Calcium Level 375

[Shady1984slm]

Is a calcium level of 375 acceptable in an lps and zoanthoid reef tank?

 

Tank is a 10 gallon (custom made all in one with sump area in back chamber).

 

Salinity - 34ppt 1.025

PH - 8.0 (stays stable 7-9 to 8.0) Cannot get it past 8.0 for some reason.

Magnesium - 1275 (little low)

Alk - 9.15 DKH, 3.27 Meq

Phosphate - 0

Nitrates - 0

 

All tests were done using Salifert test kits except for the phosphate (Elos).

 

Should I raise calcium? I am currently dripping Kalk also and use Reef Crystals Salt which seems to be lower in calcium then I thought. I do 10% water change every Sunday.

 

Thanks

[lakshwadeep]

It's slightly below the normal limit of 380-450 ppm. If the corals (specifically the LPS) are fine then there is no problem. Since by definition LPSs have large polyps, their growth is not dependent on calcium as it would be for SPS (small polyp stony) corals; zoanthids don't have skeletons and don't need calcium to be dosed. You might want to increase the kalk concentration slightly since alkalinity is okay (in the range of 2.5-4 meq/L). Also, a pH of 8.0 is not a problem. Here's a good article on the suggested ranges of various water parameters.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php