Reef Discussion

jashay

Member
Jul 15, 2011
649
84
Wide Bay
calcium blowout
gday guys :D

I went down to the LFS today with a water sample to test the calcium levels and have had a bit of a shock.

my calcium levels are up around the 720ppm. (mg/l).

I have been using pruple up regularly according to manufacturers instructions. I didn't think that it would have blown over this much though.

obviously I am ceasing the use of the purple up until these levels drop to the recommended 400-500ppm. I am wondering should I be doing a water change or something to lower these levels?

I decided to try some geo liquid as this stuff has been recommended to me by a mate who has been into marine keeping for years (since the 1960's, he was one of the first in aus to be able to keep marine species successfully, a university did a study on him, something along the lines that they werent able to replicate marine and keep anything for longer than a month, and then found out he had kept a common clown alive for something like 9 years, unheard of back then! he breeds clowns just for fun these days but is starting to find it hard to move, he is 80+ after all!)

anyways the geo liquid is supposed to stabalise everything and bring everything into level. I have dosed the tank and am hoping later on when it clears (once clear it is supposed to be done, it states it can take up to three days to clear but the previous time I used it it took only a few hours, which I took as being fairly stable parameters and the tests I had showed this).

anyways, will the calcium level drop on its own accord or should I be doing some stuff to lower it???
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
First off, what is geo liquid??

720ppm is high but would not necessarily hurt your occupants. Keep on eye on them, if they start looking bad do a 20% water change. What hard corals, clams shrimps etc do you have to use up the excess calcium?

Are you able to measure your alk because these two work together - I suspect your alk will be low.
 

jashay

Member
Jul 15, 2011
649
84
Wide Bay
gday,

Geo liquid is a additive that is supposed to balance the parameters of the water, what it claims is it has these micro sensors that detect any nutrient that is in too high or low a level and balances them out to the right levels. it is used at water changes to equalise the water. can also be used just as is without a water change too.

I have heliofungia, open brain (I believe), cauliflower (this is a softie I beleive) and frogspawn. no clams, no shrimps (will have tomorrow). the inhabitants dont seemed stressed at all and are always open when the lights are on (a couple dont really retract even with the light off.

fish - emperor angel, 2 clowns and a chromis.

lots of live rock, which has been building up a lot of white, I did think this was a calcium thing and is why I got it tested. I havent checked alk, will have to get the LFS to do so.

I only have tests for KH, PH, NO2, NO3, calc, SG. I plan on getting an alk test aswell in the very near future, next week actually.

KH at least 240 - test only goes to this.
PH 8.2 - sits on this most of the time. give or take a point obviously with different times of the day.
NO2 - omg/l (always on zero)
NO3 - pretty much always under 5mg/l
cal - 720 mg/l
SG - 1.023
Temp - 25c

I will keep an eye on it, will it eventually drop over say the next week? I wont be adding any cal. until it has settled then the dose wont be anywhere near what the recommendations are until I find where it needs to be to be stable.

I dont have an auto units so everything is done by hand and tests are done at least twice to be sure.
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
If your corals are happy I wouldn't try to get your calcium down - just let it get used up by your corals over time, although it might take a while given the corals that you have;)

KH is a measure of the alkalinity :confused:What test kit are you using?
If the 240 is ppm which equates to around 13 dKH then this is 'off the scale' and something is seriously wrong.

Before we start jumping off a cliff can you confirm that you are measuring KH (Carbonite Hardness), what test kit you are using and the unit of measurement.
 

jashay

Member
Jul 15, 2011
649
84
Wide Bay
yea they seem prett happy, as I said they are always open :D

as for the test kits, I bought a 5 in one strip test kit which measures, Brand API. Cal. test is API aswell.

GH - although it says is only for freshwater range 0-180 in ppm with mg/l in brackets
KH - says for fresh and salt - in ppm with mg/l in brackets
PH - has charts for both fresh and salt
NO2 - fresh and salt in ppm with mg/l in brackets
NO3 - fresh and salt in ppm with mg/l in brackets

I have the liquid tests for PH and Cal. with cross reference useage confirming PH and NO2 getting the same readings as the strips. Ph and NO2 are different brands. NO2 is the tablet kit.
 

Luke

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
1,048
237
Launceston
Hi mate,
I would start by buying yourself some good test kits , If your dosing Cal / Alk You need to keep a close eye on them ,
If it was me , I would start to do some water changes , When ever you add supplements to cover a mistake you run a high risk of causing bigger problems , But with good old water changes ....well there always good :)
Maybe go to a different LFS with enough water to get them to test Calcium and Alk , Then go from there
I wouldn't add anything until your sure about the levels .
I just used one of those strips ,It said my KH was 240 as well , but its really about 10dkh ( but yours could be anything ) There not very accurate ,
 

jashay

Member
Jul 15, 2011
649
84
Wide Bay
hi mate,

I figured those strips might not me to flash! I redid a strip and the alk come up the same. will definately be more caustious with the P up from now on! but other than cal and alk everything else seems to be ok. maybe once the cal levels drop it the alk might aswell, as they are connected.
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
Good advice Luke.

Something is not right - I suspect it is the test strip. I have been trying to download the instructions from the API web site but without any luck. What range does the kit measure for KH - I can't imagine why you would to measure up to 13dKH.

I am still not sure about that Geo Liquid - it sounds like some kind of buffer but I tend not to put things into the tank if I don't know what is in them ;)
Edit

Is this what you are using?
awww.theaquariumshop.com.au_images_full_Geo_Liquid_Marine_180.gif
 

MTG

Moderator
Jul 10, 2011
10,664
2,149
Gold Coast
I have over dosed on calcium many times. just cease dosing any calcium products and bump up the water changes and it will slowly drop.
 

jashay

Member
Jul 15, 2011
649
84
Wide Bay
gday crew!

well I tested the calcium levels again (three times) this morning and am happy to see a decline in the level, its down to 620. I am also planning on doing another water change tomorrow (done one the day I measured the cal.) will do a 30-40L change, normally i prefer to do a little less but I think it would be a good idea to do more. the change the other day was my standard 20-25L.

according to the test strips I have, which I have double checked the three out of five I can check seem to be reading the same. I have liquid tests for cal. NO2, NO3 and ph. the test strips that I cant test is the KH but it seems to be down since the other day, its reading 180ppm.

hopefully things stabalise a bit more and go to the correct parameters. I wont be dosing like I was thats for sure! if I do it will only be minor adjustment.

:D