FishHeaded Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Hey guys and gals, I tested my calcium level in my 10g yesterday for the first time since I am getting into sps and going to pick up a clam. I have had the tank for about 2 years. A little over a month ago I switched aquariums but kept 60% of the water. (10g flatback hex to 10g AGA) I used an API calcium test kit and it read around 500ppm. I found this quite shocking because I have been using Instant Ocean for my salt mix and nothing but it. I don't dose anything and do 10-20% weekly water changes. Could this be possible? To have such a high level without dosing using IO, which I have heard is notorious for low calcium replenishment. Edit: Forgot to mention, I have some coralline algae on my rocks but I have never actually gotten any on the walls of my tank. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Unless something went wrong with your oceanic, there is almost no way that is possible. IO is even known for having moderate or even low levels of Ca compared to other brands. Link to comment
nano427 Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Hey I dont dose any calcium and mine tests out at 500 ppm also. I've done the API test kit and also had the lfs test it and both say 500ppm. I get my water from the lfs and he says his water is between 420-450ppm. I have no idea where its coming from but everything is thriving so no worries here. Link to comment
FishHeaded Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Unless something went wrong with your oceanic, there is almost no way that is possible. IO is even known for having moderate or even low levels of Ca compared to other brands. Thats what I said, I find it very strange as well..I will try and test again to see what's the deal. Hey I dont dose any calcium and mine tests out at 500 ppm also. I've done the API test kit and also had the lfs test it and both say 500ppm. I get my water from the lfs and he says his water is between 420-450ppm. I have no idea where its coming from but everything is thriving so no worries here. Agreed, everything in my tank is thriving as well. Link to comment
Rocket Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Testing Calcium with the API test kit requires time. You have to wait periodically for the results to display, It is possible you overshot the amount of drops needed for the correct color change. I use Oceanic salts and my calcium hovers around 480. Oh also an imbalance of Alkalinity will create higher/lower calcium levels. Both sides of the table render the calcium detectable but unusable for you tanks livestock. Link to comment
FishHeaded Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Testing Calcium with the API test kit requires time. You have to wait periodically for the results to display, It is possible you overshot the amount of drops needed for the correct color change. I use Oceanic salts and my calcium hovers around 480. Oh also an imbalance of Alkalinity will create higher/lower calcium levels. Both sides of the table render the calcium detectable but unusable for you tanks livestock. Yeah, I think I might have overshot the amount of drops. Well I shook the bottle every 5 drops and it didn't turn blue until 25 drops? How many drops should I drop at a time and how long should I wait before adding the next batch of drops? Link to comment
FishHeaded Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Anybody that has experience w/ the API kit help? Link to comment
shan Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Anybody that has experience w/ the API kit help? Well, I usually add about 5-7 drops each time up to around 19-20 then individual drops from there. I just tested mine and it changed to blue at 22 drops, if I went to 25 it just got deeper blue, but i think its probably hard to compare a liquid color in a test tube with a "blue" printed box in a pamphlet. So I doubt your calcium is really at 500, but somewhere under that. Link to comment
FishHeaded Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Well, I usually add about 5-7 drops each time up to around 19-20 then individual drops from there. I just tested mine and it changed to blue at 22 drops, if I went to 25 it just got deeper blue, but i think its probably hard to compare a liquid color in a test tube with a "blue" printed box in a pamphlet. So I doubt your calcium is really at 500, but somewhere under that. Yeah, I totally agree, I had somewhat of a difficult time comparing the two. How long did you wait in between before adding drops? Link to comment
hcsceo Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I usually add 15 drops then shake real good then add two drops at a time and shake good with very little time between stopping my shaking and adding more drops. I'm running IO and it's always 420, dkh 9-10 and mag is always low at 1120. Steve Link to comment
FishHeaded Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Thanks Steve! Link to comment
nano427 Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Testing Calcium with the API test kit requires time. You have to wait periodically for the results to display, It is possible you overshot the amount of drops needed for the correct color change. I use Oceanic salts and my calcium hovers around 480. Oh also an imbalance of Alkalinity will create higher/lower calcium levels. Both sides of the table render the calcium detectable but unusable for you tanks livestock. Hey rocket you make some good points however I had the lfs test also and he said 500 also. That whole imbalance thing makes sense but i dont even test for that. I occasionally add a buffer and thats it. I just keep up with water changes and watch thing grow. I believe in if its not broken dont fix it! Link to comment
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