is high calcium bad???

[trillyen]

ok i got a API reef master test kit and for those who arent familiar with it 7 to 12 individual drops are equal to perfect calcium or between 400 to 520
well im at like 15 to 18 drops which is probably like 580 to 620 ppm
is that bad
or will my new sps and xenia have a surplus of calcium to thrive under
also is it calcium that causes coraline algae???
if not what does???

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by trillyen
ok i got a API reef master test kit and for those who arent familiar with it 7 to 12 individual drops are equal to perfect calcium or between 400 to 520
well im at like 15 to 18 drops which is probably like 580 to 620 ppm
is that bad
or will my new sps and xenia have a surplus of calcium to thrive under
also is it calcium that causes coraline algae???
if not what does???
i use the same test kit and for calc 20 drops is 400

 

[trillyen]

huh??
thats not what the book says???
or maybe i dont understand
arent you suspose to count from the 1st drop???
am i doing something wrong
the directions aint all that good!!!

 

[lovecraft]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
i use the same test kit and for calc 20 drops is 400
Just looked at my book too and he is 100% right.

 

[trillyen]

guess i need to read it again, but i could have swore!!
are u sure its a API test kit
master reef???

 

[trillyen]

yep your right thanks alot!!!
i have reef calcium
seachem i think, so should i add some according to the directions on the bottle????
or should i wait since i just added the corals tonight??
i think my alk is like 179 ppm
is that bad??

 

[trillyen]

upon reading SOME of the link you sent me, from what i can understand i take it that they are sying that the aquarist should add lime water or kalk as 1 of the options to not shock your tank with a over dose of cal, mag, or alk
is this correct???
so if i do a drip method of kalk to my tank does this mean before i change my water i should just add kalk to it and get it up to the right levels and then add it????

 

[stanlalee]

kalc is not for raising calcium its for pH control due to < from co2 build up. you are much more likely to make a mistake and shock your system dripping kalc by accidently spiking pH which is worse than an overdose of calcium. dose with calcium although I pretty much hate seachems reef calcium. it is calcium glucanate and takes a ton of it to raise calcium and although they say it wont cause algae blooms I dont want to add a load of gluconate to my tank. used one bottle of it and will never again. its more for maintaining calcium that raising it. seachems Reef complete is calcium chloride (with small amounts of mag and strontium which is why I use it instead of other brands) which most people prefer to dose with. Kent liquid calcium is also calcium chloride and I have heard you can even buy calcium chloride commercially for much cheaper.
per seachem: "Reef Calcium is a concentrated organic calcium supplement and will work well to maintain your calcium level. It is easily utilized by corals. It would take a bit more Reef Calcium to raise your calcium levels than Reef Complete. Reef Complete is a concentrated ionic calcium source that is designed to raise calcium levels"

 

[trillyen]

hmm thanks stan im not sure what scheme im gonna go with yet, but to day i added less than a half of cap ful of seachem reef cal to my tank and when i came home my xenias were pulsing again i dont know if the cal helped or not
i wouldnt think so since i think the xenias like iodine any way..
i think my params are getting worse now
it only took 15 drips to turn my tester water blue, and i think that is only like 340 ppm of cal, not sure thoguh
im using a api reef master test kit!!!
do i need to raise it bit by bit???
what can i get to raise it bit by bit, to about 420, that wont mess with the other params like my ph, ammonia, mag etc....
thanks

 

[stanlalee]

both reef complete and reef calcium are pH balanced at 8.3 so they wont affect pH. raising calcium will always make it more difficult to maintain alk which is why most people do two part dosing (calcium and bicarbonates) and most calcium products mention to use in conjunction with a buffer. ammonia, nitrates, magnesium shouldn't be effected (except reef complete which maintains magnesium, a good thing and neccessary to utilize calcium). Like I said the calcium gluconate is an organic and I would not want to go grazy adding that and the fact it requires more dosing of that then it would with calcium chloride I'd just as well change over. Xenia's are funny that way, I wouldn't neccessarily equate the dosing with their improved look. I would definately try to raise calcium up to at least 380ppm. thats not really that far out from 340ppm. the corals shouldn't suffer any negative effects even from 340ppm.