Salifert Calcium Test Problem - No Pink Color

[d2mini]

Having a strange issue. Calcium was reading a little low at 360ppm so I increased my dosing 6 days ago to raise it.
I also raised my Magnesium to around 1560 since I have some algae I've been fighting.
Tried to test calcium today and I can't get the water to turn pink. Even by using 4ml of water instead of 2ml. As soon as I add some of the titration solution it turns blue. It starts to go a little purple, like the color across the middle of the box but that's as pink as it gets before going back to pure blue.
There's no way my calcium dropped to undetectable levels in 6 days.
Could the higher magnesium be causing an issue?
Alk has remained rock steady at 8.3
Test kit doesnt expire until 2026.

I don't want to just start adding calcium if something is altering the results of the test and causing a false reading.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

If the color isn't changing when adding titration solution, doesn't that mean the calcium is higher than the test measures? Not lower?

 

[Second Shot]

The new kit should start blue. You put in .6ml and that puts it to pink. This is where you start titrating

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The new kit should start blue. You put in .6ml and that puts it to pink. This is where you start titrating

Interesting. My kit doesn't work like that.

 

[MBruun]

Salifert New Calcium test kit

So I just recently purchased another salifert test kit and notice they change the instructions so no longer 3 part it’s now a 2 and I can’t seem to understand this now. New instructions are now: 2ml of tank water Spoon of Ca-1 Draw Ca-2( which is now the dropper ) Add .06ml Mix for 5 sec...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[d2mini]

The new kit should start blue. You put in .6ml and that puts it to pink. This is where you start titrating

Right. It starts blue... then kinda gets purple before quickly going back to blue.
Before I raised magnesium it was a definitive, obvious PINK color that took many drop to get to turn blue again.
I'm thinking there is something with the magnesium preventing the test from turning fully pink.

 

[jda]

This means that your calcium is over 500.

Get another vial of the last part and keep dropping it. Add the second vial result to the max result of the first syringe.

You can do this with alk too if you use a CaRx and the effuent is beyond what the first dropping syringe can handle.

 

[d2mini]

This means that your calcium is over 500.

Get another vial of the last part and keep dropping it. Add the second vial result to the max result of the first syringe.

You can do this with alk too if you use a CaRx and the effuent is beyond what the first dropping syringe can handle.

It just kept getting lighter blue.
Again, to be clear.... it starts off blue, starts to turn purple as i add some titration fluid, then starts going blue again. If I go through the whole dropper, fill it back up and continue, it just gets lighter blue.

I've had calcium over 500 before and it always went intense pink first, like its supposed to.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Sounds like a bad test kit. How easily can you get a new one?

 

[wpapaslow]

Did you ever figure this out? I too am experiencing the same issue. Test starts blue, changes slightly, then stays blue. I was at 410ppm on 2/4, and just 6 days later cant get an accurate reading. Coincidentally my mag was also low, around 1150, so I did a partial adjustment dose yesterday.

 

[d2mini]

Did you ever figure this out? I too am experiencing the same issue. Test starts blue, changes slightly, then stays blue. I was at 410ppm on 2/4, and just 6 days later cant get an accurate reading. Coincidentally my mag was also low, around 1150, so I did a partial adjustment dose yesterday.

YES! I forgot to post an update.
Calcium had dropped too low. The test won't work properly if you start getting down near 350 or below.
Once I added some calcium (ESV Bionic) it started to work correctly, turning pink.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Try the kit on some new salt water.

 

[d2mini]

Try the kit on some new salt water.

Actually I did that, shortly before adding some calcium.
Once I knew the kit was working properly I knew my water was either too low or too high. I've had it too high before and knew how the kit reacts to that so figured it had to be too low. I found a thread on another small forum through a google search where they mentioned issues with the kit around the 300 mark. So i took a conservative guess and said to myself, if my calcium is 350, what would it take to raise it to 400. Used an online calculator and dosed half that amount. This got me to a range that was now readable by the kit. Voila! The next day I raised it some more. And then finally to around 420 where my dosing pumps were able to take over as usual.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, I was mostly aiming that comment to wpapaow.