high ca, low alk

[jacksonpt]

Did a water test tonight... here are the results:
trates-0
trites-0
ammonia-0
ph-8.3
alk-1.1
ca-550
sg-1.025
temp-82
I know my ca is a little high... what can I do to lower it (should I lower it, or let it drop on it's own)? alk is low (always has been). What can I do to raise it without affecting my ph?

 

[adrian]

What are you using to maintain your alk and Ca? If you have a Ca demand in your tank, eventually it will drop, or a water change would speed things up Your alk seems a little low <img src="graemlins//bah.gif" border="0" alt="[bah]" /> HTH

 

[nasotang00]

jackson, I have been having the same problem with my alk. No problems keeping the ph up or steady. I have been using Kent Pro-buffer to try and bring up the alk. Been dosing for about 3 weeks now and not raising it very much. Everything seems to test about the same lines as yours. It is kind of wierd.
Wish I could help.

 

[mlm]

i had the same problem with kent pro buffer so I called kent and they said to double the dose. When I did that it went up in a couple of days and now it is steady.

 

[nasotang00]

mlm, you got the answer for everything

 

[jacksonpt]

I add kalk to my top-offs once a week or so, but that's it.

 

[adrian]

You may be adding too much kalk, it dosnt seem like there is much need for Ca in your system, I would cut back on the kalk altogether for now, do a water change and then retest, once you have things balanced again, see how long it takes them to start dropping. Reef builder would help with boosting the alkalinty, in theory if you start to slowly boost the alk, the Ca will begin to fall and they will balance out, then its a matter of finding the appropriate amount of kalk needed to maintain these levels. How long has it been since youve tested? HTH

 

[nm reef]

I've had the same situation in my 55......alk low/calcium high....in mine I use a combination of seachem additives(reef builder/reef advantage/reef buffer)....whats worked to keep mine stable at calcium-450..alkalinity-2.8-3.5 meg/l..ph - 8.3 is to regularly dose on a rotating basis.....for example...every other day a gal of advantage/builder swithching every day.....on the weekend normally on Sunday morning (early) I drip a gal of buffer.....every night I dose a 1/2 gal of kalkwasser.....this routine normally keeps everything in balance....but if one gets out of line ...like alk low....then of course calcium seems higher....I just slightly increase the builder additive and cut back slightly on the advantage..........until balance is back where I want it.........not sure how kent products work or how effective...all I've ever used is seachem........but maybe that helps ya a lil....*_^

 

[wamp]

Alkalinity and calcium levels are directly releated. I will find the post I read a while back that explains their relationship. I know If you have High calcium and low alk you corals can not use your calcium. I will find it and post you the site. It is a must read about your situation..

 

[wamp]

<a href="http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/calcium.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/calcium.shtml</a>