I need some help

[ilv4xn]

I guess my chem classes didn't pay off. I understand the chemystry of my reef tank but I guess I just need some one to tell me what to add to change the chemystry. my tank is a month old. I used live rock from an established tank. I added some purple up. and now my calcium is 500ish my ph is 7.9 sal. is 1.021 the alk test I bought only gives you a "normal" color of green mine is normal. the goober at the lfs said I needed to rase ph so the calcium would precipate and drop but don't I want calcium?

[HighlandReefer]

How do you test salinity? How do you test for pH? What salt mix are you using? What kits are you using for alk. & calcium?

[ilv4xn]

I use a hydrometer I get my salt h2o from the lfs I think my ph and alk kit is a marine aquatics (at work and can't look at box) I don't have a calcium test kit yet had lfs check it

[HighlandReefer]

Do you have corals in your tank?

[Sk8r]

I recommend Salifert tests: you don' t have to match colors. You get a number.
Lay off the purple up. It'll mess up your chemistry.
The 3 additives you need are alkalinity buffer, magnesium (mostly what purple-up is) and calcium. I use Kent. Set your mg at about 1300. set your alk at 8.3-9.3, and calcium at 400-420. Your salinity should be 1.024-6 and you should use a refractometer: that hydrometer will be hard to use.
Mg is the stabilizer for alk and cal. If it's way too high, not great and you get too much coralline, all over your glass. If it's too low, alk and cal fall.
Get a log book, test daily, and track your readings. That will teach you how things behave.
After you've got that figured, ask again about kalk dosing, and we can show you how to save some work.

[ilv4xn]

I have 18lbs of LR from an exsisting system it's got corleine on it. I have a blenny a damsel a pepermint shrimp an emrald crab snails 1 mushroom a leather coral and two wavey tree things

[HighlandReefer]

I agree with Sk8r. As far as your pH, I would not worry about it, as test kits are not very accurate. A pH meter would be very helpful if you decide to buy sps corals. I would let your calcium level just ride, it will lower itself with water changes and consumption by your coralline algae. I like the Salifert kits myself, and good test kits are going to be necessary for corals.

[ilv4xn]

do I need to look into lowering the mag if it is too high?

[nicole977]

Mag is not a problem if it is anywhere 1300-1500. If you keep your alk and calcium at higher levels (ie 14 dKH for Alk and 500 ppm Ca) then your mag needs to be on the higher end to balance it out.

[bertoni]

Raising the pH is not a safe way to cause calcium carbonate to precipitate, and 500 ppm isn't very high, anyway.

This article covers the basic water parameters and their desired ranges:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

I would avoid raising alkalinity to keep it in "balance" with calcium. There's no useful linkage between the two like that. As long as both parameters are in the reasonable range, the tank should be fine.

[ilv4xn]

so then my h2o is not that bad off? my sal is at 1.022 that's been low for a few weeks I have been using salt h2o for top off to bring that up. what does colcium precipatate look like?

[bertoni]

Calcium carbonate tends to build up on pumps and heaters as an off-white, maybe slightly brownish film. In extreme cases, the tank water will turn whitish with very fine particles of suspended calcium carbonate.