calcium and alkalinity not balanced

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

bavass

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
1,797
Location
Waynesboro Virginia
Will PWC balance out my calcium and alkalinity? My calcium is 700 and my alkalinity is 3 meg/l magnesium is 1500.
 
Wow, 700? That's really up there. Are you dosing anything like a two part solution? If you are I'd stop for a bit and let things cool down. Definitely do a PWC to help thin out that calc level. I'd also be concerned about your alk level, for your calc to be 700, the alk required to keep that in suspension would be very high.

Edit: I'd retest the calc just to be sure you got a correct reading, because 700 is really high.
 
Yeah I think I am gonna do like 1 big water change Thursday which is my normal water change day and then do one again on Sunday or Monday and see what it is like then. I added some alk tonight to try and bring the calcium down some.
 
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?
 
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?

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."
 
I'd stop dosing the purple until your calc levels get under control. The relationship between alk and calc is kind of a balancing act. What that article means by reduction of calcium is that the calcium will precipitate out of the water column and become a sort of solid calc that drops to your substrate. The only method to remove excess calcium from the water column would be through water changes.
 
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."
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.
Synthetic Salt Mixes - Reef Central Online Community

Notice what I made BOLD in your quote. Sure, you can add a bunch of alk to your system until you get a snow storm from precipitation. Then you will see a drop in calcium. Normal alk dosing will not drop calcium.
 
Have done a water change yet forgot I need to let the water in one jug airate so I will do it tomorrow. That works better anyway then I will do another on Sunday anyway I did run the tests and PH is high and alk is lower and i see the likes of cyano starting. What do I need to do to get this straightend out? Just water changes?

Calcium 700
Phosphate 0
Alk 2.9
Nitrates 2ppm
ph 8.4-8.6
 
What do I need to do to get this straightend out? Just water changes?

That link I posted gives you pretty good step-by-step info on how to solve cal/alk issues. You are in "Zone 4". And yes... I'd just take care of it with water changes AND stopping the use of any coralline "boosters". Time after time, all they seem to do is mess up people's water parameters.
 
Back
Top Bottom