water issues

[jtsam]

i'm having some water issues and i'm not quite sure what to do. i've had high calcium for a while now and have been trying to get it down through water changes (which arnt hard to do in my 12g) but that hasnt been helping
here are my levels:
calcium: 600
dKH: 8
ph: 7.8-8.0
i havnt ever really buffered before and am tempted to try but i'm afraid that i would just make is snow with such high calcium and low carbonate hardness....

despite trying to remedy them with water changes the levels never really concerned me too much as all my inhabitants seemed to be doing great (i have a rage from softies to acros) but recently i got a clam and he has started to close in on one side, i'm not sure if this is because of the water quality or him just getting used to the tank... feel free to tell me if i'm a moron for getting a clam...if thats the case then i should know.

i use oceanic salt mixed with cold sterile filtered water. out of curiosity yesterday i tested the calcium of fresh mixed water and it was high as well, maybe this is why i cant get my calcium down? and now the thing that boggles my mind - this fresh water had a ph of 8.8! i'm so confused...but i digress.... does anyone have any ideas on how i can get my levels back in check without droping the calcium out of concentration? and i sure hope i'm not killing this clam...

p.s. i have a 150w mh

heres a pic of my tank so hopefully it wont look like i'm crazy for thinking that my corals are doing well

also maybe i could get an opinion on the clam, how bad is this?

[jtsam]

heres the pic

[jaded]

I dont see a pic... but I'd say that your clam is wanting more light... put him high on the rock

of course this is just basic advice... more details would be better

tank size
sump/filtration
clam type
clam location (relative to the light)
skimmer?
feeding

any other details you can think of

[jaded]

nm.. I see the pic in the pic in the next post

[matt]

Wow, neat tank. What are you using to test your ph, Calcium, and Carbonate Hardness? If your readings are accurate, then I'd notice 2 things; 1st, I assume you got a ph of 8.8 AFTER you mixed the salt in. Some salts mix to a high ph, usually it will come down after a few days of aeration. If you got a ph of 8.8 with fresh water, no salt, then you should change your water supply immediately. 2nd thing is that maybe oceanic salt is not for you; I'd try some marine environment, the stuff you have to mix up 50 gallons at once and pour in the enclosed liquid. (You could probably leave that stuff out) Anyhow, that stuff, if you mix it in a big trash can, and aerate and stir for a a few hours, it will be really well balanced for ph, Ca, and alk. Then you can leave it in there and you'll have enough mixed up for lots of water changes.

[GaryP]

RO water doesn't really have a pH. There's not enough dissolved minerals to get a real pH therefore any reading you get isn't really going to be accurate. The tap water around here has a fairly high pH as well, but the alkalinity is lower so its less buffered than the SW we normally test.

I wouldn't add any buffer to your water. At a dKH of 8 you are only slightly less than that of natural SW. The alkalinity of seawater is about 8.5. Everyone tries to push their alkalinity to a higher level with the idea that more is better. I don't think that is necessarily a good thing. I would suggest you do some testing to make sure that dKH remains stable. DkH tends to fluctuate a lot more than calcium because it is depleted by other things besides coral growth.

[jtsam]

i'm using a red sea test kit for my calcium, and i'm not sure what the test kit is for the others, it's one i got a long time ago all together, probly one thats not too expensive. yeah, it was after i mixed the salt in that i got that reading. hm...i've never thought of mixing up 50 gallons before and leaving it, since i have such a small tank, but if that would help then i could definately do it. hm...maybe i should change salts....also would it be better for me to use RO water instead of cold sterile? do ya'll think i should try one before the other? Gary (or anyone else), is there anything that i can do to make sure that my dKH doesnt fluctuate? maybe a way to drop my calcium down to normal? or does that just have to do with - the salt i use/the way i mix it/cold sterile water? thank you so much for your comments - i need any help i can get, ha
~josh

[Polkster13]

I would look at replacing your test kit. I seem to remember that some of these kits as a certain shelf life. Yours may of expired. I would make sure that I had good test kits and am getting repeatable and verified results before changing salts or adding a bunch of additives. You could make things worse instead of better.

When you say you use "cold sterile water", you are matching the temperture of the replacement water to the temperature of the water in your tank BEFORE you do a water change; correct?

[thedude]

I know exactly where your problem is stemming from. Kold Ster Il units do filter water but do not take it down to a TDS of zero. Some people think this is a good thing because Calcium, etc, are left in the water for your tank. IMO switch to RO water, as I've only had problems with Kold water myself. So with an already raised calcium water to mix with salt, Oceanic salt is notorious for being very high in calcium. Every water change you do is just repeating the process. Instant Ocean salt would be a good investment in my opinion but this may have to be done in tiny daily water changes to not cause precipitate to rain from the skies, as it did when AlexWolf switched from Oceanic.

BTW: Nice Nano-cube!

[GaryP]

The only wqay I know to keep akalinity from fluctuating is to feed it at the same rate is depleted. There are only two ways to do that that I know of. One is a calcium reactor and since you already have a high calcium level that may not be a great option. You don't really want to add calcium and alkalinity. That leaves the other option, a more or less constant drip of buffer. Again, since you are at a high level that could cause some problems with potential blizzards in the tank if you aren't able to nail the addition rate on the first attempt. it usually takes a while to tune in any supplement program..

[jtsam]

hm...i suppose i'll just try switching off cold sterile first. thedude- is there a reason why you suggest instant ocean instead of oceanic? should i change water and salts as well? what do ya'll think would be too big of a water change that would cause percipitation? in a 12 gallon do you think 1/2 a gallon a day would be too much? or should i cut it back even more? do any of you guys have an opinion on my clam?

[thedude]

No clue on the clam. I have a Maxima and he attached to a rock and is just growing. Is your clam on a rock or in the sandbed? If he's in the sand you way want to try to get him on a rock, as they like to attach their foot to one. Instant Ocean salt has been recommended to me before, and has a higher alkalinity and a lower calcium content than oceanic. Try a 1/2 gallon water change everyday in your nano. I'm going to guess that if 1/2 gallon is too much, you'll see it real quick. Have you done any other mods to the cube? ie: overflow cut, taken out the material in the back, upgrading pump, etc?

And yeah, I gave Kold Ster Il water a try, and it was headache after headache. Stick with Ro/Di which you can get at the MAAST sponsor Aquatek.

[jtsam]

ok, that sounds like a good plan to me, hey, it's worth a try! do you know any place around here that sells instant ocean? does aquatek or aa? the only mods thaht i have made on the nano cube are an array of different pumps, removing all filter media from the back and the 150w mh :u)

[thedude]

Pretty sure Aquatek sells it. You should try the overflow mod on the cube, worked great when I had one

[jtsam]

yeah, i really wish that i had done that before i filled it. i've thougt about that before, but i just dont really want to take a dremel to my tank while it's full
i also have a pump in the back blowing back through the grate for more flow