Calcuim Levels - Tonight mine reads low.

[skozzy]

Tonight I done a test for the level of calcium in my tank, last week it read
around 420, tonight it's under 20, what brand or product should I look for
to boost the levels back up, and can I do a calcium addition in one go or
should it be slowly added ?

I tried the crushed coral in water with some pH down and test that and after
dropping the pH down to a level that can't be read by the test kit the
calcium level on my test kit was past 3000ppm, I used over 120 drops of my
test stuff and still couldn't find a level, so I assume the pH down leaches
the calcium back out. If I want to put the water back into the tank I assume
I need to raise the pH again before adding it, so for now I will just be
looking for some calcium additive.

[jpg]

well you have a major issue on your hands.first do you have
invertabrates?your tank will mostlikly crash now,the cal being so
low.bring the ph down why in gods name would you do such a thing.you
need to get a calcium additive kent makes good supplements.SLOWLY dose
and get the calcium back to 350-500
than use a kalk water topoff solution to keep it stable.the drop in cal
is going to cause the inverts to goin to shock killing them off.remove
all dead animals immediatly.


--
jpg

jay the reef keeper
------------------------------------------------------------------------
jpg's Profile: http://www.reef-chat.com/forum/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=11
View this thread: http://www.reef-chat.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=7380

[Marc Levenson]

Hi skozzy,

Are you saying that your Ca went from 420 to 400, or from 420 to 20? I dose a
product called ESV's B-Ionic daily in my tanks. It is an alkalinity and calcium
supplement that levels out the water and keeps my Ca over 400ppm.

I remember you talked about keeping your CC in a bucket and lowering the pH to
make your own Ca. I still don't have a clue.... but I know that I wouldn't take
the chance by adding that fluid into my tank.

Marc


skozzy wrote:

> Tonight I done a test for the level of calcium in my tank, last week it read
> around 420, tonight it's under 20, what brand or product should I look for
> to boost the levels back up, and can I do a calcium addition in one go or
> should it be slowly added ?
>
> I tried the crushed coral in water with some pH down and test that and after
> dropping the pH down to a level that can't be read by the test kit the
> calcium level on my test kit was past 3000ppm, I used over 120 drops of my
> test stuff and still couldn't find a level, so I assume the pH down leaches
> the calcium back out. If I want to put the water back into the tank I assume
> I need to raise the pH again before adding it, so for now I will just be
> looking for some calcium additive.

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[skozzy]

> Are you saying that your Ca went from 420 to 400, or from 420 to 20?

Well last night it showed under 20, but tonight it's reading 400+, this has
me confused, the pH is on 8.2 as it has been all week, purhaps I didn't test
it correctly last night or my kit is faulty.

The kit asks for a 3 part test, 7 drops of part 1, shake part 2 for 5
seconds then add 3 drops at this stage the colour goes pink, then part 3 is
1 drop, if the colour changes to purple after 1 drop then the calcium level
is under 20ppm. last night this happend, tonight it took 20 or 21 drops or
part 3 to change to purple.

Is it possible to go from 420 one day to 20 the next then back to 400+ or is
there something else at work here ?

> I remember you talked about keeping your CC in a bucket and lowering the
pH to
> make your own Ca. I still don't have a clue.... but I know that I
wouldn't take
> the chance by adding that fluid into my tank.

Ok, I hope you can follow this .... What I was thinking about tinkering
around with here was a way to use my excess crushed coral in a tub of water
(from my water purifier) which had been dosed initialy with pH down to lower
the pH to around or under 6, and then in the tub would be a small power head
keeping the water moving over and around the crush coral, then having the
water purifier very slowly dripping into the tub. As the water rises it
reaches a hole in the side of the tub that has an air hose fitted, and it
then leaks small levels of this water into the sump thus dosing the tank
with calcium.

I guess the idea is similar ot that of a calcium reactor but without the
carbon dioxide bottle.

I did try out using 100grams of crushed coral in a plastic container with 3
cups of fresh water from the water purifier, then I added 3 tea spoons of pH
down. It started to bubble within seconds, and still bubbled the day after.
But after 10 mins of adding the pH down I tested for calcium (the same night
I read under 20ppm in my main tank) and the reading from my test kit was
showing that after 120 drops of part 3 the water colour was still pink, the
says each drop of part 3 is 20ppm of calcium, so 120dropx X 20ppm to me is
2400ppm of calcium (I think I estimated 3000ppm??). This result may be wrong
because of either the pH down may affect the reading or my kit was or is up
the creek or I am barking up the wrong tree.

[Marc Levenson]

Sounds like your test the other day was wrong.

I've got no comment on your crushed coral experiment. ;)

Marc


skozzy wrote:

> > Are you saying that your Ca went from 420 to 400, or from 420 to 20?
>
> Well last night it showed under 20, but tonight it's reading 400+, this has
> me confused, the pH is on 8.2 as it has been all week, purhaps I didn't test
> it correctly last night or my kit is faulty.
>
> The kit asks for a 3 part test, 7 drops of part 1, shake part 2 for 5
> seconds then add 3 drops at this stage the colour goes pink, then part 3 is
> 1 drop, if the colour changes to purple after 1 drop then the calcium level
> is under 20ppm. last night this happend, tonight it took 20 or 21 drops or
> part 3 to change to purple.
>
> Is it possible to go from 420 one day to 20 the next then back to 400+ or is
> there something else at work here ?
>
> > I remember you talked about keeping your CC in a bucket and lowering the
> pH to
> > make your own Ca. I still don't have a clue.... but I know that I
> wouldn't take
> > the chance by adding that fluid into my tank.
>
> Ok, I hope you can follow this .... What I was thinking about tinkering
> around with here was a way to use my excess crushed coral in a tub of water
> (from my water purifier) which had been dosed initialy with pH down to lower
> the pH to around or under 6, and then in the tub would be a small power head
> keeping the water moving over and around the crush coral, then having the
> water purifier very slowly dripping into the tub. As the water rises it
> reaches a hole in the side of the tub that has an air hose fitted, and it
> then leaks small levels of this water into the sump thus dosing the tank
> with calcium.
>
> I guess the idea is similar ot that of a calcium reactor but without the
> carbon dioxide bottle.
>
> I did try out using 100grams of crushed coral in a plastic container with 3
> cups of fresh water from the water purifier, then I added 3 tea spoons of pH
> down. It started to bubble within seconds, and still bubbled the day after.
> But after 10 mins of adding the pH down I tested for calcium (the same night
> I read under 20ppm in my main tank) and the reading from my test kit was
> showing that after 120 drops of part 3 the water colour was still pink, the
> says each drop of part 3 is 20ppm of calcium, so 120dropx X 20ppm to me is
> 2400ppm of calcium (I think I estimated 3000ppm??). This result may be wrong
> because of either the pH down may affect the reading or my kit was or is up
> the creek or I am barking up the wrong tree.

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com