Calciums a tad high

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PurplePolyp

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Messages
381
Location
Blanchard, OK
So I test my calcium the other day and its 620. I have been doubting my test kit so I take it to my LFS to test. They get 620. I do a 50% water change, wait two days and do another 25% change. Algae needed to be suctioned out anyway so kills two birds with one stone. I test calcium at LFS today. It's 660. They said this won't hurt my inhabitants. Most of my corals use calcium anyway. They said the worst it would do is hurt my equipment in the long run. What do you think?
 
Do you have many corals in your tank? And what salt are you using? Im kind of at the same issue.. I have a new tank with 2 corals in it. I use oceanic salt.. . My calc is at 540. But was told i have not enough corals to consume the calc.. So it may be the reason it is high..
 
I use pre-mixed saltwater from my LFS that tests 500. My coral list is as follows: Green Star Polyp, Pipe Organ, Toadstool Leather, Green Leather, Orange Button Polyp colony, Purple Zoanthid colony, Maze Brain, Goniopora, and a Ricordia Mushroom colony. Oh, and 3 colt corals. Lol.
 
Are you dosing with purple up are anything? Im not sure at all.. But if your water is 500.. What is making it go to over 600??
 
I have no idea! I'm not dosing anything right now except the buffer for pH. And I dose with an iodide stuff but I test it and it never goes over.
 
Im not sure.. Hopefully someone else will have some answers.. Does your buffer or iodide stuff have any type of content on the bottle? Some stuff will tell you how high it is in certian things. Or says it raises certian things.. Like calc..
 
Everything I have read on calcium says the same thing you LFS said. Calcium above 450 does not benefit the corals but won't hurt anything either. Except equipment which may see some calcium build up. I'd try to slowly bring it down ( or find out what's causing it) but I wouldn't panic and do excessive water changes.
Any chance you salt mix supply isn't mixed well enough and your getting too much of the calcium?
 
Are you using an API calcium test kit? If so, that's the reason. Purchase a quality kit like Salifert or Elos and you'll get a more accurate reading. I'd be willing to bet it's not that high.
 
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