Is there a way to bring Calcium levels down?

[reefbound]

Well after trying to find out why my Ca levels were so high 580ppm + I did a unscientific test... I mixed some fresh saltwater up to match the salinity of my main tank and let it sit for a couple of hours and checked to make sure the levels were still the same.
Next came the Ca test... After testing I was floored,from the 5 gallon bucket to the water 580... (Im using Oceanic salts).Is there a way to buffer this or should I go to a different salt or could this be isolated to this bucket which by the way is almost finished. I like the way this stuff mixes and is very clear as Im sure other brands are,its just that I have not had the opportunity to try others because of the five gallon bucket (200 gallon mix) Is there a consensus of a good particular brand?

 

[dorian965]

a lot of people like instant ocean, i do, but 580 is crazy. maybe you just got a bad bucket or something.

 

[reefbound]

a lot of people like instant ocean, i do, but 580 is crazy. maybe you just got a bad bucket or something.

Instant ocean and Oceanic salts are two different types of salt...Im not saying anything bad about Oceanic its just I have very high Ca levels.

 

[afilter]

What is your water source? Are you using RO/DI or Tap? Well water can be very high. If using tap I would check that first before you do anything. I suspect this is the culprit. I had the same issue with phosphates when I first strted out. No matter how many pwc I did I could not get it down. Then the light went on and I checked the source.

Just a thought, I would be very suprised that any comercial salt mixes would come out that high unless it is a bad batch.

HTH,

 

[reefbound]

What is your water source? Are you using RO/DI or Tap? Well water can be very high. If using tap I would check that first before you do anything. I suspect this is the culprit. I had the same issue with phosphates when I first strted out. No matter how many pwc I did I could not get it down. Then the light went on and I checked the source.

Just a thought, I would be very suprised that any comercial salt mixes would come out that high unless it is a bad batch.

HTH,

I took your advice and checked my water source,which by the way is tap water...I know please no flames,The water I get here is decent quality and mine is filtered as soon as it enters my house,and all the LFS use it too with no adverse affects including algae outbreaks.
The only algae in my tank right now is coralline algae, anyway the reading was nil, no Ca in my tap water atleast it was undetectable by my Ca test. I'm going to go and get a small bag of Instant ocean and give that a check,Ive read that Ca levels are low with that brand,if they are maybe I'll try and mix the two to see what happens...could not hurt.

edit: I have read that Ocean brand salts have higher Ca levels than other brands... after I purchased it... :?

 

[Hara]

I used oceanic salt for a long time. It never had readings that high.

 

[reefbound]

I used oceanic salt for a long time. It never had readings that high.

Just to be sure of the readings I took some to the LFS and he was floored with the 600ppm reading he got... Our thinking is a bad batch... I took just the salt and he mixed it right there...

 

[melosu58]

Could it ba a bad test kit

 

[reefbound]

Could it ba a bad test kit

mine and his? I guess it could happen but , I would'nt think both tests were bad. I hope.

 

[melosu58]

What I mean is the brand name. Was his the same test kit or different brand

 

[reefbound]

Mine was from Hagen,Im not sure what his was but I do know it was not Hagen,completely different package.

 

[afilter]

I will be interseted to see whst you find out. I have always used Instant ocean, but jsut bought a bucket of oceanic because it has been highly recomended and was on sale.

 

[melosu58]

Well that rules out the test kit as the problem

 

[reefbound]

i wolud rule out my tap water and test kit,the only other thing it could possibly be is the salt mix.Im thinking I have a bad batch and thats all,because so many people use Oceanic with no problems. I contacted the LFS where I purchased it and asked how long he had this particular bucket and all he said was "a while" ... I dont know if that would have any affect. I think Im going to contact Oceanic and ask them that question.

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

Oceanic salt is notorious for containing a lot of calcium...thats why a lot of us prefer it. From what I have heard and read, it is not uncommon for freshly mixed saltwater using oceanic salt to give a reading of 500 mg/l calcium. However, I have never heard of it being that high, approaching 600 mg/l.

Some people also complain about oceanic salt producing seawater with low alkalinity. I would check into that. Calcium and alkalinity go hand in hand. If the calcium is extremely elevated, I would suspect your alkalinity to be low. Test that as well and let us know what type of reading your getting. HTH

 

[MT79]

Oceanic salt is notorious for containing a lot of calcium...

I agree-I have seen many post about this. Ca that high is not beneficial, it may actually be harmful to stony corals. It causes them to grow too fast and become "reedy" and fragile. On the other hand IO salt is notoriously LOW in Ca~350.

 

[theatrus]

There have been lots of reports of really high Ca in Oceanic lately on various boards. Sounds like a bad batch. I mix it with IO myself, which gets me perfect Alk and Ca

 

[dorian965]

never thought of mixing brands. does anyone know of any drawbacks. sounds like a good idea.

 

[MT79]

does anyone know of any drawbacks.

If your not cautious about exactly how much of each you add every time, in relation to each other, you could end up "shocking" your tank. Different brand salt mixes have different amounts of each major, minor, and trace element. That is why it is best to pick a brand and stick w/ it. I would not recommend it, especially if you have inverts.

 

[dorian965]

yea , bad idea, sorry.