Seachem calcium test kit??

[Dewey]

Looking for some one that uses this test kit to make sure im doing it right.

When i added the calcium tritant with the syringe. I started at .8 on syringe when it turned true blue i ended up on .3 .
Which is 50 of the little marks and each little mark = 5ppm
So my total is 250 ppm.
Let me know if this sounds right. 250 ppm sounds really low.

Thanks for all the Help Dewey

 

[Biggen]

Yeah it sounds like you did it right, although I add enough titrant to the syringe to get it up to 1.0 cc. Makes figuring out the Ca level a little easier.

It could be that low for a few reasons but lets start with a few questions. Do you have any animals (inverts, corals, coralline algae, etc...) that would put a drain on your Ca level? What kind of salt do you use and how long has it been since your last water change? Do you drip any kind of CA/Alk additive to the water like Kalkwasser? I assume not, but just want to be sure.

You also need to check the Alk to see what that value is. With calcium in that area, your Alk may be low as well.

Oh, btw, make sure you run the test again. I always like to double check. If you feel the test is in doubt, use the reference that came with the kit to check its accuracy. I believe the reference is at a calcium level of 400 ppm. Perform the test with that and see if it does in fact come out to 400 ppm.

 

[Dewey]

Thanks for the reply. I have around a dozen snails. Cluster of about 20 stryped mushrooms. one piece of candycain coral. I have about 130-140 pounds live rock.About one third of it is covered in coralline algae. And little spots on the rest.I have been useing instant Ocean salt.Last weekend i changed out about 12 gallons and i did the same this morning.I dont drip anything in the water.

ALK is 4.5 meg I will retest later today and run the reference. I bought some Seachem calcium and buffer. Do you think i should try to ad this? If i ad calcium do i need to turn off skimmer?

Thanks Dewey

 

[Biggen]

I have been useing instant Ocean salt

ALK is 4.5 meg I will retest later today and run the reference.

This is why I stopped using IO. With an Alk level of 4.5 meg/l, your Ca level should be around 450 ppm. It is way out of ionic balance. I don't think what you have in your tank is sufficient enough to even begin to put a heavy drain the Ca level as long as you do regular water changes. Even if it were, Alk drops faster than Ca. So if you did have a heavy Ca load in your tank, I would expect your Alk to be *WAY* lower than 4.5 meg/l.

I bought some Seachem calcium and buffer.

You don't need to add any buffer to the tank!! Your Alk is plenty high enough. Calcium chloride should be the only thing added to bring the Ca level up. I use Kent's Liquid Calcium as needed to adjust the calcium level in my "new water" for water changes.

Here is a good read for solving Alk and Ca problem:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[biotoxin]

b-ionic is good for leveling the 2 out as well

 

[Dewey]

Seachem

With the alk high and the calcium low will this effect the Snails?


Thanks Again Dewey

 

[steve-s]

Snails are not that sensitive to these kinds of chemistry problems and the candycane should really only show signs of distress in a high Ca low alk chemistry. The only problem is you will not get any growth which could eventually lead to malformed skelatal growth over a prolonged period of time.

As Biggen stated, a good CaCl product will help fix the problem and I would also suggest testing your saltmix. I would suspect that is where your imbalance is coming from. Every time I tested a batch of IO, the alk was 4.6 or higher and the Ca was in the 340 ppm range.

If using the Seachem Reef Calcium, you should be able to add 3-4 capfuls per day in a high flow area until the desired Ca level is acheived. Might be an idea to add two caps spaced a few hours apart so as not to impact the overall chemistry too quickly. You can check the balance <<here>> to be sure. Test prior to each addition, adjust as needed and monitor the alk as well.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Dewey]

Ok what kind of salt do you think i should change too?
Thanks for that link Steve .

Thanks again for all the help. Dewey

 

[steve-s]

Ok what kind of salt do you think i should change too?

I would test the salt first to be sure. No sense in tossing good salt that may not be the cause. It can also be tweeked to adjust the balance prior to use. Personally I prefer Kent salt but I have also heard some like Tropic Marine and just as many still swear by IO.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Dewey]

Ok whats the best way to test the salt?

Thanks Dewey

 

[steve-s]

Mix it up with RO water like you would normally prepare for a water change and then test the same as you would the tank water.

Cheers
Steve

 

[bizzybeas]

I had the same problems using IO salt. No additives I tried would bring the CA above 350. I have been using tropic marin now for about a month and a half(weekly water changes) and my CA is at 425. I have not changed anything else! I also use the same test kit and was questioning its validity. I now know the problem was not with my kit but with my salt. Good luck.

 

[Dewey]

Where is the cheapest place to order tropicmarine. My local fish stores dont have it.

Thanks in advanve Dewey

 

[bizzybeas]

I know that fosters and smith have it, but I do not know who is the cheapest. I do know that they are cheaper than my LFS even with the shipping costs.