Stopping Precipitation

[shoreliner11]

I have had 20 my gal reef set up for almost a year now. I have never been able to maintain high calcium a dkh levels. Here are my current specs:
Temp range 78-81
Salinity 1.026
pH 8.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate less than 10 (bad test kit, thats the lowest it goes)
Phosphates don't have a test kit, but just starting using rowaphos and regular brown algae growth has almost stopped)
Calcium 380 (salifert test kit)
dkh 8 (salifert)
Lighting: 250watt de hqi mh 20000k run for 10 hours/day
Filtration: cpr bakpak 2 skimmer with 2 additional airstones inside
Here is my stocking info:
1 sixline wrasse
1 royal gramma
1 yellow watchman
1 pistol shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
gsp
pagoda cup
a new 2in maxima
a coco worm
colt tree coral
frogspawn
welsophylia brain
and 3 sps frags :a new blue tip acro, a purple tip(which is now brown) and a new montipora cap.
all softies and lps are doing great with no real noticeable growth out of the sps frags.
I dose with C-balance, which is a 2 part system like b ionic. I add 5 ml of part A (calcium) and 7 ml of part B daily to maintain these levels. I was dosing during the morning before lights on, but after my coco worm wasn't coming out at all for the past 2-3 weeks, I deciding to try at night. The coco worm has since come out and is looking better. I also notice precipitate on the power head, thermometer, and even on the back glass(it seems to stick to anything with a little algae on it). I tried using kent liquid calcium with no results. I only notice more precipitate with no significant change in calcium...only a large drop in dkh. When dosing I do so in a high flow area very slowly as to not let it precipitate right away. I have noticed that after I dose at night there is little precipitate but after the day has gone on it slowly builds up. I do a 2 gal (10%) water changes with the new oceanic salt each week to keep up trace elements. I'm setting up a 10gal fuge in a month which I think will help stabilize levels and I will also be dripping kalk. Does anyone have an idea what the problem could be? Anything I should try different to help maintain higher levels? Sorry for the long post but it kinda baffles me. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[jlem]

Calcium and PH work like a balancing act. If ph is on the high side then Calcium will be on the low side and vice versa. I bett that if you let your PH drop to 8.2 then your calcium will kick back up. Your calcium is just fine where it is.

 

[shoreliner11]

Thanks a bunch guys. I will try what you said kip. I will keep you updated on the progress.

 

[jlem]

A much easier fix is to cut back on what ever you are using to maintain PH and let your PH drop over time and your calcium rise. Keep testing every few days and you will find the sweet spot eventually.

 

[jlem]

Let me state that there are tons of different ways and I am not saying that Kip's way is wrong, just another way.
I use Seachem Reef Complete ( maintains calcium, stronium and magnesium at proper ratios ). I also use Seachem PH 8.3 Marine buffer. these two additives with biweekly 10% water changes maintain all of my levels. I noticed when I first got into the hobby that when PH rises your calcium drops and vice versa, so it was and in my case is just a matter of dosing those two items in the proper ratios to find their sweet spot and water changes will take care of the ALK.
The simpler the better. I thought that C-balance like B-ionic was a calcium/PH dosing system?
Your tank is not in bad shape at all so trying to go to fast which happens alot with Baking soda can cause quick swings which is the last thing that you want to do