cloudy water

[Myka]

Originally Posted by roblarss

Finally got a mg test kit. Called every store that i know of in edmonton and finally one with a kit.

mg = 1200
ca = 310
alk = 220

Guess I will take the calcium up to about 450

This still baffles me that Im getting precipitate as I have had similar readings as this except my mg was lower.

Your numbers aren't that bad anymore because the precipitation has already occurred. This is obvious by the low calcium.

Get Mg up to 1350 ppm first. You will need it to support the addition of calcium. Fwiw, you will need a lot of magnesium chloride so use a powdered product, not a liquid one. Check out one of the reef calculators like the BRS one or the one on Reef Central.

Also, when you add a bunch of calcium the alkalinity will drop just from the addition of the calcium. Don't add more than about 50 ppm calcium per 24 hours, and expect to only have to go to about 430 ppm because alkalinity will probably drop to about 20 ppm with the addition of 100 ppm calcium.

As TimT says, I think there is a bacterial bloom at the same time too which is why you're seeing the low pH and the skimmer is going crazy. Unless you just have the skimmer poorly adjusted or sitting too deep in the water. Calcium precipitation doesn't make the skimmer go crazy.

[Jordon]

I'd have to agree on the bacterial bloom. You could have done absolutely nothing and a bacterial bloom could happen. Just one of those things. Should balance out in a week or two.

[roblarss]

Thats some good info.
The makes sense about the calcium. I wasnt really thinking things through late last night.

I added some mag this morning and Ill see where it is when I get home. I have some powdered mag chloride.

I hope this goes away fairly soon. My fish arent really eating much to anything. I only see the odd fish once a day or so. Except the foxface he sits against the glass and watches me all day.

The skimmer is setup the same as its always run. I actually backed it off a bit to prevent the foam from getting to crazy. Sump gets a foam head around the skimmer 6-8" tall. Skimmate is a dull brown tea color. I scoop the foam out of the sump every evening.