Flipturn88 Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Well this is a genuine newbie question, but I was wondering if really high levels of calcium are actually a good thing... wouldn't they be even more beneficial to corals, LR, etc? Sorry--please don't shoot me if I'm wrong! ~Kayla Link to comment
revidy Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 From what I understand you are looking for a certain level of calcium, or at least a certain level helps the most. I'm not an expert though, so wait until someone that knows alot comes along. Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 It's best to keep it high, yes, but you shouldn't go much higher than 400 ppm. When it gets too high (600 ppm for example) the water will not be able to hold it and it will precipitate (Your tank will look like a snowy Christmas morning). Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 Well my tank definitely has somethinc coating it. But I thought it was a diatom bloom. Can diatom algae be an off-white color? Also, if my tank is really high, is that harmful to my fish? Would it be harmful to corals? Sorry, only one more question: how would I lower my calcium levels? Thanks for you help. ~Kayla Link to comment
kennerd Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Well, put it into perspective for us by giving us a baseline: what is your current clacium level? recommended levels of Ca are 400-450, and maintaining that level all depends on the livestock you have in the tank: you will need to suplpement more when your tank contains LPS, SPS, clams or calcerous algaes. These organisms pull the calcium out of the water column to build their skeletons and shells. Softies require much less. Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 Well my calcium test was giving me weird colors, so I went to the LFS guy. He used a brand new seachem kit and said my calcium was at 750 If I add some mushrooms, do you think they would helpful in bringing the calcium levels down? Everything else checks-out fine. Would calcium that high be harmful to them or my fish? Thanks again. ~Kayla Link to comment
seabass Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Oh the dreaded calcium problem. Many a reefer have battled having too much calcium in their tanks. Just kidding. You shouldn’t have too much calcium unless you are dosing. And you shouldn’t be dosing unless you are testing. I wonder if the test kit is correct. I’d buy a Salifert test kit and check it out. If you are dosing and your calcium levels are really 750, stop dosing and do a water change to get it down. There is plenty of stuff in a reef that will consume calcium, so it will go down on its own, but I’ve heard that 400ppm is a better, so I’d try to bring it down faster through water changes. Link to comment
kennerd Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 how are you getting your calcium so high? Definitely cut down on the additives/dosing, IMO Link to comment
texasaggie Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 what can be done to lower calcuim levels? Mine is in 550 ppm. Link to comment
Deimos Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 550 I wouldn't worry about too much...what we're forgetting in talking just about Calcium here is that the corresponding alkalinity levels have to be completely out of whack. Calcium can't go much above 500ppm in a tank with good alkalinity levels (3.0-4.5 meq/L)..as at around 500ppm it won't stay in solution anymore and "snows" out. Thats why maintaining Ca and ALK with a good twopart like B-Ionic is so easy....it lets you closely monitor how much of each you're adding (you should almost always add equal parts) so that nothing gets out of whack. A good rule of thumb is "Don't dose anything you aren't testing for." Keep an eye on Ca/ALK levels especially in newer tanks...and dose accordingly. I had a huge problem before I started using B-Ionic (I WAS using Kalk) with off the chart Ca levels and non-existant ALK levels..which is exceptionally stressful on a lot of animals in the tank...as tanks with low ALK often have a harder time maintaining a good pH, etc. If you're going to dose....test! HTH... Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 I'm not dosing ANYTHING. I was going to add the Part A and Part B Kent Marine Tech CB, but after I checked my calcium I changed my mind But according to my test (FYI it's Red Sea and the kit's brand new) my alk is perfectly normal. However, it doesn't give me a number reading--just a scale of colors and two lines that show the color boundaries which are considered normal (if that makes any sense...) Thanks ~Kayla Link to comment
kennerd Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Wait a minute: you aren't dosing anything and your calcium is that far off the charts??? What do they say in the instructions as to what the "normal range" indicates? My Tropic Marin test kit has 2 color squares, but you need to count reactant drops until it turns from one color to the other & theat's your reading. Oh well: if you can figure it out, add some LPS or SPS if you've got the lighting and you'll be on the other end of the spectrum & unable to keep you calcium up. Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 Haha, so if I buy some coral they'll consume all my calcium? I have two 96 watt pc lights, so hopefully that would be enough. Is it possible that my LR (from an established tank) could have released a lot of calcium because there was none in the water when they were first put in? That's what they dude @ the LFS said... ??? Thanks for the help. ~Kayla Link to comment
shadofax69 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Yeah it is possible for the LR to release Ca. Live rock is mostly CaCO3 so when you dont have any calcium, chemical equilibrium takes over and your rock disolves to put some Ca in the water. I dont think the rocks would put enough Ca in the water though to bring it up to 750 but im not sure. Link to comment
kennerd Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I agree, but think that equilibrium would be far below 750! What type of substrate are you using? Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 Crushed Coral-- I know I know :-* But it came from an established tank and they hadn't had any problem with it. ~Kayla Link to comment
kennerd Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Might be part of the whole situation: crushed coral will dissolve more quickly than live rock. Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 Ah, so you're saying that the CC may be the culprit. Well, I'm going today to pick up some mushrooms and possibly a frogspawn. Will that help to lower the calcium? Would it be bad to add those corals now with such a high reading? Thanks again. ~Kayla BTW, since I've had the ultra-high calcium, my rocks are now COVERED in corraline algae... Link to comment
seabass Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Like Deimos stated, you need to check your alkalinity too. You should have a dKH between 8 and 12 and a pH between 8.1 and 8.4. Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 Well according to my kit I have a ph of 8.2. There are no actual number readings (or DKH) in my alk test. It's a strip of colors ranging from yellow (low alk) to dark blue (high alk). Two black lines indicate the range which is "normal" for a tank. According to the kit, my alk is perfectly fine. So either my alk is normal or my kit is messed up. The kit is Red Sea and it's about a week old. I think I'm going to try my calcium test again today to see if I get weird results again. Thanks for all the help! ~Kayla Link to comment
Deimos Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 Trash those Red Sea test kits...NOW! Seriously...I've heard more Red Sea testing horror stories than you'd care to know about..lol. Not to mention..you should always get a test that gives you a number..."normal" is a very subjective thing in a reef tank. And normal for reef is different from normal for a FOWLR tank, etc. Go with a Salifert test kit...or..if thats a bit out of the price range you wanted to pay..at least something by SeaChem or Sea/Fastest. They at least give you numbers and are far more accurate than the Red Sea kits... Link to comment
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