Alkalinty and calcium ???

Calcium at 360 and alkalinty way above 214. What should I do. Was thinking a 30% water change may fix the problem but wanted to ask the pros on here who have helped me out so much already

 

Alk above 214 - maybe ur not reading the units right on the test. Most alk are not in that range.

What test kits are you using?

Are they expired?

 

using API I will test again and then re-post.

 

214 is a ppm reading it would be around 12 dKH.

Don't dose any alk until your reading is where you want it. Keep dosing Ca until it is around 420 then use just enough to maintain the numbers.

 

214 PPM = About 12 DKH

its just over the generally accepted reef tolerance (7 - 11) but its not a major issue IME
Many people have experimented with DKH higher in order to burn out some algae issues

what is your Magnesium level?

as increasing your calcium so that its more balanced with your alkalinity would be all I would do in this situation (provided your mag level is high enough to facilitate this)

Steve

 

I tested again and it is above 214. I had to add 17 drops before it turned yellow. That is sky high. I will dose with calcium. I'm not sure what my magnesium level is. What test kits are the best to use for a reef tank in your opinions.

A test kit that will test for anything and everything I need.

 

I would go with Salifert for Magnesium, Calcium and Alkalinity
360 is on the bottom end of the calcium scale, so increasing that by 20 could reduce your DKH from 12 to 11
and then 24 hours later increase it by another 20 -which should take you to 400, could mean your DKH would drop to 10

I say could, because it depends on your mag level as if your mag level is over 1400, it may still support 12 DKH even with 400ppm Calcium



Steve

 

He is at 17 dKH. Increasing the calcium should help lower this. Get a magnesium kit and see where the level is at. That will help us with suggestions. A water change is not that bad of an idea.

 

Okay will get the magnesium test also. Is there not one giant test kit that I can get to test everything?

 

I have two kits. I can test Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, PH, Calcium, ALK, Phosphates. What else besides these and magnesium will I need to test for, and is there a kit I can get to test for it all??