calcium percipitation

[Zack]

I had the exact same problem. I felt i was having to add way too much alk and calcium for my tank and was also seeing percipitation. My mag was in range, but in the lower end. Im guessing i just didnt have the correct mag to alk cal ratio because once i raised my mag up to the top of the acceptable range my dosing requirements were cut in half if not even a little more.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I do not have any clams or spa or ops, only 1 green bubble tip anemone.

I'm assuming you are saying you do not have any clams or SPS or LPS......


Something is not right! I would stop dosing right now. You have nothing in your tank that is “consuming†calcium. And to top it off, 40 mls a day in a 29 gallon is a pretty hefty dose. That is the amount I put in my 90 gallon mixed reef.


You need to review your test methods.

 

[NanaReefer]

Best way to get your parameters in check and balanced is through water changes.


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

 

[petemichelle]

I had the exact same problem. I felt i was having to add way too much alk and calcium for my tank and was also seeing percipitation. My mag was in range, but in the lower end. Im guessing i just didnt have the correct mag to alk cal ratio because once i raised my mag up to the top of the acceptable range my dosing requirements were cut in half if not even a little more.

can you go into detail a little bit more about the problem you had that was like mine please. and what were the mag readings at the lower end, and what did you end up with at the top of the acceptable range? this is the first response from somebody who has had this problem. please expand.

 

[ReeferGil]

I'm running a 90g with SPS and clam. I'm also dosing B-Ionic but less that what you're dosing in your anemone only 29g tank. You shouldn't have to dose at all. Once you start getting a stock of corals you can test your saltwater and if you start seeing lower CA/ALK numbers then you might start dosing. You're not getting ahead of the game by trying to chase numbers with an empty tank, since adding corals is going to throw off those numbers anyhow. You're risking equipment failure and you're really not benefiting from it since these target numbers are really meant for a system with livestock that will consume the elements you're introducing. A good saltmix should provide you what you need for now.

 

[ReeferGil]

I'm running a 90g with SPS and clam. I'm also dosing B-Ionic but less that what you're dosing in your anemone only 29g tank. You shouldn't have to dose at all. Once you start getting a stock of corals you can test your saltwater and if you start seeing lower CA/ALK numbers then you might start dosing. You're not getting ahead of the game by trying to chase numbers with an empty tank, since adding corals is going to throw off those numbers anyhow. You're risking equipment failure and you're really not benefiting from it since these target numbers are really meant for a system with livestock that will consume the elements you're introducing. A good saltmix should provide you what you need for now.

Meant a 75 g with 25g sump. No idea where 90g came from.

 

[Tahoe61]

Something is wrong with this picture. I have a 30 gallon tank with a couple decent sized sps colonies, I dose ESV, the tank is established, I am not dosing even close to that amount. Are you using dosing pumps? Your description does sound like precipitate, not salt creep. You should be able to get an image if it's at the water line, that would help. What types of corals do you keep, is there a ton of coralline algae, are you keeping large clams?

 

[Dan1789]

Your overdosing is what's causing your levels to fall. Dosing too much will cause more cal and Alk to precipitate out of the water column. I was doing the same thing. Stop dosing, do a couple water changes over the course of 2 weeks. Then test your water and don't dose anything for another week. Test again to find your weekly consumption rate. Divide by 7 and you have a rough guess of your daily consptiom rate. With little to no corals you will see that you were adding way to much.

 

[petemichelle]

Your alk , calc and mag numbers are within a reasonable range….although through the roof dosing volume for a 29 gallon tank…..unless you are packed with sps and / or a clam. However, you didn’t mention your pH. If it is high (ca 8.5 or higher), you will get carbonate precipitation. If you find high pH, instead of using B-Ionic as you alkalinity, (sodium carbonate), make up a baking soda mix of 2 ¼ cups baking soda to a gallon of RO/DI water. This is sodium bicarbonate, at the same “carbonate†concentration as B-Ionic, and will help in getting pH down.

my ph is 8.3 and it's pretty stable. what's the difference in adding sodium carbonate (b-ionic or even BRS alk additive) and sodium bicarbonate? will it absorb better in the water without percipertation? will it not build up on the equipment like the other?

 

[petemichelle]

What color is the buildup you are seeing?


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

white and hard

 

[petemichelle]

I had the exact same problem. I felt i was having to add way too much alk and calcium for my tank and was also seeing percipitation. My mag was in range, but in the lower end. Im guessing i just didnt have the correct mag to alk cal ratio because once i raised my mag up to the top of the acceptable range my dosing requirements were cut in half if not even a little more.

how high did you raise your mag level to?