nicolebrzu
Member
Hi everyone. I'm about 5 months in to my first salt water tank.
From the beginning I've had an issue with my Calcium being high... usually around 540-560. I FINALLY just bought an alkalinity test because everything I read shows the two tied together. My alkalinity is a little low at 2.28 mEq/L. pH stays a stable 8.2 most of the time.
I'm trying to learn more about these water parameters and some of the articles I have read are difficult to understand. In 5 months I have had very little coraline algae growth. I now have one hard coral which came on a rock I bought for its combination of mushrooms and zoas, so I feel its now very important that I figure this out! That coral has lost most of its color in the two weeks I have had it
So... can anyone explain to me the relationship between calcium and alkalinity in more simple terms? How can I raise my alkalinity? I would think that the calcium would lower with use by coral, coraline, etc. but why is my alkalinity low?
Also... can these parameters affect algae growth in any way?
From the beginning I've had an issue with my Calcium being high... usually around 540-560. I FINALLY just bought an alkalinity test because everything I read shows the two tied together. My alkalinity is a little low at 2.28 mEq/L. pH stays a stable 8.2 most of the time.
I'm trying to learn more about these water parameters and some of the articles I have read are difficult to understand. In 5 months I have had very little coraline algae growth. I now have one hard coral which came on a rock I bought for its combination of mushrooms and zoas, so I feel its now very important that I figure this out! That coral has lost most of its color in the two weeks I have had it
So... can anyone explain to me the relationship between calcium and alkalinity in more simple terms? How can I raise my alkalinity? I would think that the calcium would lower with use by coral, coraline, etc. but why is my alkalinity low?
Also... can these parameters affect algae growth in any way?