Emergency... mistake while dosing!!!

[fresh]

Hi all,

So this is my first time dosing Ca/Alk and I made a biiiiiig mistake!!!

After I put one (LARGE) cup of Calcium Chloride mix that I just created and one (LARGE) cup of Baking Soda mix that I also just created, I measured both Ca and Alk to see where I am sitting at.... My reading were 550 for Calcium and 19 for Alk!!!!

How bad is this? How can I solve it? Is it ok to leave the system as is until these two get depleated?

Will this kill any of my animals??? please let me know.

Thanks

My tank (72gal) inhabitants are:
2 clowns
2 tangs
1 chromis
1 shrimp
a number of snails and crabs.

Corals etc:
2 maxima clams
1 med. brown acro
2 small caps
candycane
moon coral
branching hammer
open brain
gsp
xenia
finger leather
large anemone

[Chin_Lee]

Yo dude, bring that alk down to at least 12-13. 19 is way too high - your livestock are not going to be happy campers.
don't worry about your calcium.

[Willow]

thats pretty high but not disastorious. you might want to do a water change and keep an eye on stuff. some of your corals will probably close up as thats a prety big shift in change for one day. depending on your depletion rate your levels might stay like that for awhile unless you change some water out.

[danny zubot]

You might find that those levels are balanced with each other, I just can't seam to find that calculator on RC. I'd still bring down the Alk, inverts don't like it that high. I agree that you CA isn't as detrimental but if your Mg isn't balanced your corals won't utilize the Ca.

[fresh]

Well, I just checked this morning, and everything was "still" alive (sigh).

What are the disadvantages of having this happen? If everything is open and happy latter today, can I just leave it as is?

I also read somewhere that your aragonite sand will harden if your calcium is very high... well is this the case?

Let me know please.

I will probably be doing a water change today or tomorrow, just in case.

Thanks

[danny zubot]

I also read somewhere that your aragonite sand will harden if your calcium is very high... well is this the case?


There is a term used specifally in the reefing community for this, but scientifically it is fundamentally a precipitate. Where the excess elements bond with the aragonite to form lime stone. (correct) Essentially it is your tanks way of adjusting the levels quicker than if the corals were to utilize the excess elements.

[Beverly]

Fresh,

I would do at least a 30% water change. Won't bring alk down a heck of a lot, but it will get it closer to what you really need. BTW, what is your pH?

Also, there is an article in the Reef Chemistry sticky thread that might have an answer for you ....

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

[danny zubot]

Bev, do you know where the link is for that calculator for these levels?

Incidently....

What processes inhibit continued precipitation of CaCO3 onto a growing crystal? The main thing happening in normal seawater is likely the impact of magnesium. It does two critical things (discussed in detail in this linked article (http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/library/articleview2.asp?Section=&RecordNo=2856)):
1. Magnesium holds onto carbonate ions and reduces their free concentration, thereby reducing the likelihood of precipitation onto calcium carbonate surfaces.
2. Magnesium gets onto the growing surface of the crystal, essentially poisoning it for further precipitation of calcium carbonate.

[fresh]

Danny, the link doesn't work, and I really do want to read it ;)

So from what you said, I understand that if I have enough Magnesium in my system (elevated levels in this case of all ca/alk/mg), then I don't need to worry about the sand calcifying! Is that true?

thanks

[danny zubot]

That is correct, Mg is what makes Ca bio available and in the correct balance it is actually possible to superload your tank with all levels without experiencing precipitation. NOT recommended though, trust me. Even if you do get precipitate it shouldn't completely solidify your entire sandbed, only patches here and there.

You'll have to access that link through Bev's link.

[Beverly]

Bev, do you know where the link is for that calculator for these levels?

Danny,

The calculator and other articles are in the second thread of this (Reef) forum. Can't miss it. Says "Bev's Chemistry Links" :smile:

[reeferaddict]

Before you panic - don't do anything in a hurry!

If the animals are fine, then yes... do a water change and slowly lower your Alk... How quickly the levels come down on their own depends on what kind of animals you have that consume Ca+/Alk. Without supplementation, my tank will drop 50ppm Ca+ and 2 dKH Alk in 24 hours... if it were me, I would do a 10% water change daily, (to stress things as little as possible), until it comes down to a more reasonable level, 10 - 12 dKH is a good target, with anywhere between 400 and 450 ppm being good Calcium numbers. As you'll be doing water changes, Magnesium levels will be maintained that way unless you have some serious calcification going on. Then go buy a test kit to test and maintain Magnesium. Chronically LOW Calcium levels indicate a deficiency in Magnesium - (<850ppm)

The key to health is moreso an avoidance of sudden shifts in water quality rather than maintaining strict parameters.

Just my 2 bits... hope this helps! :mrgreen: