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View Full Version : Is my tank not using any calcium???


tcwoodrn
10/15/2009, 01:52 PM
I am trying to figure out how much cal and alk to dose daily using my BRS (bulk reef supply) two part kit. So for the last week I have been measuring my Cal and Alk daily. For the first my cal started at 450 then went to 440, then 430 over the first three days. I did my weekly water change after day three. When I measured Cal on day for it was back to 450 and has not changed since. (I use instant ocean salt). Alk has been 10dkh the whole time. I did dose Cal and Alk one time last week per the maintenance guidelines that BRS says to use (.4ml/gal of solution for both.)

My params as of today are:
Cal 475
Dkh 10
Mg 1350
ph 8.0
salinity 1.025
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 15


I have a mixed reef of zoos, acros, birdsnest, caps, and montis. My main orange cap and one of my montis are doing terrible. I have no major colonies (all of my sps are frags).

Is my tank just not consuming Calcium. With a Cal of 450-475 shouldn't my rocks be purple-ing up faster? Should I just not dose anything?


PS all testing is done manually by titration.

Randy Holmes-Farley
10/15/2009, 01:55 PM
If alkalinity is not declining, your tank is using relatively little calcium and alkalinity at the moment.

How long has the tank been set up?

Are the hard corals growing?

tcwoodrn
10/15/2009, 01:58 PM
This tank is very young, it is about 4 months old. I am getting growth on some of my SPS and some are not doing well. I didn't want to put these frags into a young tank but I had to when I upgraded.

Should I not dose anything until my SPS start growing and consuming? Am I getting Cal from my saltwater?

David Grigor
10/15/2009, 02:42 PM
I'd get a second opinion on your test kit and how your administering the test. Perhaps your consistantly reading high on your test.

Instant Ocean is not known for having elevated CA values to actually increase to such a high range.

bertoni
10/15/2009, 03:34 PM
You might want to get a second opinion on the alkalinity test kit, as they do seem to fail over time. I suspect that the tank doesn't have much growing yet, which is fine. The high calcium might be from the supplements added in the past. I'd stop dosing the calcium for a while, and try to keep it under 450 ppm, just to reduce abiotic precipitation a bit, but 475 ppm won't cause any problems.