Calcium Reading Over 500

[DigitalWeight]

Tested my water yesterday and today and am seeing reading of over 500. Thought at first it could be a bad test kit, but ran the test with both a Red Sea kit and a Salifert kit and got the high readings.

Here are my parameters:

Salinity: 1.026
Alk: 7.4
pH: 8
Mag: 1500

The salt I am using is aquavitro salinity.

One thing I have been doing is doing a 1 gallon water change every couple of days. Mixed reef tank with not a lot of big colonies in there.

Any ideas on why it would be so high - I have some white particles floating around so I think it might be parcipitating out but not sure. You can see the tank here: DigitalWeight (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=95851)

[cuz]

this is the main reason i personally quit wasting the extra money on this salt, I could never get consistent reading from the mixed water, it was a dosing nightmare.

[DigitalWeight]

this is the main reason i personally quit wasting the extra money on this salt, I could never get consistent reading from the mixed water, it was a dosing nightmare.

I suspect that is the issue too - what else can it be? Could it creep up like this though over time?

[Skimmerking]

If u are changing water all the time u are not giving time for the cal to wear off or deplete so more and more just let it be. If you leave it high all the time calcium deposits will start forming on the impeller shafts but its not a big deal just let it take its course just watch the alkalinity

[LeanneP]

Test your newly mixed batch of water to see what the parameters are at. I|just mixed a batch and checked the Mg since it has been low lately and it was only 1200. Try rolling the bucket around if you don't already do that. Sometimes it helps, some times it doesn't.

[Ryan]

Aquavitro salt is super dry so the NaCL, Calcium, Alk, and Magnesium disolve at different rates causing the participate.

SK you are right and wrong. Yes when you change water your salt level will come up but most salt companies dont have high levels of calcium in their mix. So even if you changed water every day all day your calcium level will never be above whats in the bucket. In the case of Aquavitro your calcium level will never be over 443mg/l or so the bucket says. If their calcium mix is off like some of the mag levels then yes it could go up. But you wont see something crazy like 700 or 1000.

Over all Aquavitro is a pretty high grade crap salt. It mixes poorly, levels are off, and its expensive. Seachem needs to review their entire line (Instant Ocean, SeaChem, Aquavitro) and figure something out. For the money you would be better off with Fuvals new salt or H2 Ocean.

[DigitalWeight]

Aquavitro salt is super dry so the NaCL, Calcium, Alk, and Magnesium disolve at different rates causing the participate.

SK you are right and wrong. Yes when you change water your salt level will come up but most salt companies dont have high levels of calcium in their mix. So even if you changed water every day all day your calcium level will never be above whats in the bucket. In the case of Aquavitro your calcium level will never be over 443mg/l or so the bucket says. If their calcium mix is off like some of the mag levels then yes it could go up. But you wont see something crazy like 700 or 1000.

Over all Aquavitro is a pretty high grade crap salt. It mixes poorly, levels are off, and its expensive. Seachem needs to review their entire line (Instant Ocean, SeaChem, Aquavitro) and figure something out. For the money you would be better off with Fuvals new salt or H2 Ocean.

Thanks for this - sounds like I was sold a bag of crap in the marketing of this stuff. You mention some salt brands there, are there others I should consider as well?

[Ryan]

Personally I have switched to the fluval salt. Ive tried alot of the big brands as well as the cheap stuff and the fluval is the best by far. Consistant levels, fast disolving even with cold water, and no crap left in the bottom.

[Skimmerking]

Ryan if he is dosing something to bring the Cal up then the cal will start to climb. Like with Kalkwasser it will happen

[Ryan]

That would make the calcium go up but I dont see anywhere he mentions dosing calcium. Not sure where you pulled that idea out of.

[DigitalWeight]

You are right, I have not been dosing anything - 2-part or Kalk - nothing.

I really think it is the salt I am using. My other parameters are not crazy so I don't think that is driving it. I understand that if pH is off then you can get some weird calcium readings but that does not appear to be the case.

Check out the poll I just put up - totally forgot to include the Fluval salt (brain-fart) even though you inspired the post!