High Calcium with All For Reef!

[Biologic]

I have automated dosing using the KH Director and Triton. A couple months ago, I switched over to AFR. I'm still not quite there for automation due to delayed Alk response of AFR.

i just have mine going at split doses through out a 24 hour period. The dose splits it up and I let it go.

 

[arking_mark]

i just have mine going at split doses through out a 24 hour period. The dose splits it up and I let it go.

How have you setup automatic adjustment to doses?

 

[Biologic]

How have you setup automatic adjustment to doses?

i do not continuously monitor. I just test daily. Every 3 days if two consistent readings from my Hannah checker.

I do have plans to get an automatic alk checker like a Neptune Trident or Alkatronic.

 

[ClownSchool]

Established tank, but recently switched from Tropic Marin Balling Method to All for Reef. Change was made about a month ago, and at the time my calcium was around 460ppm.

Since dosing the A4R (36ml/day), my calcium just came back from ICP at 547ppm! Mag is at 1417ppm. Alkalinity is stable at 8.4-8.6 every day.

Tank is 45g total water volume

What can I do to get both down back to where they need to be?

I am also using TM Pro Reef salt, could this be a culprit of the high amounts?

Salinity 1.025
pH 8.3-8.4
Phosphate .03
Nitrate 5ppm

I use AllForReef, but due to my colonies still being small, I only dose a third of what’s recommended and everything has been pretty stable.

 

[bkwonnn]

Check out the tropic marin classic salt, has Lower calcium. You must have little sps, the high Calc salt mixed are better for sps tanks. Also high calcium will drop your alk, and you are probably dosing more all for reef to raise the alk. My 2 cents

 

[bkwonnn]

Godspeed for all my reefers out there

 

[Roatan Reef]

Reef Crystals for your Salt, then A4R dosing.

I actually stopped A4R and went to Brightwell Reef Code A and B, every 2 days, tank is doing amazing!

There's a reason most large aquariums and almost all LFS use Reef Crystals...it works.

Heck, even WWC uses Brightwell stuff and sells it at their 2 stores.

 

[Roatan Reef]

Video evidence...

 

[bkwonnn]

Only reef crystals apparently also have an elevated amount of calcium allready in the salt mix. You will results with the same problem of high calcium with the all for reef in this particular tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Reef Crystals for your Salt, then A4R dosing.

I actually stopped A4R and went to Brightwell Reef Code A and B, every 2 days, tank is doing amazing!

There's a reason most large aquariums and almost all LFS use Reef Crystals...it works.

Heck, even WWC uses Brightwell stuff and sells it at their 2 stores.

The tank was not doing as well on AFR?

I've not seen any evidence that the Brightwell two part is any better than other methods.

 

[bkwonnn]

I’m running into the same problem.
Could it be that we chase the KH, which will not rise anymore because of the elevated Calcium, we dump in too much a4r?

 

[crazyfishmom]

Established tank, but recently switched from Tropic Marin Balling Method to All for Reef. Change was made about a month ago, and at the time my calcium was around 460ppm.

Since dosing the A4R (36ml/day), my calcium just came back from ICP at 547ppm! Mag is at 1417ppm. Alkalinity is stable at 8.4-8.6 every day.

Tank is 45g total water volume

What can I do to get both down back to where they need to be?

I am also using TM Pro Reef salt, could this be a culprit of the high amounts?

Salinity 1.025
pH 8.3-8.4
Phosphate .03
Nitrate 5ppm

Is it possible you’re overdosing AFR? I dose 45 mL in a 220 gallon.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m running into the same problem.
Could it be that we chase the KH, which will not rise anymore because of the elevated Calcium, we dump in too much a4r?

I dont think that explains any issues. What exactly is your issue? AFR has a tad too much calcium in it.

 

[BigMonkeyBrain]

What can I do to get both down back to where they need to be?

I would just lower the AFR dose - because of the delayed Alk response I would not stop for a few days. - check every week for the change.

Growing systems need adjustments - except Randy's Reef ???

 

[bkwonnn]

I dont think that explains any issues. What exactly is your issue? AFR has a tad too much calcium in it.

I dose all for reef to maintain my alk at 9. But in 9 days time the calcium rose from 475 to 550.

 

[crazyfishmom]

I dose all for reef to maintain my alk at 9. But in 9 days time the calcium rose from 475 to 550.

Alkalinity is being consumed at a faster rate than calcium it sounds like. I’ve been told that eventually dosing with all for reef will not be sufficient to maintain alkalinity unless I want to throw my system out of wack. Maybe you’re there? Do you have rapidly growing colonies/frags right now?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I dose all for reef to maintain my alk at 9. But in 9 days time the calcium rose from 475 to 550.

That is impossible and is a measurement error.

 

[bkwonnn]

There is a coralation between alk and cal right? High cal gives lower alk. Especially with non elevated magnesium levels. I also think alk is consumed faster. Maybe a combination of high alk usage icm low ph , and a too high elevated cal causing alk not being able to rise further. As a result alk remains stable and cal rises? Or is that not possible?

I mainly have lps, the little sps looks good but not very much growth due to the ph I think. I will do some water changes with low cal salt (tropic Marin classic) and reset the cal levels to normal.

 

[BigMonkeyBrain]

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I dose all for reef to maintain my alk at 9. But in 9 days time the calcium rose from 475 to 550.

I do not believe that such a rise could be caused by AFR. It must be for other reasons, or is test error (most likely).

Do you recall how much you added each day? That rise would require a large dose offsetting a very large demand for alkalinity (10.5 dKH) that came from something other than calcification. Unless you are dosing mineral acids tot eh tank, I don't see how that can happen.