Snow on my live rock

[wookie903]

I noticed today when I came home from work that I have what appears to be snow growing on my new live rock. Is this a good thing or should I brush it off?

Current tank readings are as follows; tank been setup for around 70 days.

Salt 1.026
Temp 80.6
NH3 0.25
No2 0.3
NO3 10
PO4 0.2
CA 720 (high I know)
O2 7.0
ALK 5.14
KH 14.4
PH 8.2

I am starting to use RO water, but just got the unit hooked up last week. So this will be my first week using RO water as my water change. Prior to that I was using water from the tap that was circulated in a barrel for a week.
Thanks

 

[reefrunner69]

If.......if your CA is really 720 (which I don't believe...gotta be a bad set of test kits) and your alk is 5.14 meq/L (or are you using DKH??) the snow is precipitated calcium carbonate.

 

[cj10488]

Ca of 720 wow and i thought mine was high at 480-500 I would have to agree with Kevin that if your CA and Alk levels are that high definetly Calcium Precip.

I would guess that you are dosing CA if the levels are indeed that high..

Also what test kits are you using.. I know that the Salifert kits dont go past 500ppm

James

 

[wookie903]

I am using a SEATEST test kit to test the CA. Is the Calcium Precip a bad thing or do I need to clean it off the rock?

 

[cj10488]

From my understanding Ca precip is not a bad thing just not a pretty thing.. Weather or not you should clean it off your rocks I'll leave that for someone else to answer..

However are you Dosing CA??? If not what brand of sea salt are you using... As that is extremely high Ca level typical is between 380 and 480 with Alk of 2.5meq/l to 4meq/l

If you are dosing CA I would stop until levels require it..

hth,
James

 

[wookie903]

I was dosing, thought that was the right thing to do. Still new at this. I am using Red Sea Salt for my salt brand, have used that brand since first day. I am doing 15 percent water changes each week, but now that I have the RO device making water I can increase the water change amount this week. Am I on the right track?

 

[cj10488]

First off

Stop Dosing..

Second

I would personally do a 20% water change weekly and continue to monitor Ca and Alk..

Here is a good article to read.. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

HTH,
James

BTW CA supplement should only be added if your levels are in the low range such as anything less than 380ppm I would like to keep mine at about 430ppm with Alk of 3.5meq/l

 

[wookie903]

Great article, I will up my water changes now that I have better water. So much to learn, but it is all good. I did stop dosing three weeks ago when my CA shot up so high; beginners mistake. Will the SNOW go away after the CA is returned to normal?

 

[pm64971]

The pricipitate is acting like a buffer. When the CA concentration in the water decreases again, the precipitate will be absorbed back into the water and the snow will start to disappear. This could take a long time!