Test result help?

[NoobSalt]

Hey all,

It's been a while but I have another question..or two..

The tank has been up and running for a few months now, and is doing really well.
Stable parameters every week, weekly water changes..I just tested again now and here is what it all reads:

pH - 8.4
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5 (I know it should be 0, but I can live with 5)
Phosphate - 0
Alkaline/carbonate hardness - 11dKH or 196.9ppm (Right where it should be according to the kit)
Calcium - Well above 500

The calcium is the only one that does not make sense, before when I would test, it would be right at 500, but today when I tested it was well above that, I say this b/c usually 25 drops of the test solution is what I put in to read 500 mg/l (Thats what the test kit says it should be at in a tank) but today I put in 35 to get that same reading, so either I tested wrong, or its just high and finally my question:

Can too high of calcium be a problem?

and question #2 - I just added a pulsating xenia today and it opened a tiny bit and was pulsating, but it has not fully opened at all yet, is this normal for it to take a few days to get adjusted to a new tank?

Living in my tank currently:

2 clowns
1 yellow watchman
1 orange spot goby
1 dart fish
2 blue leg hermits
1 scarlet hermit
3 snails
1 Green bubble tip anemone

Corals (all of them are pretty small frags):
GSP
Xenia
Duncan
Zoa's
Frogspawn

12 gal. nano cube.

Any help on this would be great, everything looks great to me, I just wonder about the Calcium!

Here is a pic of the tank!
(I just did a water change/cleaning so the all corals and BTA are not fully open!)

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMAG0208.jpg

[chrisfont23]

I had Calcium levels at about 500 - 520 when I first started too. Don't fret it right now, but you should keep an eye on them. They should go down with a water change. What type of salt are you using? IMO, something like Instant Ocean mixes to about 380. I try to keep my Calcium at about 380-420 and my DHK at about 8/9. I use Reef Calcium when needed...but very rarely (twice in like 7 months). Water changes will lower it.

[NoobSalt]

Hmm, yeah I don't dose with anything, haven't really seen the need to...

I use the instant ocean mix, works well for me..and nothing in the tank seems stressed at all so I figure its not a big deal.

Any help/tips with the Xenia? I don't know exactly which kind it is, I know it pulsates, and the arms/flower looking section that pulsates, is the brown color.

thanks!

[Chasman]

NoobSalt

I see your Xenia is on a frag disk. Xenia seems to do one of two things. Grows like weeds or dies off. Grows like weeds in my tank. You wouldn't believe how much of that stuff I pulled out of there. And it's very slimey and hard to remove. That said, if yours starts to take off, you can move that disk down into your sand and that will isolate the stuff and keep it from spreading so fast on to your rocks.

Chasman

[NoobSalt]

Nice, yeah from what I hear it's like a weed but I've always liked it so much, I am willing to do some hedging of weeds if need be haha. How is the placement? I actually moved lower, basically just down that arch to the left in the photo b/c there was a bit more flow there and I read they like moderate flow. and then I just moved the GSP up more towards the glass...Honestly, I dont like how things look now, so I will probably do some moving around this weekend.

Any advice on GSP and Xenia, I randomly read somewhere that they should not be close to one another? Any thoughts?