Calcium Help

[bassdrummer1]

My calcium level has been around the 600 mark for quite some time. What is the best way to lower it?

 

[AK77]

Hi,

That's pretty high. The general concensus is 400-450 is the optimum CA level. Are you dosing with kalkwasser or using any calcium suppliments to get it that high? How old is your test kit?

 

[bassdrummer1]

Hi,

That's pretty high. The general concensus is 400-450 is the optimum CA level. Are you dosing with kalkwasser or using any calcium suppliments to get it that high? How old is your test kit?

yes it is very high. I havnt put any calcium supplement in for about a month. Will water chanes help?

 

[AK77]

What type of corals do you have in your tank? SPS / LPS??
How are they looking health wise?
How are the other tank inhabitants doing?

If you have SPS/LPS corals (which I'm assuming you have since you are dosing CA) and haven't dosed any suppliments in a month, then god only knows what your CA level was at its peak! I'd aim to bring it down gradually in order to avoid potentially shocking the livestock. I would cease with the suppliments as you have already done so and perform a 10% water change every week and see what your CA level read afterwards. This should help reduce the CA level down as well as what the corals, coralline and any other calcifying creature absorb in the meantime. Aim for around the 425 mark and then follow the manfacturers guidelines for your tank size, with regard to to the suppliments.

It definitely sounds like you've been over dosing though, whether thats been through a direct suppliment or running CO2 causing the calcium carbonate to release it.

 

[steelhealr]

How does your tank look? That is, the flora and fauna? Is there a problem in the tank? SH

 

[-Nemo-]

I would just like to add a tid bit here of personal experience. In dealing with a friend of mine, he had a similar problem of having a high calcium level of over 600 because of over dosing. He did not dose for months and it remained very high until finally lowering down into the 400s. A co-worker and I were perplexed as to why it was staying so high without dosage and wondered about the chemistry of a higher calcium level. This person's tank contained a wise assortment of corals I should mention.

Don't mean to intrude onto your topic, but upon reading it, it jogged my memory to this incident. Anyone have any idea of the chemistry possibly involved?

 

[bassdrummer1]

What type of corals do you have in your tank? SPS / LPS??
How are they looking health wise?
How are the other tank inhabitants doing?

If you have SPS/LPS corals (which I'm assuming you have since you are dosing CA) and haven't dosed any suppliments in a month, then god only knows what your CA level was at its peak! I'd aim to bring it down gradually in order to avoid potentially shocking the livestock. I would cease with the suppliments as you have already done so and perform a 10% water change every week and see what your CA level read afterwards. This should help reduce the CA level down as well as what the corals, coralline and any other calcifying creature absorb in the meantime. Aim for around the 425 mark and then follow the manfacturers guidelines for your tank size, with regard to to the suppliments.

It definitely sounds like you've been over dosing though, whether thats been through a direct suppliment or running CO2 causing the calcium carbonate to release it.

polyps, finger leather,pink tip anemone, green large anemone, quite abit of blue tip xenia, xenia,blue and green ricordea,neon green/purple mushrooms, green torch,trumpets.

The Blue tip xenia I put in and it wont open and I actually lost a bit of that. Everythig else I have already put in my tank tho seems to be doing fine. It's just the xenia thats not opening.... I only have one fish (regal blue tang) I'v had him for a long time by him self so now when ever I put new fish in he kills them He is doing fine though.

 

[bassdrummer1]

How does your tank look? That is, the flora and fauna? Is there a problem in the tank? SH

I'm kinda new at this whole Reef talk so? flora? fauna?? dont really know what that meaans.. um I added a bunch of crushed coral sand into my tank recently..

I would just like to add a tid bit here of personal experience. In dealing with a friend of mine, he had a similar problem of having a high calcium level of over 600 because of over dosing. He did not dose for months and it remained very high until finally lowering down into the 400s. A co-worker and I were perplexed as to why it was staying so high without dosage and wondered about the chemistry of a higher calcium level. This person's tank contained a wise assortment of corals I should mention.

Don't mean to intrude onto your topic, but upon reading it, it jogged my memory to this incident. Anyone have any idea of the chemistry possibly involved?

That seems to be the same problem im having.

 

[AK77]

How does your tank look? That is, the flora and fauna? Is there a problem in the tank? SH

I'm kinda new at this whole Reef talk so? flora? fauna?? dont really know what that meaans.. um I added a bunch of crushed coral sand into my tank recently..

I would just like to add a tid bit here of personal experience. In dealing with a friend of mine, he had a similar problem of having a high calcium level of over 600 because of over dosing. He did not dose for months and it remained very high until finally lowering down into the 400s. A co-worker and I were perplexed as to why it was staying so high without dosage and wondered about the chemistry of a higher calcium level. This person's tank contained a wise assortment of corals I should mention.

Don't mean to intrude onto your topic, but upon reading it, it jogged my memory to this incident. Anyone have any idea of the chemistry possibly involved?

That seems to be the same problem im having.

Flora and fauna just refers to your fish and corals. If everything else in there is ok, then there is no need to take drastic action, like 75% water change or things of that nature. If everything is doing ok, then its probably adapted to the higher calcium levels, so similarly, if you slowly reduce them CA levels down, there should be no impact on the tanks inhabitants health wise.

 

[AK77]

I would just like to add a tid bit here of personal experience. In dealing with a friend of mine, he had a similar problem of having a high calcium level of over 600 because of over dosing. He did not dose for months and it remained very high until finally lowering down into the 400s. A co-worker and I were perplexed as to why it was staying so high without dosage and wondered about the chemistry of a higher calcium level. This person's tank contained a wise assortment of corals I should mention.

Don't mean to intrude onto your topic, but upon reading it, it jogged my memory to this incident. Anyone have any idea of the chemistry possibly involved?

Hi Nemo,

Do you mean why it stayed so high for so long after stopping the CA dosing?

I suppose it would depend on a few things. If your friend had lots of coraline and SPS/LPS corals, then the CA level would get consumed quicker as it was absorbed by the calcifcation. If the phosphate levels in the tank were high enough, they could have inhibitied the calcifcation process, thereby prolonging the time it took for the corals to absorb it.

Having CA above 600 like that, may cause problems in other areas of the water chemistry, which in turn might cause the corals to slow down their grown and thereby reducing the amount of CA consumed?

 

[bassdrummer1]

I would just like to add a tid bit here of personal experience. In dealing with a friend of mine, he had a similar problem of having a high calcium level of over 600 because of over dosing. He did not dose for months and it remained very high until finally lowering down into the 400s. A co-worker and I were perplexed as to why it was staying so high without dosage and wondered about the chemistry of a higher calcium level. This person's tank contained a wise assortment of corals I should mention.

Don't mean to intrude onto your topic, but upon reading it, it jogged my memory to this incident. Anyone have any idea of the chemistry possibly involved?

Hi Nemo,

Do you mean why it stayed so high for so long after stopping the CA dosing?

I suppose it would depend on a few things. If your friend had lots of coraline and SPS/LPS corals, then the CA level would get consumed quicker as it was absorbed by the calcifcation. If the phosphate levels in the tank were high enough, they could have inhibitied the calcifcation process, thereby prolonging the time it took for the corals to absorb it.

Having CA above 600 like that, may cause problems in other areas of the water chemistry, which in turn might cause the corals to slow down their grown and thereby reducing the amount of CA consumed?

Just starting in building my reef, I just finished using a whole bottle of purple up...

 

[steelhealr]

I agree with AK77. Don't just treat numbers. If all corals are flourishing and only one has an issue, I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to the coral. I would continue to do regular water changes over time and monitor. Have you checked the calcium concentration of your fresh SW before a water change? SH

 

[bassdrummer1]

I agree with AK77. Don't just treat numbers. If all corals are flourishing and only one has an issue, I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to the coral. I would continue to do regular water changes over time and monitor. Have you checked the calcium concentration of your fresh SW before a water change? SH

no i have not, but i will test the fresh salt water today.