Effects of elevated Calcium in a reef tank

[tastyfish]

Hi Randy,

Are there detrimental effects to running a high level of calcium in the reef tank? Mine is currently at 600ppm, but I'm struggling to find definitive guidance on the effects that this would have.

Thanks!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Are you running at 600 ppm intentionally? Or was it accidental/unintended?

I don't know if there have been any studies that have attempted to characterize the response of marine life to calcium levels this high. Having said that, I would be a bit surprised if running calcium almost 50% higher than natural levels has any substantial benefits. At this point, you may also have to worry about calcium carbonate precipitation, depending upon the rest of your tank's chemistry.

 

[tastyfish]

Are you running at 600 ppm intentionally? Or was it accidental/unintended?

I don't know if there have been any studies that have attempted to characterize the response of marine life to calcium levels this high. Having said that, I would be a bit surprised if running calcium almost 50% higher than natural levels has any substantial benefits. At this point, you may also have to worry about calcium carbonate precipitation, depending upon the rest of your tank's chemistry.

Unintentional. No precipitation yet, all other chemistry is at set point for NSW except kH which is 7.5