Levels

[mhart032]

Hey all im having a problem keeping my levels up especialy my dkh and calcium. and my PH is always high. after PWC my PH is high. i test it before i feed and before the light go off and its high.. as for the calcium it dips from 430 - 360 in 1 day. my mag is at 1300 so thats good. my dkh is at 9-11 but if my dhk is good my calcium is wacked. and if my calcium is good my dkh is wacked. i dont understand it. as for my PH its always about 8.4 or higher. nothing helps i did a 30% PWC and it was still high. is their something im doing wrong? and im having a small algae problem and i think its due to the PH.
thanks
Matt

 

[mhart032]

Also, for my calcium being so low i do have some pretty good coralline algae growing good and fast.

 

[melosu58]

How old are your test kits. I would take a water sample to your LFS and have him double check your results.

 

[mhart032]

i just bought my test kits maybe 3 weeks ago...

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I'd also suspect the test kits - that amount of calcium consumption is pretty odd, even with huge coralline algae growth. The other thing that could be happening is that it's just precipitating out of your saltwater. Are you noticing any white dust on your rocks? Precipitation would be caused from an imbalance of your ca/alk. How long has this tank been up? Are you adding any buffer or calcium products? PurpleUp? Also... what brand is the test kit?

 

[mhart032]

My dk test kit is Tetra and the rest are API.. im not seeing any dust. my tank is a little less than a month. so very new. im adding kents superbuffer and kents turbo calcium. i am dealing with the diatoms cycle right now, would this have anything to do with it?
Matt

 

[mhart032]

I dont have a Phosphate test kit but do you think phosphates could be killing my calcium?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

The fact that this is such a new tank, and you're adding both calcium and buffer, leads me to think that you've got your parameters out of whack and your calcium is not staying in solution. At this stage in your tank's life, there's probably not enough coralline growth to really require ca/alk supplementation other than normal weekly water changes.

Based on that thinking, I'd lay off the buffer/ca, wait a couple weeks doing your normal water changes, and then retest things at the end of a couple weeks. Then you'll probably have to follow the advice given in this article...

Chemistry and the Aquarium

... to get your alk/ca back in line.

Not familiar with the tetra kit, but have used the API calcium kit. While I've found it's not the most accurate in the world, it DOES seem to be pretty consistent and get you close enough for what we need it for. So I'm thinking your test kit is OK.

 

[mhart032]

Good advice, thank you.. ill leave it be for now see what happens. i will just to make sure my tests are valid take a sample down to the LFS give me a reason to go lol..
thanks
Matt

 

[ccCapt]

I agree with the suggestions made. Stop all dosing and let your tank settle for another month or so.

 

[melosu58]

I agree with the suggestions made. Stop all dosing and let your tank settle for another month or so.

I totally agree

 

[mhart032]

Just got back from the LFS my calcium is a little low but not bad its at 380 and my KH is at 13 a little high, said the reason my PH is high is because the kents superbuffer buffs up PH as well, my mag is at 1400 little high. said stop buffing up the kh. i am doseing to much and it all cant mix into the water so its sitting their wasting. so yea stop all doseing... for a week then test and see where i am after my next water change. said my water looks good other wise. told me to get some turbo snails for the small algae and diatoms issues. said i should be fine..
thanks guys, i was pretty stressed..
Matt

 

[mhart032]

even gave me a discount on my snails. 95cents a pop..

 

[mhart032]

Welp you guys were right. it all balanced out. everything is pretty close to perfect. i just left it alone since and it all worked out.
thanks again..