Calcium Help!

Bg3489 · 01-28-2007, 02:14 AM

About a week ago I noticed that my alk dkh reading was low ( around 7 dkh). I used kent super buffer to raise my alkalinty and was then at a PH of 8.4 and alk of 12 dkh. My calcium had been low at this point, around 300 ppm. I picked up a bottle of kent marine tech cb part B, the calcium buffer. I added this to the tank for several doses as directed however to find no results. Test after test showed no real increase in my Calcium. I today bought turbo calcium and added 1/2 teaspoon to the 115 gallon tank. I retested this evening and found my calcium to still be at 300ppm! What is going on? I'm afraid to touch anything else for fear of worsing my situation. I know my alk is probably too high but should i just keep adding the tubo calcium slowly to correct this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

fishheads · 01-28-2007, 02:17 AM

im interested in following this.....i have the same problem

Pro_builder · 01-28-2007, 02:40 AM

Try one of these reef calculators. There are some really good articles attached to them also that explain every situation.
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

fishheads · 01-28-2007, 02:42 AM

heres a link i found that might answer....http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

Pro_builder · 01-28-2007, 02:47 AM

Here are a few more articles of intrest for you on Ca++ and Alk:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...l2004/chem.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2002/chem.htm

blue_eyes53813 · 01-28-2007, 10:27 AM

I wanted to add too , to test your magnesium... If magnesium is low calcium and alk will not be stable either.. Magnesium should read between 1350 -1500. Good luck

Warnberg · 01-28-2007, 11:07 AM

The first thing I would do is stop adding stuff. Test your water for Calcium, Alk and mag. Then test a new batch of water change water, same parms. I would do a large water change to bring parms back in-line with your water change water. Two part solutions are used to maintain calc and alk levels, not increase it. You will also find some salts are high in alk yet low on calc (example IO) and some that are high in calc and low in alk.
There is a balance between, alk, calcium, mag and pH..... I have found that if something is out of wack, it is best to do water changes to get parms back in-line then use a good 2 part to maintain them.

Good luck

Bg3489 · 01-28-2007, 10:02 PM

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone!

burning2nd · 01-29-2007, 07:05 AM

when mine was low,

il i did was sqeeze the kent liquid Ca right in to my sump....

i did this every day maybe twice a day till i got it where it had to be....

Bg3489 · 01-29-2007, 06:46 PM

Alright so I retested and my calcium went up from 260 to 320 since around 2 days ago! The problem however is my DKH went back down from 12 to 10. Is this normal? And if I continue over the next week or so to raise my calcium to around 400 will my dkh continue to drop?

bluespotjawfish · 01-29-2007, 07:05 PM

This link is the best link that I have found that helps you understand what to do about your alk and calc. There is a chart in this link that is awesome. You are aiming for the center of the chart and want to stay between the lines to ultimately get there. DKH will change as calcium levels change. Follow the instructions for the zones to keep you down the right path.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

Bg3489 · 01-30-2007, 04:22 PM

So I re-tested today and everything is back to normal. I'm at 400 ppm of calcium and my alkalinity is between 10 and 11 Dkh. I'm going to track these numbers for the next few days in order to see how much of each my tank uses per day so I can know how much to dose. Thanks everyone!

Warnberg · 01-30-2007, 04:27 PM

bluespotjawfish · 01-31-2007, 08:54 AM

01-28-2007, 02:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
Bg3489 Bryozoan Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 52 View Gallery Karma Komment	Calcium Help! About a week ago I noticed that my alk dkh reading was low ( around 7 dkh). I used kent super buffer to raise my alkalinty and was then at a PH of 8.4 and alk of 12 dkh. My calcium had been low at this point, around 300 ppm. I picked up a bottle of kent marine tech cb part B, the calcium buffer. I added this to the tank for several doses as directed however to find no results. Test after test showed no real increase in my Calcium. I today bought turbo calcium and added 1/2 teaspoon to the 115 gallon tank. I retested this evening and found my calcium to still be at 300ppm! What is going on? I'm afraid to touch anything else for fear of worsing my situation. I know my alk is probably too high but should i just keep adding the tubo calcium slowly to correct this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

01-28-2007, 02:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
fishheads Ricordea Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: norcal Posts: 179 View Gallery* Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! im interested in following this.....i have the same problem __________________ 110 GAL.REEF,ask me for specs • What happens when you throw a green rock into the Red Sea? .....it gets wet...... Why are gold fish orange? .....The water makes them rusty!.....

01-28-2007, 02:40 AM	#3 (permalink)
Pro_builder DIY Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Oxford, Iowa Posts: 1,746 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! Try one of these reef calculators. There are some really good articles attached to them also that explain every situation. http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html __________________ -Troy 180 gallon Reef, 3- 250 XM 15K MH Electronic ballast, 380 watts VHO Actinics, 2- 5 watt LED Moon lights, 100 gal rubbermaid sump, 75 gallon Fuge, ETSS 600 Skimmer, 4700-5400 gph pump for return, Octopus 3000 controller, Iwaki 40 RL skimmer pump, 2- 65w PC 10K fuge lights, 2 55 gallon barrels, Custom light oak stand and hood, misc pumps, extra 600 gallon rated tank size protein skimmer. Purple tang, yellow tang, pacific blue tang, 2 green chromis, 1 Sand sifting star, snails, hermit crabs, 2 mated perculas, pulsing Xenia, Anenome, mushrooms, ricordia, zoanthids, kenya tree 1 1/2" tall, misc other hitchhiker stuff. DIY is my dream... ...well OK the only way I can afford this Addiction!! Just as the light goes on in my head... ... I break the bulb!!

01-28-2007, 02:42 AM	#4 (permalink)
fishheads Ricordea Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: norcal Posts: 179 View Gallery* Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! heres a link i found that might answer....http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm __________________ 110 GAL.REEF,ask me for specs • What happens when you throw a green rock into the Red Sea? .....it gets wet...... Why are gold fish orange? .....The water makes them rusty!.....

01-28-2007, 02:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Pro_builder DIY Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Oxford, Iowa Posts: 1,746 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! Here are a few more articles of intrest for you on Ca++ and Alk: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...l2004/chem.htm http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2002/chem.htm __________________ -Troy 180 gallon Reef, 3- 250 XM 15K MH Electronic ballast, 380 watts VHO Actinics, 2- 5 watt LED Moon lights, 100 gal rubbermaid sump, 75 gallon Fuge, ETSS 600 Skimmer, 4700-5400 gph pump for return, Octopus 3000 controller, Iwaki 40 RL skimmer pump, 2- 65w PC 10K fuge lights, 2 55 gallon barrels, Custom light oak stand and hood, misc pumps, extra 600 gallon rated tank size protein skimmer. Purple tang, yellow tang, pacific blue tang, 2 green chromis, 1 Sand sifting star, snails, hermit crabs, 2 mated perculas, pulsing Xenia, Anenome, mushrooms, ricordia, zoanthids, kenya tree 1 1/2" tall, misc other hitchhiker stuff. DIY is my dream... ...well OK the only way I can afford this Addiction!! Just as the light goes on in my head... ... I break the bulb!!

01-28-2007, 10:27 AM	#6 (permalink)
blue_eyes53813 Hey!Its not my fault Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Lancaster, Wisconsin Posts: 6,927 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Calcium Help! I wanted to add too , to test your magnesium... If magnesium is low calcium and alk will not be stable either.. Magnesium should read between 1350 -1500. Good luck __________________ 265 Gallon Reef built into basement wall. Lighting = 6x250 watts MH, 2x96 watt PC ,and 2x140 watt VHO for a total watt of 1,972 watts . New addition on 4-14-07 of 100 gallon sump and 100 gallon refugium. I think I have lost my mind. Gotta love this hobby Vicki Life is like a pathway of untrodden snow. Be careful how you step in it for every mark will show Definition of FRIENDSHIP: All lives touch other lives to create something new and alive My tank chronicles. http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...wall-reef.html

01-28-2007, 11:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
Warnberg Acropora Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 1,911 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Calcium Help! The first thing I would do is stop adding stuff. Test your water for Calcium, Alk and mag. Then test a new batch of water change water, same parms. I would do a large water change to bring parms back in-line with your water change water. Two part solutions are used to maintain calc and alk levels, not increase it. You will also find some salts are high in alk yet low on calc (example IO) and some that are high in calc and low in alk. There is a balance between, alk, calcium, mag and pH..... I have found that if something is out of wack, it is best to do water changes to get parms back in-line then use a good 2 part to maintain them. Good luck __________________ Dave 240 Gallon Tall Tencor (96"L x 30"T x 18"W) 4 250 Watt MH XM10K bulbs 2-54 Watt T5 Actinic Euro-Reef CS8-2-RC Jetstream 1 Calcium Reactor 4 Tunze Turbelle stream 6000 power heads 7095 Tunze controller

01-28-2007, 10:02 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bg3489 Bryozoan Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 52 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! Thanks a lot for the advice everyone!

01-29-2007, 07:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
burning2nd Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pocono PA Posts: 2,026 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! when mine was low, il i did was sqeeze the kent liquid Ca right in to my sump.... i did this every day maybe twice a day till i got it where it had to be.... __________________ ________________________________________________ 30g, 10g DIY sump w/ mag7 Csr90 over flow. 36" sunpod 2x150 2 Tunze 6020 40 Lb's Live Rock 20 lb's of Ls Aqua C REmora mIxed reef, softies, pora's, clams, 1 Amphiprion ocellaris (hosting GTA) 2 cromies and one dragon jake the jedi sexy shrimp, and brown bob

01-29-2007, 06:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
Bg3489 Bryozoan Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 52 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! Alright so I retested and my calcium went up from 260 to 320 since around 2 days ago! The problem however is my DKH went back down from 12 to 10. Is this normal? And if I continue over the next week or so to raise my calcium to around 400 will my dkh continue to drop?

01-29-2007, 07:05 PM	#11 (permalink)
bluespotjawfish Tridacna maxima Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,296 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! This link is the best link that I have found that helps you understand what to do about your alk and calc. There is a chart in this link that is awesome. You are aiming for the center of the chart and want to stay between the lines to ultimately get there. DKH will change as calcium levels change. Follow the instructions for the zones to keep you down the right path. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm __________________ Lorraine To BB and all Bluespots - Journey of the 2nd Year ...The 2nd Year - Photoshow Check out Mr. BJ and friends... Mr. BJ's Aquarium - PhotoShow

01-30-2007, 04:22 PM	#12 (permalink)
Bg3489 Bryozoan Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 52 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! So I re-tested today and everything is back to normal. I'm at 400 ppm of calcium and my alkalinity is between 10 and 11 Dkh. I'm going to track these numbers for the next few days in order to see how much of each my tank uses per day so I can know how much to dose. Thanks everyone!

01-30-2007, 04:27 PM	#13 (permalink)
Warnberg Acropora Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 1,911 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Calcium Help! __________________ Dave 240 Gallon Tall Tencor (96"L x 30"T x 18"W) 4 250 Watt MH XM10K bulbs 2-54 Watt T5 Actinic Euro-Reef CS8-2-RC Jetstream 1 Calcium Reactor 4 Tunze Turbelle stream 6000 power heads 7095 Tunze controller

01-31-2007, 08:54 AM	#14 (permalink)
bluespotjawfish Tridacna maxima Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,296 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Calcium Help! __________________ Lorraine To BB and all Bluespots - Journey of the 2nd Year ...The 2nd Year - Photoshow Check out Mr. BJ and friends... Mr. BJ's Aquarium - PhotoShow

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