Calcium?!?

[outofthewater]

So at the moment I'm dosing my alk 12 ml a day and been running it at that for a few months keeping it at 8.7-9 dkh
Now as for my calcium
I do a 12 ish gallon water change every Sunday
Before the water change my calcium is around 450 and after it shoots back up too 500 some times more
I'm not using any calcium additives and using instant ocean reef crystals.
When I made my fish room I installed my ro unit before it went into the softener witch I'd imagin is what most people do because this way I do t have to deal with lower ph.
Any ideas it's been keeping steady at this for a few months now. No presipitation ether if that helps.
The tank is growing but not insane...
Still pretty young system going on 3-4 months

 

[saltyair]

Reef crystals typically run 460 to 480 cal with 11 alk
dosing only alk could be the issue. Cal, alk and mag work together. I would suggest you check your mag.
If that checks out find out how much alk and cal your using perday/week and dose both accordingly.
Kalk is an easy way to insure equal alk and cal.
unless you have sps, clams or a ton of corilline algae you might be overdosing alk.

 

[barebottomcouple]

So at the moment I'm dosing my alk 12 ml a day and been running it at that for a few months keeping it at 8.7-9 dkh
Now as for my calcium
I do a 12 ish gallon water change every Sunday
Before the water change my calcium is around 450 and after it shoots back up too 500 some times more
I'm not using any calcium additives and using instant ocean reef crystals.
When I made my fish room I installed my ro unit before it went into the softener witch I'd imagin is what most people do because this way I do t have to deal with lower ph.
Any ideas it's been keeping steady at this for a few months now. No presipitation ether if that helps.
The tank is growing but not insane...
Still pretty young system going on 3-4 months

what are you using for substrate? coral sands and aragonite leach calcium and trace elements into water column. in my 15 years of reefing and 3 years of marine biology at u of f, the numbers don't mean as much as stability. you could drop your alk. to 7 or 7.5 (normal sea water) and see if that helps .

 

[chrisstevens]

Maybe try using regular instant ocean salt for a bit if you want it a bit lower.

 

[reeferkeeper420]

Mag shouldnt be that big of an issue. Ive heard of some.people dosing mag once a month. Alk and cal work.together the most tho. Normally tho if your only dosing alk thatll cause your cal to drop(buffering).

 

[outofthewater]

Reef crystals typically run 460 to 480 cal with 11 alk
dosing only alk could be the issue. Cal, alk and mag work together. I would suggest you check your mag.
If that checks out find out how much alk and cal your using perday/week and dose both accordingly.
Kalk is an easy way to insure equal alk and cal.
unless you have sps, clams or a ton of corilline algae you might be overdosing alk.

I have a ton of sps pretty we'll the whole tank I tested a new batch and it came in at 530 for 20 gallons of fresh mixed. I'm hoping it's the batch because I just bought 6 pails of it lol

 

[outofthewater]

Of

what are you using for substrate? coral sands and aragonite leach calcium and trace elements into water column. in my 15 years of reefing and 3 years of marine biology at u of f, the numbers don't mean as much as stability. you could drop your alk. to 7 or 7.5 (normal sea water) and see if that helps .

If I drop to all won't the calcium rise?!?
I'm also not using an substrate.

 

[outofthewater]

I

Mag shouldnt be that big of an issue. Ive heard of some.people dosing mag once a month. Alk and cal work.together the most tho. Normally tho if your only dosing alk thatll cause your cal to drop(buffering).

yup
I only test my mag once every couple week and then top up from there

 

[barebottomcouple]

try this it might help http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[barebottomcouple]

possibly switching to a higher quality salt will help with balance I had ph and alk. problems with instant ocean when I used it hence the change to a much more stable mix.

 

[saltyair]

My guess is the cal is not well mixed from the source. Try shaking it up before mixing.
Also double check your test kits also dosing alk only and high mag would knock your cal up.
The link given by barebottom is a life saver and will help balance your tank

 

[outofthewater]

Lol can't do the salt thing just bought 6 pails I've used it for years with no problems...everything looks good I think I'm just chasing numbers for no reason and should just judge by coral growth.

 

[saltyair]

But are you dosing alk only? I think you should try to balance your cal and alk.
Have you tried kalk in an ato?

 

[scubasteve]

if your magnesium isnt 3 times your calcium it doeant matter what cal is your stuff cant absorb it without the right balance of mag. i allways keep cal 480 if it jumps up check your doser amount because the io gives good levels when mixed in freshwater the jump is prob a tad too much dosing also mix dalt around in pail before mixing.... it can settle since particle sizes vary