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