Calcium High / Need Advise

[gwayneo]

Can anyone tell me how to lower my calcium . I had high calcium in my old tank . I changed tanks last weekend from a 115 gal to a 150 gal. added about 50 gals of new RO water. ,but still high. I have changed salt but still Water temp is 78 steady getting a calcium reading of 520 - 540 . My alk - 8.624 , Ph 8.2 , Mag 1350 , Phos 0 , Nitrates 0 . I have even tryed two different test kits ??????
Can someone give any advise. Thanks

[kien]

I think your best bet is multiple water changes with a low calcium salt like regular IO. You can either do a few over the course of the week or do larger ones like 50% today, 50% tomorrow and then see where you're at and take it from there.

What do you have in your tank? If things aren't looking stressed out you may be able to ride out the high calc and let it go down "naturally". In other words, there may not necessarily be a need to panic. Yet :-)

[gwayneo]

I have done that with my old tank and still high. I swiched from Salinity to Seachem reef salt in purple bucket . Still high ??

[kien]

I have done that with my old tank and still high. I swiched from Salinity to Seachem reef salt in purple bucket . Still high ??

I don't have any experience with those salts but that does seem really high if you've done larger water changes with that salt already ? Have you tested the calcium out of a fresh batch of saltwater from those salts to see what the calc is from NSW out of those buckets? Maybe it's an unusually high batch ? In other words, if you test out the calc from newly made saltwater from those buckets and find the calc to be high then ya, doing larger water changes with that salt isn't really going to lower your calc at all! You'll need to find a lower calcium salt.

[rhody605]

Did you roll your salt buckets before using?

[gwayneo]

I just bought some bags and emptied into buckets. I would think that would have mixed it ???? Thanks

[Werbo]

What test kit?

Having your calcium at 520ppm will not harm anything. Over the next couple weeks your Ca will naturally come down to under 500ppm. Monitor your Alk and maintain it at 8-10 dKh to prevent precipitation of Ca.

If you are worried about it do as Kien suggests and buy some Instant Ocean salt which has Ca levels typically around 380ppm and do dome water changes.

Stir your sand as it has a tendancy to solidify and clump at 500+ ppm.

[gwayneo]

No, I should have thought of that. Should have checked that first thing. Thanks

I don't have any experience with those salts but that does seem really high if you've done larger water changes with that salt already ? Have you tested the calcium out of a fresh batch of saltwater from those salts to see what the calc is from NSW out of those buckets? Maybe it's an unusually high batch ? In other words, if you test out the calc from newly made saltwater from those buckets and find the calc to be high then ya, doing larger water changes with that salt isn't really going to lower your calc at all! You'll need to find a lower calcium salt.

[gwayneo]

API & Hanna Checker
Thanks


What test kit?

Having your calcium at 520ppm will not harm anything. Over the next couple weeks your Ca will naturally come down to under 500ppm. Monitor your Alk and maintain it at 8-10 dKh to prevent precipitation of Ca.

If you are worried about it do as Kien suggests and buy some Instant Ocean salt which has Ca levels typically around 380ppm and do dome water changes.

Stir your sand as it has a tendancy to solidify and clump at 500+ ppm.