Question on addition and removal of elements?

[showey472]

I am fairly new to reefing have a Biocube 29 that has been running for 3 months. I am just trying to understand the cause and effect between additives and removal of elements by corals, inverts and fish. I measure the levels once a week with the Red Sea test kits and sometimes find things like calcium that I would expect to go down during the week to be higher than the last time it was tested.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I am fairly new to reefing have a Biocube 29 that has been running for 3 months. I am just trying to understand the cause and effect between additives and removal of elements by corals, inverts and fish. I measure the levels once a week with the Red Sea test kits and sometimes find things like calcium that I would expect to go down during the week to be higher than the last time it was tested.

If you didn't dose any, that calcium rise is test error. Don't try to over-interpret small changes.

Can you tell us what you dose?

The main things that change are calcium and alkalinity as corals and other organisms deposit calcium carbonate skeletons and shells.

 

[showey472]

If you didn't dose any, that calcium rise is test error. Don't try to over-interpret small changes.

Can you tell us what you dose?

The main things that change are calcium and alkalinity as corals and other organisms deposit calcium carbonate skeletons and shells.

I use the Red Sea Reef Foundation test kit along with their Reef Foundation ABC supplements.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If calcium went up, either you added more than was needed to maintain a stable reading, or it was test error. Test errors are very common.

Calcium does not rise on its own and won't be "too high" without massive overdosing.

How much did it rise?

 

[showey472]

If calcium went up, either you added more than was needed to maintain a stable reading, or it was test error. Test errors are very common.

Calcium does not rise on its own and won't be "too high" without massive overdosing.

How much did it rise?

Not much last weeks test was 420 and this week was 440. Was just trying to understand where the calcium would come from if I did not add the calcium supplement.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not much last weeks test was 420 and this week was 440. Was just trying to understand where the calcium would come from if I did not add the calcium supplement.

Testing error. That is too small a difference to expect to be real.