What causes

[Paulie069]

So what causes high calcium and high magnesium for some reason those two are very high for what may change normally is normally I hold around 11:20 to 1204 days ago the magnesium was up to 1360 I did a 15 gallon water change last night and my magnesium today is at 1440 to 1480 couldn’t quite see the dash And my calcium which is normally 380 is up to 480 today everything else is in its normal Numbers and here they are before you ask So my question is what causes the high calcium hi magnesium and what can I do to balance it out

 

[lapin]

To me it sounds like that bucket of salt mix is the cause, if it just started.

 

[Paulie069]

To me it sounds like that bucket of salt mix is the cause, if it just started.

And that’s why I don’t like rodi water trying to play Mother Nature with all silly chem crap buying bacteria is a joke to me,, everything you need is in a bucket of sea water. That’s all I try n use but once in awhile I have no choice but to use rodi and things like chasing numbers becomes a headache

 

[Scotty Buttons]

It's not the rodi water, it's more then likely the salt mix. Which probably has a higher amount of cal and mag then your current tank parms thus raising your numbers

 

[Paulie069]

It's not the rodi water, it's more then likely the salt mix. Which probably has a higher amount of cal and mag then your current tank parms thus raising your numbers

I’m leaning on that way also thanks for confirming my guess,, from now on ocean water only

 

[Redfoxtang]

Also to be honest the way your numbers are now are way better than they were before. Cal should be in the 420-480 range and Mag should be around the 1400 range. You were a little under what everyone strives for. So in the end your water change helped out and the new salt mix was the cause of the higher numbers.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m leaning on that way also thanks for confirming my guess,, from now on ocean water only

That’s a pretty extreme reaction unless you live at a beach. Salt mixes and ro/di water are at least as likely to give decent chemistry as is the seawater most can collect near shore, which will potentially be polluted, be of variable salinity, and may be impacted by rivers and local runoff.

 

[Paulie069]

That’s a pretty extreme reaction unless you live at a beach. Salt mixes and ro/di water are at least as likely to give decent chemistry as is the seawater most can collect near shore, which will potentially be polluted, be of variable salinity, and may be impacted by rivers and local runoff.

Randy while I respect you extremely as a professional and I know of all the experience that you have but even I know better than to get my water right from the shoreline every drop I get is anywhere from 5 miles off to 10 miles off the beach I rarely would ever get anything closer unless I absolutely positively have no other choice anyway like I said I respect you very much and was hoping I’d chime in with an explanation of what caused such a spike and my corals definitely reacted to it. Any advice or input that you would have would most definitely be appreciated thank you so much

 

[laverda]

I agree with Randy ocean water can vary widely. I used it for many years, but always tested it each time I got a batch. I typically would get close to 300 gallons each time. While I never got water within a few days of it raining the salinity would still very and that would affect the ALK and Ca levels along with other things. Nitrate and phosphate would also very.
You didn’t mention your salinity. That will affect all your numbers to some extent. If your not checking your new salt water before adding it anything is possible. Some salt mixes are very high in Ca and Magnesium but low in ALK, while others are low in Ca and Mag yet high in ALK. If your not using RO/DI your adding additional Ca, Mag and ALK that way as well.

 

[Paulie069]

I agree with Randy ocean water can vary widely. I used it for many years, but always tested it each time I got a batch. I typically would get close to 300 gallons each time. While I never got water within a few days of it raining the salinity would still very and that would affect the ALK and Ca levels along with other things. Nitrate and phosphate would also very.
You didn’t mention your salinity. That will affect all your numbers to some extent. If your not checking your new salt water before adding it anything is possible. Some salt mixes are very high in Ca and Magnesium but low in ALK, while others are low in Ca and Mag yet high in ALK. If your not using RO/DI your adding additional Ca, Mag and ALK that way as well.

My salinity is 1024-1025