can u overdose on calcium??

ren

Member
interesting. Sammy what can you do if the water is naturally high in calcium? I have a RO unit that i run my water through but it is high in calcium.
 

fshhub

Active Member
how high??
400 to 450 is good, you can go a bit over, but 600 or so, and youcould wind up with cloudy water from it
 

ren

Member
just tested at 650 ppm. I add nothing to it but lvl remains at 600-650ppm from top offs. No cloudiness - receintly had some new button polyps bloom out??? Everything seems fine - using a red sea test kit exp date 03/04
 

fshhub

Active Member
that is definitely getting up there, but with corals and algae growth it should eventually come down a bit, did you ever test your source water before mixing salt??
i would not think it should be that high using ro, but anything is posible, anyhow, if the fw is not that high, then i would look at any suppliments or salts you are using, you cna check it after you mix the salt and see if hte salt made a difference too, in fact it would be a pain, but if the water is much lower, then you could test after all your additions, to find out what is rasing it, and then go from there, but i would start by testing this first(each and every addition til i found what i was doing to get a make up water that is that high ie- salts buffers ph all of them) the make up water has to be high to keep it at that level, just why would be my first question
also, how does your ph and alk test out?
 

broomer5

Active Member
fshhub - great reply if I must say ;)
Ren,
Are we talking about high levels of calcium in the RO water or the display tank or both ?
650 is high for a tank for sure.
To add to what's been recommended, I too would not expect to see any RO water still containing high levels of calcium. If you follow fshhubs path, and test the RO water, and it does indeed have calcium, I'd be looking into a new RO membrane pronto.
I would also expect the alkalinity in your display tank to be very low as well. As mentioned, raising the alk may bring down your calcium levels to a more acceptable level.
Are you noticing any hazy white build up on any wetted tank parts, rock or equipment/heater(s) ?
This may indicate higher than normal calcium levels from a visual point.
Lastly - you may want to get a second opinion with a different brand calcium test kit.
Never hurts - and may help to eliminate one more unknown piece of the puzzle.
 

bagofsalt

Member
YOu definately can but be carefull on the putting too much calcium. The last thing you wanted in your tank is those hard calcium deposits on your pump or powerhead. And your substrate too. I remembered I hauled what seem to look like a piece of aragonite brick in my tank when I moved.
Reuben.
 
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