calcium levels
- Thread starter ivan
- Start date
joetst2
Member
I'm not sure I would necessarily say the test kit is bad. While there is a chance it's bad, it's also possible the calcium levels are that high, especially if too many supplements are added.
I use the Salifert Calcium Test kit and my calcium was over 1000 ppm......two days ago it was down to 850 ppm and hopefully with more aggressive water changes it will be back down to acceptable levels.
I would recommend taking your water for the LFS for a water test and a second opinion on the results. If theirs differs greatly from your results then you can safely say the test kit is bad. HTH
I use the Salifert Calcium Test kit and my calcium was over 1000 ppm......two days ago it was down to 850 ppm and hopefully with more aggressive water changes it will be back down to acceptable levels.
I would recommend taking your water for the LFS for a water test and a second opinion on the results. If theirs differs greatly from your results then you can safely say the test kit is bad. HTH
kris walker
Active Member
If your measurement is accurate, it sounds like something else has kept your Ca solubility unusually high. I wish I knew what it was.
sam
sam
ironreef
Member
point is the test kits are cheap. There is no way it can be truly 850 or higher than 550 ppm because the caclium precipitate = separating from solution = it will snowstorm in your tank. that is the wonder of science it will most like happen no matter what the test kit says = test kit is wrong/bad or use incorrecly
kris walker
Active Member
JoeTst2 - BurnNSpy always recommends Salifert test kits, and puts his reputation on the line by saying they are accurate. On the other hand, Ironreef is pretty knowledgeable about this sort of stuff. I image you are as well, but I wonder if you could get your water checked out by a lfs. Is is possible you are not measuring it correctly? Could the test kit be too old? I would like to know if your Ca is really that high, and thus a simple cross-check by the lfs should do the trick (and also let you know if you need a new kit).
If after a lfs check, your levels are still that high, there *must* be other factors that influence the threshold level that Ironreef says is 550 ppm.
sam
If after a lfs check, your levels are still that high, there *must* be other factors that influence the threshold level that Ironreef says is 550 ppm.
sam
kris walker
Active Member
JoeTst2 - So what's the deal? Did you have the time yet to get the water cross-checked by your lfs? Was the test kit just too old?
sam
sam
joetst2
Member
I have not taken it to the LFS yet. There is also no indication of when my Salifert test kit was made. I purchased it less than a month ago, but realize it could have been in transit/storage quite some time. Still no indication of any "snow" storms and did a 10 gallon water change weekend before last and 15 gallons this last weekend. Last reading was 810 ppm.
adrian
Active Member
Well I would usually agree with the above statement that its impossible to get a Ca reading that high, that was until about a month ago when I noticed my needle valve on my reactor was increased so much that the aragonite in the first chamber was almost all dissolved, I must have bumped it 
Anyway I tested my Ca with a brand new salifert kit, 600 ppm, thought to myself the test is bad, ill send it back, tested with my old salifert kit, 600ppm. I have adjusted the reactor and it is slowly coming back down to normal, right now its at 540ppm. No precipitation or "calcium storm", no adverse affects at all. Now i know thats no where near your 915ppm Ca concentration, but it shows that the 500ppm roof for Ca either varies from tank to tank or the limit is higher than thought. Or I have two bad test kits I have heard of others having hig Ca and have even heard of a guy who keeps his at 550ppm, for what its worth.
Anyway I tested my Ca with a brand new salifert kit, 600 ppm, thought to myself the test is bad, ill send it back, tested with my old salifert kit, 600ppm. I have adjusted the reactor and it is slowly coming back down to normal, right now its at 540ppm. No precipitation or "calcium storm", no adverse affects at all. Now i know thats no where near your 915ppm Ca concentration, but it shows that the 500ppm roof for Ca either varies from tank to tank or the limit is higher than thought. Or I have two bad test kits I have heard of others having hig Ca and have even heard of a guy who keeps his at 550ppm, for what its worth.
ironreef
Member
500ppm isn't a solid # I know it's in the range I can find it but fwiw calcium test kits can be Known to be 40+/- off even greater when compared to lab grade equipment. The LFS employee took some water and a test kit compared to there machine and it was off by far. You can ask anyone who works in a lab and is in the hobby. Look at Ron shimeks study some of the tyrace elements sold for high $$ were mere ro water. And fwiw the LFS who helped him with the study was the same= employee who worked there. Not the same lab. But I figure and lab equipment is good. You can search the net for accual # But it's science so its hard to debate facts vs test kits or manufacture /lfs says
kris walker
Active Member
I know most of you probably keep your pH's about the same between 8.2-8.4, but has anyone checked to see if pH has an influence on the precipitation level of Ca++? Maybe the level varies a little as a function of pH? Have any of you ever tested a freshwater tank with pH < 7 for Ca++? It seems intuitive to me that pH has at least some effect, since one way to delive Ca++ to a tank is through CaOH (kalkwasser). But then chem is never easy to predict.
sam
sam
wrigley11
Member
There is something wrong with the test kit or you are using it incorrectly. Are you sure you are testing the correct amount of water.
About the testkits being off, they are I used to work in a QA lab. The process used is the same for all tests. Usually two parts with a power color indicator etc. But about being off, must test kits run somewhere between 25 - 75 ppm below the true reading.
What is your ALK at... because if it reads between 3 and 5 the calcium would have come out of the water and you would be looking at something like milk right now if the reading was that high.
Hope that helps...
About the testkits being off, they are I used to work in a QA lab. The process used is the same for all tests. Usually two parts with a power color indicator etc. But about being off, must test kits run somewhere between 25 - 75 ppm below the true reading.
What is your ALK at... because if it reads between 3 and 5 the calcium would have come out of the water and you would be looking at something like milk right now if the reading was that high.
Hope that helps...
kris walker
Active Member
Hi Wrigley,
Are you saying that he could have a Ca++ level that high if his alk was something other than 3-5? If so, could you ellaborate a little more?
sam
Are you saying that he could have a Ca++ level that high if his alk was something other than 3-5? If so, could you ellaborate a little more?
sam