[ibjmg]

well lets see this has been going on for about a week
calcium is way high about 620 but the thing that puzzles me is that my DHK 8.3 = alk 2.97 I took it to my lfs and they say that alk is to low but if I look at my alk test kit It says natural sea water is 2.9 .So this is a list that I got off the internet


ParameterSuggested Level:
Reef AquariumSuggested Level:
FOWLR AquariumAverage Level:
Coral ReefsSpecific Gravity1.023 - 1.0251.020 - 1.0251.025Temperature72 - 78°F72 - 78°F82°FpH8.1 - 8.48.1 - 8.48.0 - 8.5Alkalinity8 - 12 dKH8 - 12 dKH6 - 8 dKHAmmonia (NH3)UndetectableUndetectableNear ZeroNitrite (NO2)UndetectableUndetectableNear ZeroNitrate - Nitrogen (NO3)< 1.0 ppm< 30 ppm0.25 ppmPhosphate (PO4)< 0.2 ppm< 1.0 ppm0.13 ppmCalcium350 - 450 ppm350 - 450 ppm380 - 420 ppmMagnesium1250 - 1350 ppm1150 - 1350 ppm1300 ppmIodine0.06 - 0.10 ppm0.04 - 0.10 ppm0.06 ppmStrontium8 - 14 ppm4 - 10 ppm8 - 10 ppm

I use the coarl reef section.
thanks for the help agian.
BTW Ive done 2 water changes one one monday 15 gallons then I did a test on friday for calcium and it didnt go down at all.so I did another one on friday15 gallons. test today still has not gone down at all.

[rayjay]

What are you using to test the calcium level?
Calcium test kits for the most part are not reputed to be all that acurrate but on RC recently, someone did lab testing on various kits with proper standards and found the Salfert was best, with Seachem coming in with low readings by 50ppm. Other kits I don't believe, fared all too well.
If the procedure is not done exactly the way intended, I believe that magnesium can give a false high reading to the calcium test.
I have never seen a proper calcium reading that high, as the calcium will precipitate out, coating the glass, rock and coral skeletons.

[kevinpo]

Hello,
It is unlikely that your calcium is over 550 ppm. I would suggest that you have it tested with a different brand test kit. Also what brand of salt are you using? Oceanic brand tends to run 500-550 ppm of calcium. Instant Ocean runs 450-460 ppm. Salifert and Seachem test kits are +- about 10 ppm which is close enough for our purposes.

Regards,
Kevin

[rayjay]

For anyone interested in the experiment on calcium test kits [performed by Leebca and posted on RC:
CALCIUM TEST KIT PROJECT

[ibjmg]

Im using salifert test for every thing that I test.also I am using Oceanic salt. I was think of changing to IO but I also read that if your going to change salt you have to do it slowly I f was to stick with oceanic how do I bring my ca down ?


I did take my water to LFS and they came up with the same as I did on all my test.

thanks
Jerrod

[kevinpo]

It is your salt mix that is driving the calcium so high. You can bring the alkalinity up to about 3.2-3.4 meq/L and it will drop the calcium slightly but the only real solution is to change salt brands or to add stony (calcium consuming corals). A 10% water change with IO will help to lower the calcium also. Normally with a heavily stocked stony coral tank the calcium will drop between 10-20 ppm a day in which case, only time is required to lower the calcium.

Regards,
Kevin
PS: If you keep your magnesium at about 1325 ppm it will help to prevent plate out of your calcium on to pumps and heaters.