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Calcium level too high


jtank52

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Is there a way to lower it? All I currently have is hermit crabs and snails, how much does it bother them? Seems like doing a water change would only add calcium since it is included in the salt mix.

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How high is it exactly? If your salt mixture contains calcium (I know atleast mine does, brings it up to 460ppm every week), then you just gotta wait, maybe switch to a salt with less calcium?

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what's the actual reading you're getting?

 

test your salt's level, mix a batch and test it without adding to the tank.

 

if the salt mix is lower than the tank, it'll be dilutive.

 

i'm not aware of any salt mix that exceeds nsw levels (380ppm) so significantly to be dangerous. even 600ppm isn't lethal imo. it might spontaneously preciptate out (depending on other compounds present or not) but it won't crash a tank ime.

 

but just do a waterchange if you feel it's uncomfortably high (unless the salt mix is crazy high for some reason, of course).

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Instant Ocean tests at 460 and Oceanic tests at 520...my tank is at 660 and I can't lower it very effectively...You should test your Alk...mine is low, like at 7 so I am working at getting it to around 10...that may help the the Calc levels...

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jamesnmandy

favorite article of mine anytime someone is struggling with alkalinity or calcium

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

i followed this and my tank has been running awesome since....maintains 440-460ppm CA and 9-10dkh alaklinity

 

oh, and i dose every two days with 10cc's of Brightwell Aquatics Reef Code Part A&B....and only do water changes once every two months or so and use IO or RC salt mix....but i also have a large reef, not a nano

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Don't chase levels. pH, Alk, or Ca. Especially the first two. It just leads to stress on the fish and headaches for you. Test your Ca both in tank and in your new SW. Like Tiny said if its lower in the new SW then it will dilute out of the tank water over time. It most likely isn't high enough to kill anything otherwise you would be seeing it precipitate out.

 

Do watch your alk though and use a two part solution to keep it in line with what is considered normal so you don't get pH fluctuations that are too high. Do it over time not all at once. For example you have an dkH (alk) of 6. Over time dose with Part A of B-Ionic at the recommended dose until you hit the balance point don't dump a whole bunch in the tank.

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Thanks for the help. I think the alk may be the problem. I'll pick up some of the two part A of B-Ionic solution and give that a try.

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Before you go adding Alk supplement double check your Mg. If you Mg is low you'll get precipitation.

 

how do magnesium go low?

I always see comments like the above but with no explanation.

I bought a salifert mg test kit, and the result I got is exactly what is shown in most published salt test articles such as this

 

http://aquariumwatertesting.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf

 

So unless one is doing something that will cause mg to go low, I think one should not go out right away and buy the test kit because they are not cheap, and chances are the reading you will get is the same as what is given in articles comparing salt mixes. hence it will help if someone can explain how mg can go low.

 

tnx.

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how do magnesium go low?

I always see comments like the above but with no explanation.

I bought a salifert mg test kit, and the result I got is exactly what is shown in most published salt test articles such as this

 

http://aquariumwatertesting.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf

 

So unless one is doing something that will cause mg to go low, I think one should not go out right away and buy the test kit because they are not cheap, and chances are the reading you will get is the same as what is given in articles comparing salt mixes. hence it will help if someone can explain how mg can go low.

 

tnx.

 

Mg is consumed by lots of stuff in your tank including coralline algae and calcifying organisims. It is depleted especially quick with LPS and SPS corals. In addition, Mg is tied VERY closely with Ca and Alk. Mg helps keep higher levels of Ca in solution without precipitation. This will be especially important when someone tries to push the upper limits of both Ca and Alk as the original poster mentioned.

 

I can not stress enough the importance of a good Mg test kit. Granted, it is consumed slowly (I only dose Mg 1 / month) but it's vital to the health of a reef aquarium.

 

Here are a few articles to help you out:

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems

http://web.archive.org/web/20021127...ov2002/chem.htm

 

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

 

Magnesium in Reef Aquaria

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

 

One more thing... Please don't quote AWT as a source. They have been proven unreliable...

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One more thing... Please don't quote AWT as a source. They have been proven unreliable...

 

I think that that link contains is result of salt testing and no conclusion or recommendation.

The values they got are close (if not exactly) what I got for the salts I tested. Hence I was only letting other readers know to save from buying the more "exotic" test kits since they are not cheap and you will likely get the same numbers from such salt testing articles.

 

I will not conclude the article is wrong even if I got a different result, because it certainly does not mean they did not get the result they reported. On what basis was it proven unreliable? (again, going along comments with no explanation to go with it)

 

tnx for the links to mg articles.

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