Damn You Oceanic!

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JohnNLuc

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Oct 18, 2004
Messages
248
Location
Long Island, NY
Quick question for you guys. Im using Oceanic's salt and am getting readings in the range of 495 with a sailfert test kit which is not uncommon with this salt as wel all know I try to keep my alk at 10.5 using ESV's B-Ionic to raise it when it lowers. I never use the calcium part due to the fact my calcium is high to begin with my question is should I try to lower the calcium or am i fine by leaving it?
 
IMHO I'd say that 495 is safe. Just try not to go too much higher.
After seeing your post I might consider switching to Oceanic salt! My Calcium is always low and I have to use kents turbo calcium to supplement. D@mn you InstantOcean :evil:
 
I never go above 495 thats what mine is out of the box which like i said is not uncommon. I just dont wanna snow my tank out or have any negative effect on my corals due to the high level. Aside from the high CA I have no problem with the oceanic salt. My PH like so many have complaied about being low with this salt has always been a constant 8.2-8.3. As long as this oceanic is working for me I won't switch back to IO or any other salt for that matter. Thanks
 
While im on the subject of CA and ALK since my ESV ALK bottle is running out have any of you used baking soda to raise ALK seeing how KALK will not work for me due to my CA number now. Will the baking soda effect the CA or anything else? I don't know much about baking soda and ALK I thought it also does something to the ph as well, not sure. TIA
 
Baking soda will raise only the alk, it will have no long term affect on pH if any at all. More commonly it will temporarily depress pH. It can be used in place of buffers as it add little else.

FWIW, 495 Ca is not a good thing if you have inverts/scleractinians. If that's the case you should try targeting 415-420 ppm at most (salinity depending). Unfortunately though if your saltmix keep up with your Ca demand you most likely do not have enough pull on the chem to keep that down.

Cheers
Steve
 
My demand is not that great and would like to bring that CA number down to a normal 420 but with the oceanic I dont see how I can accomplish this. Any ideas?
 
Is your tank Ca 495 or the new make up water? I use Oceanic and my Ca is 420 when I test my tank. My Alk is 2.5-3 meg/L and PH is 8.1-8.2. I don't dose anything currently. I attribute it all to the salt. I am still on my first bucket though.

I hope my next bucket will be the same...
 
That's not bad. Just add more coral to consume the CA ;)

I've used several other salts, but appreciate the ease of solubility of Oceanic and the clarity of the water.

So long as your pH and Alk are in line - CA will naturally reduce itself with enough load on the system. 8) How often are you doing water changes (how much, and what size tank)?
 
my ph is constant 8.2-8.3 my alk I leave at 10.5 dKH. I do water changes once every 2 weeks. about 15-20 gallons of water, 46G tank.
 
I have been adding corals like crazy in hopes to lower it but I see nothing so far. I guess i'll just keep adding.

As far as the water changes yes I know im going to be cutting back soon. I find no benefit in taking out so much water.
 
IMO adding coral is not the the way to remedy this. Why add more animals to a tank w/ bad chemistry? Why continue using a salt mix that is so off? I think it would be wise to consider changing salts before adding more animals. High Ca is hard to deal with b/c their is no easy way to get it down. On the other hand, low Ca can be easily raised and balanced w/ alk(as is the case w/ IO salt). If you continue using this salt, every time you do a water change you will be screwing up the desired chemistry of the tank. IMO it would be wise to switch to a salt w/ chemisrty that is closer to NSW (or atleast a salt that can be easily balanced before use) while there is NOT allot of coral in the tank.
 
Im going to switch my salt once this bucket is done with. I dare not ask what salt to switch to since I know how many different opinions everyone has. But I guess i'll move back to IO and take it from there.
 
I dare not ask what salt to switch to since I know how many different opinions everyone has.
I Agree! Which ever you choose, plan on sticking w/ it. FWIW, IO has been very good to me, but as said I bump the Ca up before using it. Good luck.
 
I used IO for a little while than switched over to oceanic. I understand the whole "small water changes over a period of time" as to not cause shock to any of the fish, inverts or corals. Thanks though
 
JohnNLuc said:
My demand is not that great and would like to bring that CA number down to a normal 420 but with the oceanic I dont see how I can accomplish this. Any ideas?
If your Ca is 495 ppm out of the bucket, not much is going to change that. High demand will only mean more water changes or switching to a supplimentation scheme if weekly changes eventually do not keep up.

In the short term, your just going to have to deal with it as it is. As I said, 495 ppm Ca is not that great in terms of scleractinian health/growth formation. If you haven't got any, it won't be that much a concern except with snail longevity.

Cheers
Steve
 
I have no scleractinian which is a plus. And as far as snails I have not seen many deaths in fact I have seen a lot of baby snails in the tank due to reproducing. So once my oceanic bucket is empty im going to switch to a different salt and just suppliment both CA and ALK by dripping kalk or what not
 
I don't see anything wrong with higher ca if your tank uses it. I have used oceanic salt since I started in this hobby and I have seen nothing but growth from all my tank inhabitants. I have 3 shrimp and all of them are growing nicely. I have tested fresh mixed water and the ca is between 450 and 500 and the alk is about 2.6 meq/l. From what I understand when you raise your alk your ca will tend to come down a bit. I tested my ca 2 days after water change and it is down a bit. I use oceanic and am very pleased with it.
 
Edmonton Eskimo said:
I don't see anything wrong with higher ca if your tank uses it. I have used oceanic salt since I started in this hobby and I have seen nothing but growth from all my tank inhabitants. I have 3 shrimp and all of them are growing nicely. I have tested fresh mixed water and the ca is between 450 and 500 and the alk is about 2.6 meq/l.
Gotta disagree with that. Having high numbers just because the elements will "get used eventually" is no different than artificially boosting alk/Ca above NSW to force coral growth. The end result is still the same, increased depositing of CaCO3 as the scleractinians tries to gain equilibrium between the Ca in it's cells to that of the Ca in the surrounding water. To do so it must increase the rate in which carbonate and Ca deposit to the skelaton. In doing so the coral must also increase the rate of tissue growth which typically results in a very stressed and potentially unhealthy coral. Often being very brittle, malformed/reedy looking and easily sesceptible to problems.



From what I understand when you raise your alk your ca will tend to come down a bit.
Depends on the product your using and what the levels of Mg are at the time. More often than not Ca will not decrease that much and simpley show a lower number due to abiotic precip of CaCO3 more than anything else. With the additions of buffers you are not seeing the whole effect as it is actually lowering both. Easily encrusted equipment (usually generating heat) is often a sign of this.

I tested my ca 2 days after water change and it is down a bit. I use oceanic and am very pleased with it.
If you have that kind of a demand then that is a risk you choose to take. I do not think advising someone who has a completely different tank set up/stock type may be in their best interest?

Cheers
Steve
 
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