Fine Dust
- Thread starter rt101
- Start date
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Could be most anything. A large fish digging a bed in the sand will cause this... but the first thing that came to mind was calcium carbonate. Is it a whitish, or light tannish looking substance? Does it appear more on you heater and power heads? This is usually a sign of low magnesium, or an over-saturation of alkalinity and/or calcium. This is pure speculation, as there's not much to go on. Can you add a picture or two so we can see what it looks like? Thanks!
pegasus
Well-Known Member
It takes a balance of Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium to keep this from happening. I hope you're testing your water to see what these levels are. Never add anything to your tank before testing to see if it even needs it, and always test afterwards to make sure you aren't under-dosing or over-dosing. Make sure your Magnesium level is between 1250 - 1350 ppm, as this is the buffer that keeps Alkalinity and Calcium ions from bonding in the water column. If they bond in the water column, you end up with what you have now. Also... your Alkalinity level should be between 7 - 11 dKH, and Calcium level between 425 - 450 ppm.
If you don't have test kits for these three elements, you should get them. The health of you tank is dependent on the quality of the water, so don't skimp on these kits. Cheap test kits result in faulty readings. Get the good kits. Before you add anything else to the tank, you should create a chart and test every few days. Write the results of your tests in the chart. This is important because it will show a pattern of how much of each element is being used in certain time frames. This is how you determine how much of each element to dose. Guessing doesn't work in this hobby...
If you don't have test kits for these three elements, you should get them. The health of you tank is dependent on the quality of the water, so don't skimp on these kits. Cheap test kits result in faulty readings. Get the good kits. Before you add anything else to the tank, you should create a chart and test every few days. Write the results of your tests in the chart. This is important because it will show a pattern of how much of each element is being used in certain time frames. This is how you determine how much of each element to dose. Guessing doesn't work in this hobby...
Last edited:
bang guy
Moderator
It will resolve itself once your water parameters get in line.
"i do not dose carbinate. i do dose calcium evory other week."
In the typical saltwater system Carbonate and Calcium are consumed at about the same rate. If you are not dosing Carbonate then you should not be dosing Calcium.
"i do not dose carbinate. i do dose calcium evory other week."
In the typical saltwater system Carbonate and Calcium are consumed at about the same rate. If you are not dosing Carbonate then you should not be dosing Calcium.