So I’ve realized a few pieces started to bleach and I did some test on my parameters. When I was doing it I realized I had been testing calcium wrong and it’s not 425ish and closer to 700!! I usually dose 10 ml everyday. So should I do a water change and shock the tank or just ride out for 4-5 days and let it slowly drop from consumption?
Rookie mistake high calcium
- Thread starter The_Harris_co
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If they are bleaching I'd try to get it down asap.
Maybe several smaller changes, instead of one big one.
The upside is that's more gradual. The down side is you'll have a dilution factor to overcome, so more water is required.
Sorry for your corals & your stress, but glad you caught it!
Maybe several smaller changes, instead of one big one.
The upside is that's more gradual. The down side is you'll have a dilution factor to overcome, so more water is required.
Sorry for your corals & your stress, but glad you caught it!
Have you taken a sample in to a store to verify what you're seeing?
Whenever something doesn't test out as expected I test again. If it's still off I try a different test kit to verify. If you don't have access to a different kit a store would be a good alternative.
Better to be 100% that you've got the right result before dosing or making changes. In this case water changes aren't going to hurt anything but you're time but I think it's still a good idea to know what the true number is as close as possible.
If it is that high then yes, water changes! It will take more than a few days to drop 275, more like a couple weeks to a month if you're only adding 10ml/day.
Whenever something doesn't test out as expected I test again. If it's still off I try a different test kit to verify. If you don't have access to a different kit a store would be a good alternative.
Better to be 100% that you've got the right result before dosing or making changes. In this case water changes aren't going to hurt anything but you're time but I think it's still a good idea to know what the true number is as close as possible.
If it is that high then yes, water changes! It will take more than a few days to drop 275, more like a couple weeks to a month if you're only adding 10ml/day.
I might do a 10% wc. I’m using about 30-40ppm a day. So In 7 days it should balance out.
What is your Alk and how much is the daily consumption?
How big is your system? I know you've posted it but I can't remember.
Alk is at 7.7 I believe. I was dosing keeping it higher but now I see the calcium issue I stopped all dosing. Usually keep it around 8.5-9
42 gallons. It’s a reefer 170
I’m using the seachem 2 part. Fusion 1 and 2. But reality is all my math is probably wrong at this point. I know the test is good, but I was doing 5 drops of solution instead of 10. But the full dosage amount of water and sprinkled stuff. It was a simple mistake that hopefully doesn’t cost me everything.
I’m going to retest tonight and again probably do a small water change. I’ll probably save the water because it’s not bad and then on the next water change when it’s balanced I can use a little of the high calcium stuff and just not dose for a day or 2. Idk we will see, but I’m headed to work so I can think about my actions before panicking and doing anything drastic
I’m going to retest tonight and again probably do a small water change. I’ll probably save the water because it’s not bad and then on the next water change when it’s balanced I can use a little of the high calcium stuff and just not dose for a day or 2. Idk we will see, but I’m headed to work so I can think about my actions before panicking and doing anything drastic
Cool! I would do that water change that you mentioned and re-test the calcium. Letting it go down on it's own is the best way but if you're corals are struggling that water change might take them out of the danger zone. I would even do a change with something like Instant Ocean (lower CA & Alk).
Just saw your post and panic is definitely your enemy. If you can get the Ca down a little bit, you'd be good. If it gets too bad, I'd be more than happy to take some of your frags and babysit them for a while if you think that would help. Of course anything that gets in my system will fade in color
but they'll live.
Just saw your post and panic is definitely your enemy. If you can get the Ca down a little bit, you'd be good. If it gets too bad, I'd be more than happy to take some of your frags and babysit them for a while if you think that would help. Of course anything that gets in my system will fade in color
but they'll live.
Do you have a lot of stony corals? 30 to 40 ppm of calcium per day is quite a bit. Calcium consumption is about 18-20 ppm per 2.8dKH. So that would mean you're going through 4 to 5.6dKH a day too. That's a crazy high amount and would mean after a day of no added Alk you'd be at 5 to 3.4dKH from your normal 9dKH, until the coral started getting dissolved to make up the Alk. As you can see something isn't adding up. If you're truly going through that much then the system is either chock full of coral or it's precipitating out. I lean toward the latter.
Raising your alk will lower the cal some. It's what I would do after a water change.
Chemistry And The Aquarium: Solving Calcium And Alkalinity Problems
I hope this article proves useful is understanding and dealing with the different types of calcium and alkalinity problems encountered by reef keepers. Once you get calcium and alkalinity under control, you are far along the road to having your tank chemistry optimal for its inhabitants.
www.advancedaquarist.com
I still highly recommended taking a sample to a LFS for them to test so you can make the correct adjustments.
Thanks. I have a good bit but it’s all smaller pieces. Certainly not a 150g tank filled to the top with colonies.Do you have a lot of stony corals? 30 to 40 ppm of calcium per day is quite a bit. Calcium consumption is about 18-20 ppm per 2.8dKH. So that would mean you're going through 4 to 5.6dKH a day too. That's a crazy high amount and would mean after a day of no added Alk you'd be at 5 to 3.4dKH from your normal 9dKH, until the coral started getting dissolved to make up the Alk. As you can see something isn't adding up. If you're truly going through that much then the system is either chock full of coral or it's precipitating out. I lean toward the latter.
Raising your alk will lower the cal some. It's what I would do after a water change.
You're in Zone 4Chemistry And The Aquarium: Solving Calcium And Alkalinity Problems
I hope this article proves useful is understanding and dealing with the different types of calcium and alkalinity problems encountered by reef keepers. Once you get calcium and alkalinity under control, you are far along the road to having your tank chemistry optimal for its inhabitants.
I still highly recommended taking a sample to a LFS for them to test so you can make the correct adjustments.
I’m using the salifert test kit and for the calcium it’s 10 drops and I was using 5. When I used the 1ml of solution 3 I did another full 1ml and used an additional .2. So a total of 1.2ml of solution 3. I did the math and figured I was at about 700. It’s been about a week and a half that I’ve been doing this and it’s been at a stable high so I guess that’s good.
So again I’ll do a 5g water change tonight and add a little Red Sea a,b,c alkalinity to raise it and lower the calcium a little. I may even wait till morning to do the alk just so I don’t shock the system any more.
Don't know why I saw Seachem... Salifert isn't a bad kit.
Where in Atlanta are you?
Decatur. 30032. My number is 4078608019
Justin isn't that far from you. Maybe you could bring him some water to test for you.
I'd be happy to test it for you but I'm in Duluth.
I'd be happy to test it for you but I'm in Duluth.
BTW, I use Red Sea Pro and Hanna for Cal. Salifert is mainly what I test Mag with.
Thanks. I’m gonna do the wc and see how things look in the morning when I retest. It’s only a few pieces that look bad and they were from someone who had a struggling tank. Everything else honestly doesn’t look bad at all and the color has popped. Super bright colors and polyps are extended. Maybe because it’s been balanced so high they are accepting it. This is from yesterday afternoon
I’m not sure if high calcium is your issue. I’ve tested a few reef tanks with higher calc and no coral loss. I suspect it’s your alk or other parameter... but that’s just my 2 cents. I agree that your calc is wastefully high though. Good job with rapid testing and formulating a response!
When you get a chance watch this video.
High calcium shouldn’t hurt any corals. It’s rough on pumps but no big deal for a short time. It also can drag your Alk down so keep a eye on that closely and due a 10% water change and let it come down slowly
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