A Small Problem

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strout
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A Small Problem

Post by strout »

All I have in my tank are fish, zoas and polys, live rock and I haven't been to concerned about my water parameters in my tank and over fed my fish driving up my nitrates numbers ( I posted something on this a couple weeks ago) The nitrates were around 200 ( I know lol) Anyway these numbers are now down to 30 and another water change should get them down alot more, I hope. I have changed my coral and fish feeding habits so maintaining these numbers shouldn't be to hard. The reason for the concern on my water is that I am trying to work my way towards SPS corals. Now for my new problem, lol : I bought a Salifert Calcium test kit ( the tank has never been tested for calcium, I do use a two part calcium buffer in the tank, one shot glass full, twice a week) I know or think that I am using the test kit right, I have done this test twice. To use this kit you: put 2 ml of water in the tube add 1 spoon of Ca-1 (don't mix) then add 8 drops of Ca-2 swirl don't shake for 10 seconds, the water in the tube should be a pink/red color, then you fill up the syringe with Ca-3 and add it to the water a drop at a time swirling after each drop for a second or two, doing this until the water turns a clear blue. Then you look at the syringe and see what your numbers are at to get your calcium reading. Sounds easy enough, lol wrong. When I do the test and my water should be turning a pink/red it turns blue. So either I have a ton of calcium in the tank (which I can't belive) or it has none at all. Any thoughts?
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Phisher
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by Phisher »

If you don't have a lot of animals like stoney corals using the calcium and you have been adding it for a while without testing it may be that high. I know I did the same thing years ago with my 75 and had mine around 800. I would suggest you stop dosing and see what happens. I would also test your alk and watch your ph as these can get way off with Ca that high.

Also some test kits have a shelf life, if its something you bought locally it may have been on the shelf awhile.
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strout
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by strout »

I did leave something out that may change ( or not) your answer ( and thanks for your quick reply), I have done in the last two weeks three water changes, a 30gallon, another 30 gallon and a 25 gallon and will be doing anothr 25 gallon Sunday. I did a nitrate test Tuesday that showed my nitrates down to 30. Not beliving these results I took a water sample to the LFS and he confirmed the 30 but did say my akl was a tad high. Along with those water changes I have done lately I do a 25 to 27 gallon water change every week. Do you still think the calcium could be that high?
strout
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by strout »

Sorry, its a 125gallon tank
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Amphiprion
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by Amphiprion »

Actually, all the available calcium test kits start out pink/red and end at blue. The endpoint will be blue and that is what you are shooting for. Keep in mind the endpoint is precisely where the color changes and stays that color--i.e. not shifting hues after 30s of swirling. You are doing things correctly. Just measure the syringe piston at the bottom of the black plug and refer to your chart after you reach the blue endpoint.

For clarity, what exactly were your alkalinity results? What kind of salt are you using? Go ahead and test calcium and post that, as well. Alkalinity should be anywhere from 7-11 dKH, with higher levels promoting faster calcification. Calcium should be between 380-450, though higher levels may lower transport energy requirements, making it easier for corals to utilize it. The only issue with maintaining both calcium and alkalinity in these high ranges is that you'll often get significant precipitation, which wastes your supplements. If anything, I recommend making sure the alkalinity stays up, as it is depleted faster than calcium (primarily since there are much, much more calcium ions in the water than alkalinity ions). It is still good to keep an eye on calcium, however.
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strout
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by strout »

I want to say the LFS man said my Akl was at 8, but don't hold me to that, I was paying more attn. to what he said my nitrates were at. The problem when I do my calcium test, it dosn't start out pink/red, it starts out blue. The salt I am using is Oceanic.
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by Neuticle »

I have a RedSea Ca test that goes from yellow to red.

I would doubt your dkH is at 8, with that many water changes and Ca that high it should be closer to 11 or 12+ with nearly any salt brand.

Have you checked your mag levels? They may be really high if you can support that much Ca, some synthetic salts have way too much mag in them (i.e. Oceanic) and can skew your levels if you do water changes too often with them.

Definitely rethink your buffer practices, you may find with regular water changes you don't need to buffer at all. I do 15% weekly and my pH and dkH only fall 0.1 and 0.8 (respectively from 8.4 to 8.3 and 12.0 to 11.2 , average) during the week with no buffer. That's with Coralife salt, I'm considering changing due to consistently high magnesium.
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strout
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by strout »

Thanks for the advice, I will stop putting the two part in the tank and see if that brings the calicum down. I am trying to get my water right before I buy any SPS corals for the tank. I know this would be just a guess, but if I stop putting the two part calcium buffer in the tank, how long before I see a drop in the calcium level with doing a 25 to 27 gallon water change one time a week?
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Amphiprion
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by Amphiprion »

If it starts out blue (i.e. from the second you start adding reagents), that would suggest that it is low or your reagents aren't any good. If it is particularly high, then it should take quite a while to turn blue. Oceanic, on the other hand, is notorious for a slightly lower to average alkalinity, along with a ridiculously high calcium level--usually around 500ppm or slightly more. I would suggest changing salts (or mixing them, with say 3/4 Instant Ocean, 1/4 Oceanic) in addition to stopping your current dosing of 2 part to see where it lands you. If you still see things declining with a new salt mix, then you have enough of a demand to begin dosing again. On another note, recent batches of Instant Ocean seem to have their parameters in order. Calcium is average at around 400, with a higher alk (~10-11) and magnesium, for once, is running around 1280-1300. So it is a reasonably good salt right out of the bag at this point. Even before, after a little boosting, it works perfectly.
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by Neuticle »

^I've heard IO made some changes too, it may be a decent base salt for me to play with now. I just feel like I got boned by IO when I was just starting out, because nobody told me about the mag defiency back then, and I buffered the crap out of my tank for months before I figured out what was wrong. 3 parts IO to 1 part Oceanic or Coralife may be a thing to try.

It may take a long time to get your calcium down, I wouldn't do anything specific to lower calcium, it will eventually level off.
strout
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by strout »

Thanks for the advice, I will take most of it, lol. The salt I use is the only kind my LFS sells so I am kinda stuck with that. I will stop using the 2 part and see if things change. I was hopeing to get my nitrates down then check my calcium, I figured it would be low and I would just have to figure out how much of the 2 part I would need to be using to keep it at around 400 then order my SPS frags and then sit back and watch them grow, lol. Now that I have the nitrates coming down I have to work on the calcium, oh well.
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Re: A Small Problem

Post by snoopdog »

Well consider ordering your salt if your LFS does not sell what you want. Often you can catch salt on sale with low of free shipping. Shipped to your door often cheaper than the LFS with tax.
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