Ca Too High

[ollysaquariums]

Hey everyone,
Maybe about two weeks ago I tested calcium and it was about 500ppm. I got worried as anyone would and convinced myself that my corals would just consume it in the next few days and I’ll just stop doing water changes because I have a feeling it’s my salt mix (Tropic Marin Reef Salt) and each time I water change, it increases calcium as corals don’t have enough time to consume it. I tested again a few days later and have kept testing and as of this morning, it’s still 480ppm and my finger leather coral, toadstool leather and duncan are all closed up, and my acan is starting to as well and I’m not sure if it’s because of this. Any ideas on what to do?

 

[Schlafrig]

What kind of tests are you using? And what's your Alk at?

 

[ollysaquariums]

What kind of tests are you using? And what's your Alk at?

My KH is 9.3 dKH, and I’m using the salifert test kits. Mg is also 1350ppm

 

[Schlafrig]

How old is the tank ? And how long have you had the corals? Your Alk / Calcium levels seem fine. Even though the calcium is high I haven't had issues with it being at similar levels. How are your phosphate and nitrate levels? And are you running any carbon?

 

[ollysaquariums]

How old is the tank ? And how long have you had the corals? Your Alk / Calcium levels seem fine. Even though the calcium is high I haven't had issues with it being at similar levels. How are your phosphate and nitrate levels? And are you running any carbon?

The tank is about 2 months old now and the first corals I got was about a month ago and I’ve been buying more every week until the other day. I’m not running carbon and phosphate is 0.06, nitrate is 5ppm

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

500 ppm calcium is fine. My recommended target range is 400-550 ppm. Some salt mixes have had above 500 ppm.

I would not worry about it.

 

[shollenberger]

I had the same issue with high Ca…550ppm because of a bad test kit. Didn’t seem to affect any of the coral. I just had a hard time keeping my kH up. I did weekly water changes to slowly lower it to ~500. I am now doing biweekly water changes and dosing TM AFR. All seems well now. I wouldn’t worry, just keep up with your regular maintenance and eventually all your parameters will level out.

 

[BryanM]

You might want to test salinity of your mixed salt water to see if it is high.... this might also account for the numbers not coming down.

 

[rtparty]

TM salt shouldn’t be that high in calcium. What is your alkalinity of newly made water?

Calcium isn’t your issue BTW. Something else is going on