Help! Alk low Calc high!

Godziraman · Jun 21, 2015

Hi, I'm hoping someone can offer some advise before my system crashes. A few weeks ago, due to my stupidity, I noticed my alk dosing jug was empty, calc was close but still had some juice for my BRS dosers to keep doing something. Obviously my calc was in a decently high range and alk was low. I replenished the two jugs and went back to my normal dosing schedule. After a few water changes, replacing media etc. my system still has not leveled off. In fact, its gotten worse and I don't know if I should turn dosing off or what to do.
170 gal system shared by 3 aquariums
BRS dosing calc & alk and I rarely need to dose mag
Alk: 6.7
Ca: 600
ph: 7.9-8.0

I can see a lot of my corals are starting to look stressed and some are dying. What should I do?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 21, 2015

Personally, I'd just up the alk amount daily to keep it where you want and dose no calcium and let it decline on its own. Calcium at 600 ppm is not going to cause big issues.

Water changes will speed the process, but I wouldn't agonize over that.

FWIW, some salt mixes start not much under 600 ppm calcium.