Zoa frags dying off

[Treenk]

Both my calcium and magnesium are so high that I had to refill the syringe with salifert test 600 ca and 1900mg. How do I go about dropping those?

 

[Treenk]

Now looking at my salt actually says with more calcium and magnesium. I'm using instant ocean reef Crystal's which is probably a bad idea. Any suggestions on what I should use?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Both my calcium and magnesium are so high that I had to refill the syringe with salifert test 600 ca and 1900mg. How do I go about dropping those?

There’s your issue. Stop dosing any calcium/mg don’t do any wc’s and wait

 

[Treenk]

Lol I dont dose anything. Well small amounts of reef roids. And then the high calc and mag salts I guess I need to buy a different kind. I dont think I have enough in the tank to consume those. I'd there some kind of plant I can put in sump?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Lol I dont dose anything. Well small amounts of reef roids. And then the high calc and mag salts I guess I need to buy a different kind. I dont think I have enough in the tank to consume those. I'd there some kind of plant I can put in sump?

Yeah, acros LOL. I recommend instant ocean. That’s what I use.

 

[Treenk]

Lol sounds like a great idea 4 month old tank cant keep zoas healthy let's just jump to sps /facepalm. I wish I could that would be awesome. Thank you for all the help btw I'll just stop water changes and keep up with dosing kh, and watch ph.

 

[DangerDave]

I had a time when my zoas and palys were shrinking away to nothing. in my case, I started dosing iodide and had almost a quick reaction. Most started peeking up in a couple days, some took longer . I now dose daily, nothing else but zoas and palys seem to care.

also, get that alk up...

Good luck!

 

[Infidel]

I'm surprised your alk isn't much higher while using IORC salt.

 

[EMeyer]

No, don't raise your alk to unnatural levels. Your alk is fine. You've found the problem: unnaturally high levels of Mg and Ca. And the solution: water changes with a salt closer to natural seawater levels.

 

[Dom]

If I understand the use of baking soda to raise ALK correctly, you need to bake it at 300 degrees for an hour before adding it to the tank.

 

[Dom]

I'm surprised your alk isn't much higher while using IORC salt.

I am having a problem with IORC myself. It's only mixing in the 7-7.5 range for ALK. May be a bad batch. It happens.

 

[Infidel]

I am having a problem with IORC myself. It's only mixing in the 7-7.5 range for ALK. May be a bad batch. It happens.

Is that after "rolling" the bucket for a good premix? Yeah, bad batches definitely do happen.

 

[Dom]

Is that after "rolling" the bucket for a good premix? Yeah, bad batches definitely do happen.

No. I buy the box with 5 individual bags. But I will give it a good shake before using it for my Sunday water change.

 

[BeejReef]

That's crazy high calcium and magnesium, even for IORC.

Are you very confident in your salinity and your refractometer? Are you very comfortable with your test kits?
It may very well be you ran into a bad batch of salt, but it's at least as likely that it could be an issue with a test kit, testing procedure, or salinity.

I had a similar issue at one point and started blending regular instant ocean and IO reef crystals to take the edge off the elevated params.

 

[Infidel]

No. I buy the box with 5 individual bags. But I will give it a good shake before using it for my Sunday water change.

Sounds good, I'm interested in hearing if premixing helps your wet mix on this batch.

That's crazy high calcium and magnesium, even for IORC.

Are you very confident in your salinity and your refractometer? Are you very comfortable with your test kits?
It may very well be you ran into a bad batch of salt, but it's at least as likely that it could be an issue with a test kit, testing procedure, or salinity.

I had a similar issue at one point and started blending regular instant ocean and IO reef crystals to take the edge off the elevated params.

+1 for mixing IO and IORC to balance out parameters.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I use normal instant ocean. I don’t trust a salt manufacturer with precise calcium etc calculations. I dose esv b-ionic to get Ca, alk, and mg levels where I want them

 

[Treenk]

That's crazy high calcium and magnesium, even for IORC.

Are you very confident in your salinity and your refractometer? Are you very comfortable with your test kits?
It may very well be you ran into a bad batch of salt, but it's at least as likely that it could be an issue with a test kit, testing procedure, or salinity.

I had a similar issue at one point and started blending regular instant ocean and IO reef crystals to take the edge off the elevated params.

I've been wondering if my refeactometer isnt working right. I even tried recalibrating it, but it was the same. I notice my clowns struggle to swim downward esp after eating.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I've been wondering if my refeactometer isnt working right. I even tried recalibrating it, but it was the same. I notice my clowns struggle to swim downward esp after eating.

What kind of refractometer are you using?

 

[brian2kgt]

I agree with BeejReef, those numbers seem really high even for IORC, especially the Mg. Are you calibrating with distilled water or a 35ppt calibration solution? Calibrating with distilled water can give a false low reading.

If you don't have calibration solution and don't want to wait for one to be shipped, you can make your own using table salt with the instructions in this link.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/

 

[Treenk]

This is what I have and all I've been calibrating with is distilled water.