bavass
Aquarium Advice Addict
Will PWC balance out my calcium and alkalinity? My calcium is 700 and my alkalinity is 3 meg/l magnesium is 1500.
I'd also suspect a bad reading since your alkalinity levels seem fine. But here's a good read for you...
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
Not sure what you mean there, but adding alk raises the alk level, it doesn't lower the calcium level. To lower calcium you need to do water changes with a salt that has a lower calcium content than your tank water.I added some alk tonight to try and bring the calcium down some.
Not sure what you mean there, but adding alk raises the alk level, it doesn't lower the calcium level. To lower calcium you need to do water changes with a salt that has a lower calcium content than your tank water.
What brand salt are you using? The calcium and mag level are pretty high. Are you dosing anything?
Using Seachem Reef, what are your parameters for a fresh mix? It should be around 540 calcium, 3.5 meq/l alk and 1450 mag, so your tank is pretty close to what you should expect with that salt with the addition of a calcium supplement.I am using Seachem Reef Salt I was dosing with Purple Tech not really sure what happened that should not be enough to raise the calcium that high but I did check it twice it was right. I did a 15g water change on Sunday and will do another one tomorrow night.
"Unfortunately, calcium and alkalinity are linked4,5 in many ways in reef tanks, and these links can lead to serious problems if they are not fully understood. If, for example, you add too much of a calcium supplement, you will drive down alkalinity as you get precipitation of calcium carbonate in the tank. Likewise, adding too much of an alkalinity supplement can result in reduction of calcium."
What do I need to do to get this straightend out? Just water changes?