Calcium questions

[JEREMY82]

Some way my calcium has got way high,I have stoped dosing my cal,I am still dosing my alk,now if calcium gets real high could it cause maybe cyano or diatoms ?cause im seeing this in my system have been doing water changes everyfew days,5 gallons worth so wont swing the tank out to much but i am seeing cyano and dinos I believe tank is 5 plus yrs old ,so would it be more beneficial to do a bigger water change to bring the cal down its over 600 at least that is what 2 different tests show kh was rd 9.5, if i drive the kh up slightly will that maybe help the consumption of the cal ?

 

[Brew12]

Some way my calcium has got way high,I have stoped dosing my cal,I am still dosing my alk,now if calcium gets real high could it cause maybe cyano or diatoms ?cause im seeing this in my system have been doing water changes everyfew days,5 gallons worth so wont swing the tank out to much but i am seeing cyano and dinos I believe tank is 5 plus yrs old ,so would it be more beneficial to do a bigger water change to bring the cal down its over 600 at least that is what 2 different tests show kh was rd 9.5, if i drive the kh up slightly will that maybe help the consumption of the cal ?

Can you post your current numbers for:
Alk:
Calc:
Mag:
Salinity:

My gut feel is that your calc should have precipitated out if those numbers are accurate but I'll do a little research. I can't see any reason why high calcium would be directly tied to cyano or diatoms.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There’s no need to do special alk dosing. Just let it decline on its own from consumption and normal water changes.

Have you measured the new water?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Calcium does not drive the growth of any pests.

 

[JEREMY82]

Alk 9.5 cal 670 salanity 1025 mg 1350,about how long would a guy want to wait for calcium to come down on its on?

 

[Brew12]

Alk 9.5 cal 670 salanity 1025 mg 1350,about how long would a guy want to wait for calcium to come down on its on?

That depends on how much your tank uses every day. In some tanks with a lot of SPS it would drop in a day or 2. In some systems, it would take months.

 

[Martin Kuhn]

That depends on how much your tank uses every day. In some tanks with a lot of SPS it would drop in a day or 2. In some systems, it would take months.

I don’t agree.
Ca can drop much more than 2ppm a day. Around 20ppm is no problem in an sps dominated tank.

Alk can drop in a range on up to 2 dKH per day.

Your Ca is by far too high, resulting most likely from a „balanced“ Ca dosing.
As a lot of tanks use more Alk compared to Ca (looking at a balanced Alk / Ca dosing)
AND
You most likely dosed as much to get a stable and OK Alk value
.... the elevated Ca is just the expected result


I suggest
- continue Alk dosing
- reduce Ca dosing, even up to 0, as long as Ca reduces to a normal value (Ca 450 ppm)

Then continue to dose Ca, but with a smaller dose that does not steadily raise your Ca again

 

[Brew12]

I don’t agree.
Ca can drop much more than 2ppm a day. Around 20ppm is no problem in an sps dominated tank.

I'll respectfully ask you to read my response again. I didn't say it would drop 2ppm in a day. I said that in some tanks it would drop to normal levels in a day or 2.

 

[Martin Kuhn]

I'll respectfully ask you to read my response again. I didn't say it would drop 2ppm in a day. I said that in some tanks it would drop to normal levels in a day or 2.

You‘re right. I didn’t read your posting carefully enough. Sorry

Anyhow I don‘t expect such a drop in Ca in 1 or 2 days.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, I don’t agree that tanks often have greatly unbalanced demand, unless the salt mix used for water changes is imbalanced relative to the tank.