kh low and ca high?

[tootz]

I am new to the sw world, I've had fw for 10+years....
I've had my sw set up since April.
water params are:
sg 1.023
temp 82-85
amm 0
trites 0
trates 0
ph 8.0
kh 7
ca 550?
Is the calcium too high and the alk too low? What do I do to fix it? drip kalk? (I have balls pickling lime and I just bought a reptile drip water system that I can use to drip kalk since I do not have a sump). Would dripping kalk raise my calcium even more?
I use Tetratest testkit for kh, and Red Sea testkit for CA. (tested twice for CA to make sure it was right)
TIA

 

[a&m aggie 04']

i had the same problem, the my calcium was near 600 and alk was low. The way i fixed mine was raising my alkalinity by adding a buffer and not adding calcium until the level came down by doing this it let the corals, algae ect use up the excess calcium. I dont know if this was the right way but it seemed to work for me. So, just add a buffer to get the alk. up to where you want it, and dont dose calcium. You should see the calcium levels drop.
HTH,
Mark

 

[tootz]

What do you use for a buffer? I think i read somewhere you can use baking soda...if so...how much?

 

[macyjo]

Hey you want great info about the h20 chemistry--look up old posts about this subject by Broomer5--he is the man--He has put so much info on this board about this very subject --you will probably have all the info you need

 

[ryebread]

As far as buffers go.......B-Ionic is the best Calcium and Alkalinity buffer around.

 

[macyjo]

check out the post one of our friend just found for you--the original poster is Broomer5

 

[broomer5]

TooTz
Kalkwasser is wonderful stuff for a reef tank - but in many folks opinion - it works best once the tankwater is already balanced.
In other words - use kalk to "maintain" the levels ..... not to correct the levels.
If the tankwater is imbalanced as far as total alkalinity and calcium are concerned - sometimes it's better to take another approach.
Your tank is relatively new still - 3-4 months old tops.
I doubt you have many calcium consuming corals yet, but I would imagaine you've got "some" coralline algae on your 38 lbs of live rock. How much coralline - I don't know.
In other words - the demand for calcium and carbonates may still be pretty low.
If I were you, I would first determine how the calcium rose up to 550 ?
Did you/Do you - use city tap water for mixing up the saltwater and for top offs ?
If so - you may have pretty hard tapwater.
If not - what type of saltmix have you been using ?
You say your pH is 8.0 - congratulations - that's pretty good.
Do you test at a certain time of the day ?
Do you see any pH swings from morning to evening yet ?
You may not - but you may if you have significant algae growth.
You could do a couple things to correct the imbalance.
The easiest is to do a series of moderate water changes with newly mixed aerated overnight saltwater.
Test the new batch to see what the alk, calcium and pH read.
Should be somewhere around 7 to 8.5 KH, calcium around 380 and pH around 8.0 to 8.2 or so.
These are typical ranges for newly mixed saltwater when you use RO or RO/DI water.
Using tapwater may cause these values to be higher - again if your tapwater is hard ( contains a lot of minerals )
Water changes are the easiest way to correct the problem in my opinion. But these water changes should be small - 10% or so.
Otherwise - you can slowly begin to add an alkalinity buffer.
Powdered forms are common and available most everywhere.
Mixed with freshwater - you can very slowly add the buffer solution to the tankwater - but don't try to make a big jump all at once.
Doing so can create a condition where you form calcium carbonate - and the tankwater may get very cloudy. Slower is better most always.
I would half or quarter dose the recommended amounts on the buffer container instructions. Do this over several weeks, and test every few days or so to make sure you're on track.
You should see the levels begin to change over time.
Your alk should rise
Your calcium should fall
Your pH should remain around 8.0 ( but may fluctuate - it's normal as the tank matures )
However you choose to do this - once you've got the tankwater balanced - start dripping the limewater to keep the levels up.

 

[tootz]

aaahhhaaa Thanks so much for your replies!
Broomer5,
As for what my tank is stocked with....all I have so far is a clownfish, a condi,(didn't get them because of the NEMO), some shrooms, a royal gramma and my cleanup crew.
and my rock....There are 3 large pieces with tons of coralline on them already when i got them with tons of new growth starting ...the other 3 pieces have "some" coralline and some new growth.
As for tapwater....I do use tapwater and I do know the disadvantages of that. I use Instant Ocean for salt.
I test all different parts of the day and the ph has stayed steady.
I think I'll start with some waterchanges and see where I go from there...then start buffers if needed, then kalk to maintain once levels are stable
Thanks again! :-D