High calcium

[tbrock]

i have tested clacium of my tank with two differetn test kits and both give the same results. As for the water, it was freshly made so i will wait a day or two and test again. The water changes i have doen latley have been with freshly made salt water also.... coul that be a problem? Or does the test kit just show inaccurate results when it is fresh? I just bought a phosphate test kit and they are at 0....this just keeps getting more complicated. My sister is going to wichita this weekend to take a test and she will pick me up an alk test there so i will be able to test that soon. I had my tank lights on for 3 hours today and hair algae is also now starting to grow, so i turned the lights off

 

[seaham358]

with fresh made water salt can take some time to disolve and the water chemistry can change. It is best to mix SW at least 24 hours before using it.
Just tested my week old water and the Ca was over 500.. I used some of a second syringe on the silafert kit so i would guess over 540.. So my 125 reef is low in Ca right now so when I do a WC this week it should(i hope) bring it back up to 450-500. This way I don't have to use additives to keep it up.

 

[tbrock]

So do you think my salt could actually bee making my calcium go up? If your calcium is high before the water goes in the tank and mine is too, Most peoples pobably is, and it seems to me that more people have trouble with low calcium than high.

 

[tbrock]

ok i got an alkalinity test kit. my water is at 5.5 meq/L (whatever that means). the instruction book says it should be between 2.5 and 5. So, both my clacium and alkalinity are high? what should i do next? Thanks again

 

[seaham358]

Oceanic salt has high Ca levels... Its the way its made?? So you either deal with the high levels or change salt mixes.
Not sure what 5.5 is on the chart? If the book says a hig of 5 and your 5.5 that is not that far off the chart. Like I said before 500 is not critical.
Most try to run Ca 380-450. Alk 9-11
Once your tank gets mature and you have corals and coraline algae growing your levels will drop.

 

[tbrock]

If i switch salts, do i just do it all at once? LIke for my next water change just use all different salt? What is alk measured in when you say 9-11? my instructions came with a chart of 5 different measurements, i didnt know which one to post on here.

 

[steve-s]

ok i got an alkalinity test kit. my water is at 5.5 meq/L (whatever that means). the instruction book says it should be between 2.5 and 5. So, both my clacium and alkalinity are high? what should i do next?

If that's your tank numbers, please post the saltmix numbers as well. As seaham358 pointed out, Oceanic is typically high on the Ca low to normal on the alk. This will help determine where the high numbers are coming from and possible solutions.

If i switch salts, do i just do it all at once? LIke for my next water change just use all different salt?

If you make the desicion to switch, you should never use the old one as well. Start fresh with your newly chosen brand only. Use the old one to salt the walk in the winter

When transitioning salts, it must be done very very slowly. If you would normally do 10% weekly changes, do 5% instead. Keep going at the slower rate for a good 6-8 weeks and then slowly increase the amount until your back up to the normal routine. Each salt being different chemically both minor and trace elements, it allows the animals to transition without alot of stress. This is especially important if you have SPS or clams but still a good pratice otherwise.

What is alk measured in when you say 9-11? my instructions came with a chart of 5 different measurements, i didnt know which one to post on here.

9-11 would be a measure of DKH. Post whichever value you are comfortable with, 5.5 mEq/l translates into 15.4 DKH (5.5 x 2.8 ). Personally I would never suggest keeping the alk above much more than 3ish mEq/l. There's little point ans does not directly benefit anything.

Cheers
Steve

 

[tbrock]

When you say test the salt mix, do you mean make some fresh salt water and test it? Is there any way alkalinity can be lowered other than a water change? Could my salt also be raising my alkalinity?

 

[tbrock]

Ok, i just tested my water for alkalinity again, and now its 3.5. I tested at 11:00 last night and just now. So, unless there is something wrong with the test kit, or im doing something wrong, the alk dropped form 5.5 to 3.5 in 13 hours. I didnt do any thing to the tank, except add ten hermit crabs. Is this something that normaly happens?

 

[steve-s]

When you say test the salt mix, do you mean make some fresh salt water and test it?

Yes but let it mix/aerate for ½ a day uncovered before taking any readings. Make sure temp and salinity match the main.

Is there any way alkalinity can be lowered other than a water change?

None that I'm going to suggest here

Could my salt also be raising my alkalinity?

If it's as high as the tank, yes. Im fairly sure the Argamilk's the issue though.

Ok, i just tested my water for alkalinity again, and now its 3.5. I tested at 11:00 last night and just now. So, unless there is something wrong with the test kit, or im doing something wrong, the alk dropped form 5.5 to 3.5 in 13 hours. I didnt do any thing to the tank, except add ten hermit crabs. Is this something that normaly happens?

No offense but I'm tempted to think "operator error" in one of these results. Test it again and see which one it match's. If differnet again, test it twice. There's not much that will lower alk overnight like that 'cept a chemical. Whether that be directly from you or indirectly from the air (cleaners, rug powders etc..).

Cheers
Steve

 

[tbrock]

i tested the water a couple more times and got 3.5 each time. I will make some saltwater and let it sit and then test it for calcium and alk.

 

[tbrock]

I let some salt water sit uncovered for over 12 hours. calcium tested 540 and alkalinity 3.5.

 

[seaham358]

thats sounds normal for oceanic

 

[MT79]

thats sounds normal for oceanic

8O 8O

 

[steve-s]

I let some salt water sit uncovered for over 12 hours. calcium tested 540 and alkalinity 3.5.

That's nasty chemistry. Normally I wouldn't suggest something like this but I wouldn't buy this brand again. High Ca is very hard to alter chemically and you already have a proper alk so there's little room for error. The only thing I can suggest is adding some baking soda (won't affect pH) to pump up the alk some (closer to but not over 4 mEq/l) and see what it does.

At least you know what's causing the problem

Cheers
Steve

 

[tbrock]

I guess i know, but dont really understand. A lot of people use this salt, seaham said his calcium tested the same with fresh salt water and he has low calcium in his tank, how could that be? coral taking in alot of calcium? I will try to switch, but it wont be easy, the only salt i can get here is oceanic. What kind of salt do you use. Thanks for helping me find the problem.

 

[seaham358]

I have a 125 mature tank with corals, coraline algae so my ca and alk are being used daily. I have been using this salt for over a year and have not had any issues because of the salt. Many people I know use it and all have no problems. We are always looking for that salt mix that is perfect and we have yet to find it...
I know a LFS who mixes Oceanic and IO 50/50 to get the balance he likes for his corals.

 

[steve-s]

I guess i know, but dont really understand. A lot of people use this salt, seaham said his calcium tested the same with fresh salt water and he has low calcium in his tank, how could that be? coral taking in alot of calcium?

I would only be guessing without alot more info but heavy CaCO3 consumption would be a good guess, that or precip and heavy skimming. Keep in mind that a tank with some sort of draw of the chemistry plus most peoples water changes will only be a small percentage of the total water volume so the net change is not normally that much. If there is little CaCO3 use within the tank, repeated water change will eventually cause the reading in the tank to match the salt +/-

I will try to switch, but it wont be easy, the only salt i can get here is oceanic. What kind of salt do you use. Thanks for helping me find the problem.

Anything that gets you closer to NSW values. Even if the salt is on the higher side, as long as it's balanced or can be tweeked before use to get a balanced chem. The salt you have now cannot be altered effectively. Personally I use Kent Marine but there are many available that you can work with once you know their limitations. Online shipping can be a bit pricey for freight but have you looked at different LFS's?

Cheers
Steve

 

[tbrock]

There is only one fish store in my town that has salt water, but there is one that is an hour away that i could check. So your saying that some salt can be altered to balance the chemistry? How could that be done?

 

[tbrock]

Just tested the calcium in my tank again, its been about a week, and now its 560 8O I guess the water change yesterday to get rid of the rest of the cyano did it, guess that was a mistake.