How do I deal with high ALk and Calcium levels?

king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Hear is the background:
My dad has been dosing his *Cycling* nano-tank with supplements for a few weeks.(for the record I was opposed...but what do I know
and its not worth a fight)
I tested his water last night.
Amonia 0
PH 8.2
Salanity .025
Temp 78
Nitrites 5
Nitrates 10 These are both past what I prefer...but the tank is in its final stretch of cycling. So thats not a concern.
Calcuim 750ppm! (I couldnt belive it, my test kit stops at 550, but I kept adding water, so that is a rough estimate since I had to add .2ml of water past the chart to get the color change)
Alk 6.5 meq/l(ouch...but not as bad as the calcuim levels)
Ok where do I go from there. Obviously the problem lies with the dosing of supplements without testing(a practice Im sure will be stopped). But how do you get high Alk and High calcium? I'm confused now too. One should lower the other.
And for the PH to be unaffected is puzzling as well.
I don't have a magnesium test kit handy. Should that be taken into consideration?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Mg could be really high. The low temp is helping. Those levels are very high (over the top) but they are not impossible.
It could also be on the edge of a major precipitation event. Usually this can be predicted by looking for Calcium carbonate collecting on the heater.
This is good, I don't see anything terrible here. Learning to control water parameters takes practice and if you're going to overdose I can't think of a better time in the lifecycle of an aquarium to go wrong.
Since it's a nano, a 100% water change will be an instant fix for the out of line trace elements.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
I figured a WC would be a key element.
Ill start doing 20% every other day. I don't want to ruin the Cycle that's in its last stages by dumping out beneficial stuff.
What is a precipitation event? Didn't see it in a quick Google.
AS for the calcium carbonite, would that apear as a crystaline? or more of a detritus looking layer?
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
never mind, I found the appropriate info on a precipitation event. Had to juggle some words around a bit. But google got me going.
I got a lot of Articles to read. THanks.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Doing a water change doesn't hurt your cycle. The bacteria live on sponges/live rock and what not -- very few live in the water column so you are doing no harm by doing a water change there.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/3221279
Doing a water change doesn't hurt your cycle. The bacteria live on sponges/live rock and what not -- very few live in the water column so you are doing no harm by doing a water change there.
Even 100%?
Thanks for the tip.
 
dutch06

dutch06

Member
I will throw out there, test your water change before putting it in the tank.
I was dealing with chronic low alk and mg was acceptable. Couldn't figure it out. Tested my water change and it was 2.2 meq. I was not pleased.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
With high calc and alk it seems to me the best thing to do is nothing. They should come down all on their own.
my .02
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Thanks for the find.
On a hunch I checked my own tank.
I had the opposite, so its not the water were using. It is his dosing.
But it is a slight cause of concern, nothing criticle:
450 calcium(this is a drop from my typical 500-550)
Alk is 3.5 low(this is also a drop...Im usually 4.5)
PH is low too 8 (Usually 8.2)
I don't have a magnesium test handy. I need to order a new one. But ill say its a safe bet and guess it will likely be low.
I dont know why my tests are low. I never have big swings. But I have noticed my coraline is really gaining momentum in the last month.
Is it possible that my readings are lower because of my Coraline growth?I also have been adding zoo frags and other assorted coral frags for the last couple weeks. Im not positive, but I'm deducing this has a role. Please confirm.
My last WC was a week ago: %20, I should have given it a full battery of tests then as well, it would help my assessment of things.
 
bmkj02

bmkj02

Member
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3222369
Im about 5 min into it now. I like this article. Thanks, it really compresses a lot of tough concepts into a feasible lesson. I might be able to answer my own question now.
Your welcome and I agree, it made it fairly simple and sound easy to fix whatever problem you may have.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3222357
Thanks for the find.
On a hunch I checked my own tank.
I had the opposite, so its not the water were using. It is his dosing.
But it is a slight cause of concern, nothing criticle:
450 calcium(this is a drop from my typical 500-550)
Alk is 3.5 low(this is also a drop...Im usually 4.5)
PH is low too 8 (Usually 8.2)
I don't have a magnesium test handy. I need to order a new one. But ill say its a safe bet and guess it will likely be low.
I dont know why my tests are low. I never have big swings. But I have noticed my coraline is really gaining momentum in the last month.
Is it possible that my readings are lower because of my Coraline growth?I also have been adding zoo frags and other assorted coral frags for the last couple weeks. Im not positive, but I'm deducing this has a role. Please confirm.
My last WC was a week ago: %20, I should have given it a full battery of tests then as well, it would help my assessment of things.
450ppm Ca is good IMO
3.5Meq/L Alkalinity is perfect IMO
Coraline and Coral growth will result in a decling in Calcium and Carbonate (Alkalinity), this is confimed. Many hobbiest don't believe soft corals consume Calcium and Carbonate. They are wrong. Some softies like Toadstool Leathers can consume Calcium and Carbonate faster than most SPS coral.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Well thats cool. I had read a while back that you wanted 500-500 calcium. 4.5-5.0 Alk.
Its nice to know I hit ideal numbers.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
You may have seen this before but I will post again.
Ammonia (NH3-4)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.010 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.050 mg/L
Ammonia levels can rise after the addition of new animals, after a water change, or after the changing of food diet. Any ammonia level above 0.05 mg/L is a cause for concern, and the source should be found and corrected.
Nitrite (NO2)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.010 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.100 mg/L
Residual levels of nitrite are common in marine aquariums. Levels of 0.05 or less are of little concern. If the levels are higher than this, the source should be found and corrected.
Nitrate (NO3)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.050 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 25 mg/L
Nitrate is not toxic in and of itself, but a rising level is indicative of deteriorating water conditions, and any level above 5.0 mg/L in reef aquariums is a reason for concern.
Phosphate (PO4)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.030 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.250 mg/L
The use of a phosphate absorbing resin is recommended to keep phosphate levels below 0.05 mg/L.
Silica (Sio2-3)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.040 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.500 mg/L
Silicate is required by many types of sponges for growth/reproduction, but will also encourage brown diatom algae growth. Any level above 0.3 mg/L may cause a diatom bloom in the aquarium.
Potassium (K)
Natural Seawater Value: 390 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 350 to 450 mg/L
Potassium is rapidly depleted from aquarium water by several plant and animal metabolic processes. Maintenance of appropriate levels is critical for cellular respiration, as well as being an important nutrient for coral zooxanthellae and macro algae.
Calcium (Ca)
Natural Seawater Value: 400 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 350 to 450 mg/L
Calcium is critical to healthy coral
skeletal growth, and many other biological processes. Maintenance of calcium levels that are
at or near seawater values is an important factor in having a healthy reef aquarium.
Boron (B)
Natural Seawater Value: 4.6 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 3.0 – 6.0 mg/L
Boron is an important part of the water buffering capacity, and a lack of boron can lead to dangerous fluctuations in pH and alkalinity.
Molybdenum (Mo)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.01 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.0 to 0.12 mg/L
Molybdenum is important to microbial activity in the aquarium filter, and may also be important to stony coral health and reproduction.
Strontium (Sr)
Natural Seawater Value: 8.1 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 5.0 to 12.0 mg/L
Strontium is important to coral growth, as they incorporate strontium ions into their skeletal mass, particularly SPS corals. It is also important to coralline algae growth.
Magnesium (Mg)
Natural Seawater Value: 1280 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 1100 to 1400 mg/L
Magnesium is a very important part of the water buffering system, and is incorporated into coral skeletons. It is also critical to any photosynthetic processes.
Iodine (I¯)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.060 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.030 to 0.090 mg/L
Iodine is required by soft corals, macro algae, and for pigment development in SPS corals.
Copper (Cu++)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.030 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.030 mg/L
Copper is fatal to marine invertebrates at levels as low as 0.05 mg/L for many species.
Alkalinity (meq/L)
Natural Seawater Value: 2.5 meq/L (7 dKH)
Acceptable Range: 2.5 to 5.0 meq/L (7 - 14 dKH)
Maintaining an appropriate alkalinity is crucial to maintaining a healthy aquarium. A fluctuating alkalinity will lead to serious problems in maintaining an appropriate pH, as well as problems keeping calcium and magnesium levels within required ranges.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Its familiar. THanks for the reminder. Keeping all these numbers memorized isn't always easy

I think I need to make a little notebook/three ring binder that I can keep handy at all times.
 
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