tank parimeters out of balance,please help

[dmilne85]

everything seems to be out of balance, my ph is swinging,my calcium is very low and i cant bring it up(using calcium carbonate, and my alk is constantly droping. i have to add about 4 tsp of alk buffer each day to keep it from falling too low. I added about 12 ounces of liquid calcium and it managed to get my calcium to 410 ppm but that lasted all but a few hrs and dropped back down to 320. today my calcium is at 280. i was told i might have low magnesium so i orderd a mag test and some liquid magnesium from MD and it should be here tommorow. Also while i was looking at marinedepots website i decided to splurge and buy a korallin calcium reactor to help simplifiy/stabalize things. im at loss of what to do since im going on vacation in a few days. First i want to get my water balanced again but im not sure of how to do this in such a short amount of time. i think i will save setting up my calcium reacotr till i get back from vacation unless you guys think i should before hand. anyone have anytips or recommendations of what i can do im really frustrated about this and i need to figure this out because once i leave the tank sitter will not be able to figure it out for me. i have about 85 gallons of water total and i add top off about 3/4- 1 gallon of limewater a day

[alfie]

Went through same thing with my 65g
It was suggested to me also to test magnesium and dose accordingly AND IT WORKED
I do not have a calc reactor I only dose the 2 part B-IONIC
and add Kent Magnesium I also started to add SEA-LAB 28 cubes
for trace elements
My problem now is I cannot get calcium under 500
magnesium staying between 1240 & 1410
I just posted to see if someone can tell me how to lower it or if it is ok where it is.
I hope this can be of some help it has been about a month for me.
GOOD LUCK

[dmilne85]

thats funny because i had the high calcium issue befor. your calcium will just fall on its own if you dont add as much calcium or just stop dosing it for a bit. 500 isnt that bad, some people would say thats fine. however with my issue had about 550-600 ppm and it would not drop. i found out my salt mix i was using (coralife) out of the box had 600 ppm of calcium so i never would get it lower since i did water changes every week.

[Boomer]

I also started to add SEA-LAB 28 cubes
for trace elements
My problem now is I cannot get calcium under 500
magnesium staying between 1240 & 1410

That is where your high calcium and Magnesium is coming form, that 28, get it out. It is loaded with Ca++ and Mg++

everything seems to be out of balance, my ph is swinging,my calcium is very low and i cant bring it up(using calcium carbonate, and my alk is constantly droping.

What do you mean calcium carbonate, it will to raise your calcium Alk or do anything for pH. What are you adding ? Who's buffer ?

calcium carbaonte You must mean Calcium Chloride I take it.


It is easy to get the water balanced and it looks like you need it. Water changes. Due two 25 gals changes over 2 days,1 each day.

Then retest, Ca++, Mg++, Alk and pH and we can go from there.

What salt are you using or are you going to use ?

[dmilne85]

sorry i wasnt thinking, yes i did mean calcium chloride. im using kent marine buffer/dkh. i dont think i can make that much ro/di water that quickly so would it be safe to go to the grocery store and buy the gallon jugs of ro/di water they sell? im using Instant Ocean which i know already has a lower amount of calcium, and magnesium in it. i hope this is easy to balance, i need to figure it out soon. Is it acceptable to be adding 4 tbs of buffer every day?

[bertoni]

Grocery store water is of variable quality. I'd test it with a TDS meter before using it. I agree with some water changes as a first step. 4 tsp of SuperBuffer might be rather high. I wouldn't worry about that until the water parameters are more reasonable.

[dmilne85]

do you know where i could find a tds meter besides an aq supply store? such as homedepot, ace hardware?

[bertoni]

Hmm, I don't really know. Possibly a Home Depot, but I've never seen once there.

[dmilne85]

well i did my first h20 change and i just tested my water and my calc is still low but it did raise some. my alk is at 8.0 and calc is at 340. hopefully it doesnt drop to much by tommorow.

[dmilne85]

ok so i finished my second water change today and my calcium dropped lower then it was before the second water change. my calcium/alk levels changed like this_


aug 10th- calcium 280, alk 8.0(adding lots of kent superbuffer each day to maintain)

aug 11th- first water change- calcium @340 alk at 7.0(did not add buffer that day)

aug 12th- cal at 320, alk at 7.0 then after second water change calcium @ 300, alk at 7.0


this confuses me since i thought i would have raised my mag/calcium/alk levels with changeing almost 60 gallons of water in two days with Instant ocean salt but it really hasnt. i havent recieved my mag test and my liquid mag in the mail yet, it will be comming in on monday, im not sure what to do in the mean time. i leave on tuesday so i really want to get things resolved before i leave. any help would be appreciated. oh i dont know if this makes a difference but i tested my cal/alk levels an hr after i did my last water change, should i wait longer to get an accurate reading with my test?

[beachh]

low mag would be my guess

[beachh]

how much water evaperates an a day and whats your tank temperture stay at.

[dmilne85]

yeah ive been told its low mag and im waiting on some kent tech m, and a mag test kit in the mail. hasnt come in yet though.

[dmilne85]

i lose about 3/4 a gallon a day, and top off with lime water. my temp never goes outside 78-79.

[bertoni]

Low magnesium might be the issue. At this point, I'd start supplementing some calcium and alkalinity to see what happens. Some calcium chloride and baking soda would be fine for the moment.

Also, if the tank's pH is fine, stronger limewater might help. How much lime per gallon is being added?

[dmilne85]

I decided to do another 15 gal water change and did a test and its up to 360 ppm. I then added liquid calcium but that didn't raise it any more. I add about 18 tsb of kalkwasser in a 15 gallon container.

[bertoni]

How much calcium was added, and which product are you using?

[dmilne85]

i went to the lfs and bought more concentrated liquid calcium that has magnesium and strontium in it. it is the seachem reefcomplete, and i added the max dosage they said to in a day which is 12.5 ml per 20 gallon so i added 50 ml for 80 gallons.

[bertoni]

Hmm, according to the calculator, that should raise Ca about 25 ppm, which is a very small change.

Those doses are really targeted at hobbyists who aren't measuring Ca and alkalinity, I think. I would try dosing another 50 ml and see what happens.

I would be careful about dosing the Sr and Mg in a mix like this, since the individual levels can't be controlled.

[danthefishman]

How old is your test kit? There have ben numerous accounts of inaccuracy due to a faulty test kit. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Recommended doses on bottles are for maintaining levels, not raising them. So the dose may need to be much larger when boosting calcium.

Use a calculator to know how much to add:

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

[dmilne85]

well i just got my test kit in tonight and my mag levels are fine...acually almost to high, however i did manage to get my calcium higher then usual. looks like things are commingtogether. it just seems like i use a tone of buffer to keep my alk above 7.0. i leave tommorow so hopefully things will be ok when im gone. i have no idea how much i should tell my girlfriend to add of calcium though since im just starting to get to the right levels and i dont think shes gonna be testing my water every day to see if they are ok.... hopefully my corals wont stress to much...

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Calcium won't drop much in a few days.

Have a nice vacation! :)