Can high cal affect alk?

[BAMatter]

Just like the title says… I’m waiting for an ICP test to come back but my Salifert cal test is coming up with an incredibly high 600+ cal number, and I can’t bring alk up for the life of me. I’m dosing kalk at night around .9dkh drop and am dosing something to the tune of 1.2dkh worth of Triton Core 7 during the day, and alk keeps on dropping…? Hannah says 7.7dkh and Salifert says 8.3dkh, but I’m having a difficult time believing my mixed reef around 85 gallons is dropping 2+ dkh daily? Thoughts, comments, anything? Can a high cal number prevent alk from rising ?

 

[Garf]

Just like the title says… I’m waiting for an ICP test to come back but my Salifert cal test is coming up with an incredibly high 600+ cal number, and I can’t bring alk up for the life of me. I’m dosing kalk at night around .9dkh drop and am dosing something to the tune of 1.2dkh worth of Triton Core 7 during the day, and alk keeps on dropping…? Hannah says 7.7dkh and Salifert says 8.3dkh, but I’m having a difficult time believing my mixed reef around 85 gallons is dropping 2+ dkh daily? Thoughts, comments, anything? Can a high cal number prevent alk from rising ?

How on earth have you got a calcium of over 600?

 

[BAMatter]

How on earth have you got a calcium of over 600?

It’s not a fact, it’s just what my Salifert is reading, but still waiting on ICP tests. But, that said, I dose kalk at night which raises calcium, so it could be a fact. Will find out soon.

 

[Garf]

It’s not a fact, it’s just what my Salifert is reading, but still waiting on ICP tests. But, that said, I dose kalk at night which raises calcium, so it could be a fact. Will find out soon.

What’s your freshly made saltwater test at? Are you doing waterchanges?

 

[StatelineReefer]

How on earth have you got a calcium of over 600?

The real question is what their magnesium is at with a cal of 600, I would imagine without it each dose cycle must look like a blizzard.

 

[BAMatter]

The real question is what their magnesium is at with a cal of 600, I would imagine without it each dose cycle must look like a blizzard.

I’ll test mag shortly. The Triton Core 7 has a mag part, so I would assume it’s not terribly low. But you know what assuming does. I really which my ICP results were not delayed. I’m having a hard time trusting my test kits at the moment. And no, dosing is not creating a blizzard by any means.

 

[BAMatter]

Looks like the Salifert cal test may not be accurate if calcium is above 500. I just tested another tank that’s cycling and cal popped 415 which makes sense.

That said, if cal is in fact that high, should I pull the plug on dosing cal and just dose mag and alk?

 

[StatelineReefer]

Looks like the Salifert cal test may not be accurate if calcium is above 500. I just tested another tank that’s cycling and cal popped 415 which makes sense.

That said, if cal is in fact that high, should I pull the plug on dosing cal and just dose mag and alk?

High mag would be the reason cal would be that high without precipitation. Check your alk twice, average the reading. Check your mag twice. And assuming you have that high of a calcium reading, stop dosing for a week and check your levels afterward.

 

[StatelineReefer]

I should clarify, if your calcium is that high, stop dosing altogether for a week. Allow the corals to consume what is already there, and readjust your dosing numbers based on your ideal parameters.

I suggest Alk of 7.5-8.5, Cal of 400-450, and Mag of 1400-1460. But that just works for me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The real question is what their magnesium is at with a cal of 600, I would imagine without it each dose cycle must look like a blizzard.

That’s not true.

These three combinations have equal likelihood of precipitation.

Alk 7 dKH
Calcium 600 ppm
pH 8.0

Alk 10.5 dKH
Calcium 400 ppm
PH 8

Alk 7 dKH
Calcium 400 ppm
~pH 8.18

 

[BAMatter]

That’s not true.

These three combinations have equal likelihood of precipitation.

Alk 7 dKH
Calcium 600 ppm
pH 8.0

Alk 10.5 dKH
Calcium 400 ppm
PH 8

Alk 7 dKH
Calcium 400 ppm
~pH 8.18

alk 7.7 Hannah
alk 8.4 Salifert
cal off the charts high Salifert
mag 1470 Salifert
PH 8.39

What’s the best course of action for the time being? Dose and maintain alk? Halt dosing altogether? Large water change?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

alk 7.7 Hannah
alk 8.4 Salifert
cal off the charts high Salifert
mag 1470 Salifert
PH 8.39

What’s the best course of action for the time being? Dose and maintain alk? Halt dosing altogether? Large water change?

Use a second syringe of titrant with the Salifert kit to get an actual level. Then we can figure out what to do.

 

[BAMatter]

Use a second syringe of titrant with the Salifert kit to get an actual level. Then we can figure out what to do.

Twice I did that- was taking an other .32ml’s of titrant to get a color change on top of the full 1ml syringe

 

[BAMatter]

Use a second syringe of titrant with the Salifert kit to get an actual level. Then we can figure out what to do.

Twice I did that- was taking an other .32ml’s of titrant to get a color change.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Twice I did that- was taking an other .32ml’s of titrant to get a color change.

So 1 full syringe and 0.32 ml additional titrant? That gives 660 ppm.

I don't know how it got there, but it's not a huge issue, even assuming it is real, which it may not be.

Have you tested your new salt water yet?

 

[BAMatter]

So 1 full syringe and 0.32 ml additional titrant? That gives 660 ppm.

I don't know how it got there, but it's not a huge issue, even assuming it is real, which it may not be.

Have you tested your new salt water yet?

Have not tested new water yet, no. I tested another tank that’s been cycling for a couple months that used the same salt and it was 415.

I’ve been dosing about 2500ml of kalk at night, and 20ml of each of the 4 parts of Triton Core 7 during the day. Can kalk add that much additional cal? I’m considering putting a stop on kalk and calcium, and continuing to dose alk and mag until cal drops a bit. Is that a decent plan?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Limewater (kalkwasser) adds both alk and calcium. Short term it does not boost calcium if alk is stable. Very long term it boosts calcium a little because it has a slight excess of calcium. I do not believe your use of kalkwasser caused calcium to rise that much.m, however.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I would not make any dosing decision until you test some new salt water side by side with testing tank water.

 

[BAMatter]

@Randy Holmes-Farley - what’s your take on Triton Core 7? I’ve been searching around and am seeing that elevated cal and mag are a fairly common thing. Could this be where my issue is stemming from?

 

[Troylee]

I was having the same problem with kalk, my calcium likes to ride 550-600 so I stopped.. I’m using sodium hydroxide now for my ph boost and alk and it’s working well! My calcium has dropped to 500 finally over a week but it’s holding steady and I don’t dose calcium lol..