How to Lower Calcium Levels?

[biotoxin]

The title says it all. I have CA level of 650ppm which is bad, i know. Just wonder how i can lower it. Ive done a 20% water change and its still high. I didnt know that the salt i was using had the optimal amounts of CA already in it and ive been dosing with reef complete and b-ionic. Any ideas? I need to get this down before precipitation.

 

[captivereefs]

What kind of test kit are you using and how old is it? At 650 PPM you would be seeing the Ca start to come out of solution and look like a snow sotrm in your tank.

 

[jamal-188]

What kind of test kit are you using and how old is it? At 650 PPM you would be seeing the Ca start to come out of solution and look like a snow sotrm in your tank.

I agree, at 650ppm you would definately be seeing this. I don't know of anything that will remove calcium except water changes which will take a while assuming you're replacing it with water that has the correct CA levels.

 

[biotoxin]

no the tank looks fine. The test kit im using is a Red Sea Calcium kit. The makeup water before it goes in the tank i tested it was at 450ppm.

 

[captivereefs]

Wierd. I would get a new test kit just to be safe.

 

[biotoxin]

how much you sell saliferts calcium kits w/shipping?

 

[steve-s]

What is you alkalinity? If very low it is possible for Ca to raise higher than expected without precipitation.

If the alk has bottomed out, raising it slowly over the next week will force down the Ca....

EDIT: Also be sure to check the Mg

Cheers
Steve

 

[biotoxin]

dont have a mg test kit. my alk is at 3mql around 8.4dkh. I use the bionic alk/ca which is supposed to stabilize that.

 

[cj10488]

Me personally I would slowly raise Alk and the CA levels will slowly decline.. When my CA was at 500ppm+ I raised the alk to 5.0meq/l over a few days period and it went down pretty rapidly.... I am sure if you search you can find my old post.. My alk and ca levels are now stable.. Weeeeeeee

HTH<
James

 

[steve-s]

I would discontinue the use of the two part until the chem is back in balance. They are only effective if the ratio's are in line from the start.

You will need a marine buffer to add sperately. I would also get all the readings double checked by the LFS if possible, including the Mg.

Cheers
Steve

 

[biotoxin]

checked ph again its at 8.2 i guess ill have the lfs test for me tomorrow.

 

[steve-s]

With the alk at 3 mEq/l it is more than possible that the ph is fine, it is more or less the CA that is in question. The ones you should get checked at the LFS are alk, CA and Mg to be sure your own readings and test kits are accurate.

If all ring true, then raising the alk via buffer will be the best route as long as it is done very slowly. I would suggest posting the numbers once re-tested to be sure though...

BTW, having the LFS test the ph will not help. Once removed from the tank, ph is affected by ambient O2/CO2 therefore any travel time will skew the results making it inaccurate. It must be done within a few minutes of removing the sample...

Cheers
Steve