high calcium

[weizer896]

My husband and I have bought two different kinds of Calcium test kits...the latest...Salifert..puts our calcium levels over 500ppm. We can't think of anything that would put the levels so high. Any advice..recomendations and input would be greatly appreciated.

ph level...8.2
alkalinity...7.2
ammonia...0
nitrates...2
nitrites...0

Shows calciums levels at about 800ppm

[::pete::]

No bet there ... ;)

[weizer896]

yes we are using Oceanic salt...is there some other kind we should try

[brieman]

We started off with Instant Ocean. Just started doing water changes with oceanic recently

[NaCl_H2O]

I stood behind Oceanic for a long time, but recently tried Instant Ocean and my parameters are much more stable/desirable. Oceanic will keep your Ca above 600ppm, and Alk < 9.0 ... from my experience.

[brieman]

Thanks, I,ll try switching back to Instant Ocean and after a couple of water changes I'll retest. Only bad thing is I still have a full bucket of Oceanic.

[weizer896]

Know anybody who needs a full bucket of Oceanic :roll :D

[don-n-sa]

Know anybody who needs a full bucket of Oceanic :roll :D

Are you coming to the meeting at my house next Sunday?

If so, I have some filterbags to trade....they are awesome

[NaCl_H2O]

If you fine someone, tell them I have 1/2 bucket too ;)

[brieman]

I'm a newbie, are there any bad effects to a reef system and if so what are they Please? Thanks Brian

[weizer896]

Yes we will be at the meeting...don't need filter bags,but you can have the salt anyway :D

[brieman]

Sorry, just got off work and am exhausted, affects of high calcium, have been searching the web

[weizer896]

Hey don..how about a bucket of salt AND a 2 1/2 yr old :skeezy

[NaCl_H2O]

Hey don..how about a bucket of salt AND a 2 1/2 yr old :skeezy

Don't do it Don, I think its a trick :unsure

[don-n-sa]

lol...I have a 6 month old...got my hands full already... :)

[NaCl_H2O]

I'm a newbie, are there any bad effects to a reef system and if so what are they Please? Thanks Brian

Hard to say, lots of "opinions" around. My primary concern was that I could not maintain what is considered to be "balanced" Ca and Alk. Typically Ca of 400-450ppm with ALK of 10-12dKH is considered a "good range". The high Ca and lo ALK I had with Oceanic (600 and 9.0) is leaning towards an imbalance which can result in "Making Sand" (Gary, insert chemistry lesson here). In a tank with no suppliments (Kalk, B-Ionic, Ca reactor,e tc.) the Ocenaic might be a good choice since it will keep Ca levels high for SPS, etc. At a minumum, using Oceanic probably warrants use of a good balanced buffer to maintain Alk - but every tank is different and you should monitor Ca and Alk levels regularly.

I think everyone would agree, Ca = 800ppm with Alk = 7.2 is "Not Good" unless you don't like to buy pre-made sand ;)

[weizer896]

:lol she's angel...I promise :angel :skeezy

[GaryP]

My primary concern was that I could not maintain what is considered to be "balanced" Ca and Alk. Typically Ca of 400-450ppm with ALK of 10-12dKH is considered a "good range". The high Ca and lo ALK I had with Oceanic (600 and 9.0) is leaning towards an imbalance which can result in "Making Sand" (Gary, insert chemistry lesson here). In a tank with no suppliments (Kalk, B-Ionic, Ca reactor,e tc.) the Ocenaic might be a good choice since it will keep Ca levels high for SPS, etc. At a minumum, using Oceanic probably warrants use of a good balanced buffer to maintain Alk - but every tank is different and you should monitor Ca and Alk levels regularly.

I think everyone would agree, Ca = 800ppm with Alk = 7.2 is "Not Good" unless you don't like to buy pre-made sand ;)

Steve, it looks like we have a candidate for assistant chemistry guru. I think you covered it pretty well. As you said, the problem with high calcium is not the calcium itself, but the inability to maintain a balance with alkalinity. To borrow Richard's analogy, calcium and alkalinity is like a jar full of jelly beans. You can put so much calcium into the jar, or so much alkalinity, but you can't put high levels of both in there at the same time.

Weizer, a lot of people, including myself, are using Oceanic very successfully in SPS tanks with a high calcium demand. If your tank is not one that requires high levels of Calcium then Oceanic is probably not the salt for you. IO or Kent may be a better choice for you. I have a hard time keeping enough calcium in my tank and have to supplement it on top the calcium I get from water changes. The lesson here is that every tank is different and needs to be treated uniquely.

I would recommend switching to one of the other salts I mentioned and do a couple of 20% water changes every 1-2 weeks. Your levels should be back in balance in a couple of weeks.

[brieman]

Thanks for the quick response everyone, I am switching back to Instant Ocean and will supplement the alk and calcium.

[GaryP]

I wouldn't try supplementing either until you get it back in balance. The calcium is unneeded now and the buffer will just "make sand."

However, I would suggest you test your magnesium as well. Mag plays a role in maintaining the calcium/alkalinity balance. Going back to the jelly bean jar analogy, it helps make the jar bigger so that the system is capable of supporting higher calcium AND alkalinity.

I wish you had made it to last months meeting. Wanna guess what the topic was?

[brieman]

Thanks Gary, Couldn't make it to last meeting was in Syracuse on buisness. Will test magneium today.

[NaCl_H2O]

magnesium ... it helps make the jar bigger

Oh jeez, now folks with 10g nanos are going to dump in Mg cuz Gary told them it would make it bigger ;)

[GaryP]

Only if you have jelly beans in your nano. Now that I think of it, that may be a better use for a nano for a lot of people.

[brieman]

Question? Would it be ok to altenate between Oceanic and Instant Ocean with water changes or would I be looking for trouble.

Oh jeez, now folks with 10g nanos are going to dump in Mg cuz Gary told them it would make it bigger

Was planning on upgrading to 300g now maybe I wont have to

[GaryP]

Question? Would it be ok to altenate between Oceanic and Instant Ocean with water changes or would I be looking for trouble.

My opinion is that stability is a better approach. Its not that hard to supplement so why mess with alternating. It sounds like your systems doesn't have a very high demand to start with. Remember there are other demands on alkalinity besides coral growth. It gets used up by the acids produced by bacteria that are a large part of your biological treatment systems.

[brieman]

Very true, Thanks again Gary