into possibly a small portable one. I'll keep you guys payed on my progress and steps I'm taking maybe I can make it easier on the next person that uses this

morpheas · Jul 12, 2016

Understood. I personally have a portable one in my garage which I connect every 2-3 weeks and make water into a 30 gallon brute trash can. But even if that's not an option for you (not everybody has extra space), like I said above, I would seriously consider in buying RODI water and a bucket of salt of my choice and mix the salt myself. You don't know if the store is good or if it's cutting any corners etc so being able to control that is a big plus.

twilliard · Jul 12, 2016

@Randy Holmes-Farley can point you in the right direction.

I adjust alkalinity first keep it stable then alter my calcium.
Trying to chase them both at one time will give you a headache

wpeterson · Jul 12, 2016

I'm surprised no one has mentioned magnesium yet. I would test your Alk, Calc, and Magnesium.

If you're getting the Alkalinity levels you expect but can't raise your Calc, it's likely due to precipitation which can be caused by insufficient Magnesium. Higher levels of Magnesium can be required to get stable/higher levels of Calcium.

Please post your alk/calc/mag levels.

jpontier212 · Jul 12, 2016

wpeterson said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned magnesium yet. I would test your Alk, Calc, and Magnesium.

If you're getting the Alkalinity levels you expect but can't raise your Calc, it's likely due to precipitation which can be caused by insufficient Magnesium. Higher levels of Magnesium can be required to get stable/higher levels of Calcium.

Please post your alk/calc/mag levels.

Alk 14 dhk /cal 300 / mag 1250
I was told with high alkalinity you can't achieve a proper control on your ph or cal. Which should i tackle first?

fragit · Jul 12, 2016

Well your alk is a bit high. Here is a link to a good resource in the chemistry page.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

jpontier212 · Jul 12, 2016

Guys another question, How does high alkalinity affect the corals and fish? Just lack of growth or does it actually kill them?

fragit · Jul 12, 2016

Alkalinity can absolutely kill stuff, either too high or too low. One of the most important values to monitor is the Alkalinity as most corals don't appreciate large fluctuations. Some are more tolerant than others, but they all have a limit. The PH is a reflection of the Alk in your water. I would suggest you go to the chemistry forum and do some reading. It's all interconnected, which is really cool!

jpontier212 · Jul 12, 2016

fragit said:
Well your alk is a bit high. Here is a link to a good resource in the chemistry page.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

I just read it and it's amazing. I have a lot to learn but i think i got most of the answers i was looking for