First Full Blow Parameter Check After Cycling

[GaryZ]

Ok, just did a 25% water change, first one since cycling.

All according to Salifert:

Temp- 80.4
Salinity- .025 ppt
pH- 8.2
Ammonia- NT
Nitrite- NT
Nitrate- 5 ppm
Alkalinity- 4.8 mEq/l
Calcium- Over 500 ppm!!<---------WHAT THE!!!!!

Using Reef Crystals

I think I'm starting to see calcium deposits on the back of my tank. I wasn't sure what they were before, but now I have a bad feeling. Plus it seems like there is alot of debris in my tank. Calcium??

[Reefland]

Yeah that's not cool! Next time you make up a batch of saltwater for a water change make sure to test it as well.

[Ninong]

Ok, just did a 25% water change, first one since cycling.

All according to Salifert:

Temp- 80.4
Salinity- .025 ppt
pH- 8.2
Ammonia- NT
Nitrite- NT
Nitrate- 5 ppm
Alkalinity- 4.8 mEq/l
Calcium- Over 500 ppm!!<---------WHAT THE!!!!!

Using Reef Crystals

I think I'm starting to see calcium deposits on the back of my tank. I wasn't sure what they were before, but now I have a bad feeling. Plus it seems like there is alot of debris in my tank. Calcium??

I think you mean that your specific gravity is 1.025. That would make your salinity somewhere around 34 ppt (PSU) at your present temperature. PSU = practical salinity units and is the term you will usually see in scientific literature. In the hobby, most people will give their specific gravity rather than their salinity but I'm one of those guys who prefers to state salinity in ppt (parts per thousand) instead of specific gravity because specific gravity is temperature dependent.

Anyway, your readings are nothing to get too worked up about. Your alkalinity is a bit on the high side but perfectly acceptable at 4.8 mEq/l (13.44 dKH). Alkalinity doesn't really become a problem until it gets higher than 16 dKH and even then it's not a real problem other than for the fact that higher alkalinity will lower your calcium. Once it gets above about 18 dKH, you could run into problems. Right now it looks like both your alkalinity and your calcium are on the high side.

Have you been using anything to raise alk and calcium? If so, what? Otherwise, what brand of salt mix are you using? Some brands, such as Oceanic, are known to give higher calcium readings than others.

Right now I wouldn't worry about the alk or the calcium numbers. They will both gradually fall as coralline algae begins to form on your live rock.

Do you see any white film forming on any of your equipment? Do you see anything that looks like white snow in the water column? If the answers to both of those questions are no, then things aren't as bad as they seem.

I wouldn't actually do anything about either the alk or the calcium at this time.

P.S. -- "Debris" in your tank is likely from the curing live rock. Individual tiny white spots on the back of your tank are probably not calcium deposits. A white film that cakes the surface probably IS calcium.

[GaryZ]

I'm using Reef Crystals. They advertise higher calcium. I'm sure that isn't helping matters.

[Ninong]

I'm using Reef Crystals. They advertise higher calcium. I'm sure that isn't helping matters.

Reef Crystals is not known for really high calcium. It's just a little higher than their cheaper brand, Instant Ocean. Reef Crystals has EDTA that Instant Ocean no longer has and it has a little higher calcium, that's about it. Oceanic is known for very high calcium.

Some bad batches of Instant Ocean have popped up over the past couple of years that had extremely high alkalinity but that seems to have been due to a manufacturing malfunction of some sort.

[Ninong]

You could make up a small batch of saltwater using your present salt mix and then test it after about 24 hours of aeration to see what you get as far as calcium and alkalinity. You don't need to make up a big batch, just a gallon would be fine. Make sure you get the temperature up to 80 F (same as your tank) before you check the specific gravity. And let it mix well for at least several hours, preferably 24 hours.

[GaryZ]

I just did a check. I kept adding drops and figure my calcium is off the chart. But I estimate it at about 540-550ppm. I'm thinking I'm gonna just chill out and relax.

[BubbaWPB]

P.S. -- "Debris" in your tank is likely from the curing live rock. Individual tiny white spots on the back of your tank are probably not calcium deposits. A white film that cakes the surface probably IS calcium.

Now that you mention it, Ninong, what the heck are those tiny white spots on the back of my tank?

[Ninong]

Now that you mention it, Ninong, what the heck are those tiny white spots on the back of my tank?

I can't tell you for sure without a very sharp, in focus, close-up photograph of what they look like. It's not likely that you can get such a picture anyway. Let's just say that none of the two or three most common possibilities are anything to be concerned about.

Can you see these white spots well enough to discern their shape? Are they round or oval shaped? Or are they spiral shaped? Or perhaps they look like a curled up crescent roll?

What size are they? Are they ~2 mm across? Or are they slightly larger than that?

Tiny white spots could be a lot of things. They could be snail eggs, they could be calcareous worms, etc. I think zhenya posted some pictures in response to a similar question a few weeks back.

[My2heartboys]

I can't tell you for sure without a very sharp, in focus, close-up photograph of what they look like. It's not likely that you can get such a picture anyway. Let's just say that none of the two or three most common possibilities are anything to be concerned about.

Can you see these white spots well enough to discern their shape? Are they round or oval shaped? Or are they spiral shaped? Or perhaps they look like a curled up crescent roll?

What size are they? Are they ~2 mm across? Or are they slightly larger than that?

Tiny white spots could be a lot of things. They could be snail eggs, they could be calcareous worms, etc. I think zhenya posted some pictures in response to a similar question a few weeks back.

If they look like little white bugs then they are just 'pods which is a good thing.

Anne

[BubbaWPB]

Can you see these white spots well enough to discern their shape? Are they round or oval shaped? Or are they spiral shaped? Or perhaps they look like a curled up crescent roll?

Upon closer examination, they are a little less than 2 mm, but look like small spirals... they are definitely non-motile

[Ninong]

Upon closer examination, they are a little less than 2 mm, but look like small spirals... they are definitely non-motile

They are harmless. I forgot the exact name but zhenya posted about this previously and he probably remembers. I'll ask him to reply.

[zhenya]

They are harmless. I forgot the exact name but zhenya posted about this previously and he probably remembers. I'll ask him to reply.

Ninong,

Are you thinking of the Staurocladia sp.? The tiny hydrozoan jellyfish?
Without an image, like you said, it;s impossible to guess what those things may be on the glass of Bubba's tank. Maybe Spirorbis?
Oh, by the way, the link to the images ... http://www.rshimek.com/cnidaria.htm , just scroll down a bit to the jellyfish images and description.

[Ninong]

Ninong,

Are you thinking of the Staurocladia sp.? The tiny hydrozoan jellyfish?
Without an image, like you said, it;s impossible to guess what those things may be on the glass of Bubba's tank. Maybe Spirorbis?
Oh, by the way, the link to the images ... http://www.rshimek.com/cnidaria.htm , just scroll down a bit to the jellyfish images and description.

Gene,

No, that's not it. Look in Volume One of Fossa & Nilsen. They have a picture of exactly what he has in a chapter on what you will discover in a newly set up reef tank.

I think it's a calcareous worm of some sort but don't hold me to it. See if you can find the picture I'm talking about.

[Ninong]

Yes, Gene, Serpulids!

[zhenya]

Gene,

No, that's not it. Look in Volume One of Fossa & Nilsen. They have a picture of exactly what he has in a chapter on what you will discover in a newly set up reef tank.

I think it's a calcareous worm of some sort but don't hold me to it. See if you can find the picture I'm talking about.

The only chapter that describes what you can find on a new rock is chapter7. The calcareous worms that they talk about are the Serpulids and some others. However, I think those worms a bit larger than what he describes, hence why I mentioned Spirorbis.
Dr.Shimek's article about this types of worms can be found here

[zhenya]

Yes, Gene, Serpulids!

Well, I'll be....

I think those get to about 1cm in size and he mentions 2mm, so I thought perhaps Spirorbis fit his description better.

[Ninong]

Gene,

The picture that I posted came from Wet Web Media. It seems to be the similar to the picture in Fossa & Nilsen. I had the same thing in my tank and they were ~2mm across.

[Ninong]

Spirorbidae Worms
Harmless filter feeding worm that lives in a spiral shaped calcareous tube.

P.S. -- Spirobidae are Serpulids with spiral shapes.

[zhenya]

Gene,

The picture that I posted came from Wet Web Media. It seems to be the similar to the picture in Fossa & Nilsen. I had the same thing in my tank and they were ~2mm across.

Ok then... Fossa and Nielsen, by the way, state that those get to about 1cm, hence why I thought that they might be too large. But, it could be that they are juveniles and never reach adulthood in the tanks? I know that all mine disappeared in a couple of month. The softer tube dwelling worms persist but those calcareous tubes just vanished.