I need help again-my calcium is too high

fishy all the time

fishy all the time

Member
Help...Yesterday I posted that I was trying to raise my pH but my kH was on the high side. Someone had thought that maybe my calcium was just too low. I went to my LFS and they tested it to be over 600. I bought a test and tested it again myself, still over 600. So I got to talking with the owner of the store and he told me that all he uses is tap water in all of his store tanks. He claims that it contains enough calcium that he never adds it. I stopped useing my tap water after I tested the copper. He claims that the liquid test that I used only tests for the good copper not the bad. He said that the water in my area is just fine-no bad copper. I find all of this strange because I live on the Mississippi River. I use Cub Foods water and he claimed that this is stripped of everything, this is why my pH is low and alk is high. He almost has me convincted to switch back to tap water. Can anyone help me?
my levels are:
calcium-625
kH-12
pH-8.0
ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20
 
fishy all the time

fishy all the time

Member
Update:
My city water contains a trace of calcium. The Cub Foods water contains none. But the water that I have premixed for this weekends water change is higher the 650. I use instant ocean salt. Is there really that much calcium in there?
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
fishy all the time
Couple things you can try - for experiment - if you have the time and are interested.
You've tested your tank water and reported the results - that's cool.
You mentioned that you have a batch of saltwater mixing for this weekend scheduled water change.
That's cool too.
Three Questions;
Question 1)
What brand of test kits are you using ?
List them all if you're using different brands for different tests.
Question 2) Did you use tap water or Cub Food bottled water for this batch of mixing saltwater ?
I'm hoping you used the Cub water.
Question 3) Are you using a powerhead or airstone in the container that holds your newly mixed saltwater ?
Now do both of us a favor. I realize this may be a pain in the butt .... and if you don't want to try this I would certainly understand. It may prove to be helpful answering your questions.
Test this new batch of mixing saltwater for the following:
Calcium = ( 650 )
Alkalinity =
pH =
Temperature =
Salinity ( Specific Gravity )=
And report back your results;
See ya ;)
 
fishy all the time

fishy all the time

Member
Broomer,
Thank you so much for trying to help. I will get you everything you need.
1. The ca test was Seatest- that was all my LFS had. The rest of the tests were Aquarium Pharm. ( the saltwater master test and a single kH test by the same company)
2. Cub water is what is being used for the water change. The water has been made up since last weekend.
3. Nothing in the new water but the salt and water in the jug
Call me stupid but I do not knowwhat the exact SP is. I mix salt according to the package and and then put it into the tank. I used to mix it in a 5 gallon pail. I measured exactly how much salt I put into the bucket and now this is how much I put into the 5 gallon jug. Does that make sense?
Here is the rest...now I am really confused
pH-7.4
Ammonia-0.25
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-0
kH-16
Hpoe all of this info helps
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
Hang in there fishy !
This is good experience you will never forget, and beats any book you'll ever read - I promise you!
I know what you mean when you say you measured the saltmix per the instructions on the bag.
Normally 1/2 cup per gallon freshwater - may vary from one manufacturer to another.
But .... and this is a biggie !
You really should consider getting a hydrometer. Even an inexpensive one like SeaTest by Aquarium Systems. Not saying you can't mix saltwater without one ... wait a second.... I am saying you SHOULDN'T mix saltwater without one. It's sort of a MUST HAVE in this hobby. Get one - they're about $12.00 bucks or so. And I would never call you stupid.
I would go back to using your 5 gallon bucket. Toss in an El Cheapo powerhead for water circulation of the freshly mixed saltwater batch. It will help keep the saltwater mixed - but more important - it allows proper gas exchage - and let's the carbon dioxide CO2 and oxygen O2 gas come to equalibrium - and is just a plain good idea. Excess CO2 in saltwater can drive the pH down .... this may be reason your mixed batch is reading low pH. Plus a jug of store bought water I'm sure is not at gas equalibrium either.
Or could just be you're proportion of salt to water ( salinity ) is not right, and is contributing to the lower pH. Natural seawater has a salinity of 35 ppt ( parts per thousand ) and is a good rule to match the salinity ( specific gravity ) of your saltwater batch to your tank.
In other words - get the hydrometer - you'll need it ;)
Also we'll look at the alkalinity level when you get it tested. This will help you as well.
Your test kits sound fine ;)
To be continued :)
 
marek

marek

Member
wow... mixing in salt without a hydrometer! i swear I could simply never do that and yet feel confident. the thing it so cheap and it is a must IMO! i use it all the time! get one, your ca is likely too high because you mixed in too much salt!
 
fishy all the time

fishy all the time

Member
I have a hydrometer and I use it. I just figued that if I mixed the same everytime it a bucket and then messured and it was fine, then it would be fine in the jug with the same amount of salt everythime. I always check SG in my tankafter adding the water and several times during the week. I have one of the glass ones though and I would like to get a different kind. It is hard to measure with the glass one...you have to have the proper amount of water. If I get a differnt one I can use a smaller quanity of water? Is that right. The jug I use is just a clean 5 gallon plastic jug. It is easier to get it from the store that way. I measure the gallons and pour them into the jug myself. Sorry if that was confusing. Somehow this is funny. I have been doing this for years in a 20 gallon tank and never did anything. Now I got big into this and bought a bigger tank. I now have lots more to learn. This is really great...I am soaking up all of the info. Thank you.
 
M

macyjo

Guest
--are you replacing evaporated water with fresh water???? ---salinity is dependent on temp, so even if you mix it the exact same way each time with the exact same ingredients but the water temp is even slightly differant this can affect the sg. :)
 
luke

luke

Member
You are dealing with a bad product here. Something is not working in the chain ;)
Here is a number of **more** things to try :)
The test kits could be bad (unlikely that all your kits are reading funny)
The salt very well could be "bad" How old is it. Has it ever gotten wet, either from spllage or open air??
The water could be bad, but you check that.
I would suggest you have the local fish store run a test on your WC water. See if it comes out the same. If it does, chances are you can rule out the test kits.
Then I would mix another batch of water (that batch is no good if the numbers are right). I would use your hydrometer on this one. Remeber to measure it with the the water at the corect temp. (It may be a good idea to get a spare heater when you buy the powerhead broomer5 suggested, which is an important thing to have)
Measure all the readings from that batch, if they are off, buy another bag of salt (brand does not matter). Mix another batch of water and see if that fixes the problem. My guess is one of these things will.
Salt has a lot of elements, all of them have to be in proportion. It is possible that the salt came porrly mixed from the factory, or that it is old or got wet and the various chemicals have migrated to different parts of the bag (I hope that made some sense :) ). I don't know if this happens, but it would be a logical explaination to your problems. If it is true you got a section with lots of CA.
Luke
 
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