Ca going up

[surfzone]

for the past two weeks i have watched my Ca level go from 420 to 500ppm. I'm not sure why this is. the only thing I can think of is that my daing pistol shrimp keeps digging in the sandbed. my sand bed is mix of sand and crushed coral. Any other ideas as to where this problem is comming from is welcome.

salinity- 1.025
pH- 8.3
KH- 12
NH3 NH4- 0
NO2- does not regester
NO3- does not regester
29 gal tank
20 lbs of LR
10 lbs of sand
last water change was 2 weeks

 

[Woodstock]

Welcome to RS!!

Are you dosing anything? Vit or supplements of any kind?

 

[mps9506]

What test kit?

 

[surfzone]

nope not putting anything extra in the tank just feeding brine shrimp mysis shrimp, cyclopees, and nori for the tang.

 

[surfzone]

i'm using aquarium pharmaceuticals Calcium test

 

[Woodstock]

I use the same kit with success. I also have the salifert ca test kit (more time consuming to use) that I double check it with occassionally. It might be a good idea to get a second check..maybe your LFS or a local reefer could test it? Also, be sure to check the expiration date.

Aragonite sand does dissolve so maybe that is the source.

 

[blue_eyes53813]

this may sound silly, but Ive done it before,, when doing the test, make sure each drop is a full drop that comes out of the dropper,, meaning in between drops the dropper sucks in a little air and make sure the bottle is totally verticle.

If there is air in the dropper you are counting half air bubble as a full drop,, therefore it take more drops and your count is wrong.. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Charlie97L]

ditto to blue eyes.

tang in a 29g? hmm. :0) tsk tsk

 

[surfzone]

well it's been tested twice once by me and once at the LFS and they both read 500ppm. two diffrent test too.

 

[Woodstock]

What is the calcium level of the salt you are using? You mention you did a water change 2 weeks ago, did you test it before using it?