Concerned about Calcium rise

Greetings folks
Merry Christmas to those that do and happy holidaze for those that dont.
Question is this...
My Calcium is at 560.
other params are as follows...
No2=0
Po4=0
PH=8.0
Nh3=0
dKH=10
No3=0
Mg=1280
Alk=2.0
Salt=1.028
Temp=79
Ph is low...should be a bit higher this evening, so not too worried there..
The only change is I have started to feed less..to elimanate some algae growth..worked....thats a good thing.8)
I did add about 12 lbs of rock on the 4th of November (It was already full of Coraline algae) from a tank that was being pulled down..hmmmm
I have not done a water change in 5 weeks Bad thing.
( I've been WORKING LIKE A DOG)..... good and bad thing.;D
I just did 10 gallon water change, 5 gallons at a time, yesterday. (80 Gallon system)
Checked out the stickies..what ARE the ramifications of high calcium? and I guess water changes are the best cure and preventative? Been reading Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley...pretty ridged about Calcium in the 380 to 450 range....so I am concerned.
Nothing/critters, shows any adverse or alarming conditions..actually all very nice...perfect even.
At your leisure,
LG
This was actually written yesterday, but I had trouble posting due to the fact that Matt was up to his "azz in alligators" working on this site. Good Job Matt.
Going to test again this afternoon..figured Id let it calm down after the W/C
Have a great day !!;D

 

I don't see anything wrong with CA at 580 and alk at 10 dKH. I would get your magnesium up a little first to maybe 1350-1400ppm. Then, when you add a buffer to your tank to get your Alk up to ~12-14 dKH, the Ca should fall back to just right. You'll need the mag up first to stabilize this though.

 

Thanx bogie..
I guess I am now entering the next phase of reef keeping, figuring out what does what and how each effects the other.
buffers... All I use now is the white blocks. "Reef essentials" and PH buffer once in awhile.
I have read that the selection of buffers is incredible...
Any suggestions would be helpful.
and thanx again for easing my mind. : )
LG

 

+2 on that one, couldn't have said it better.

 

I use a 4:1 mix of arm & hammer baking soda and borax 20 mule team laundry booster as my buffer mix.
In a 55 gallon such as ours, I've found one rounded to slightly heaping tablespoon of that buffer raises alk by about 3 dKH.

 

Incredible. This is the old school way for sure. I will use it. I also have allot of homework to do. Starting Phase Two. Chemistry. : )
Thanx guys.
LG
BTW...how do I "Mag Up?"

 

Either, use epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), and if you do regular w.c.'s the sulfates shouldn't build up. There are sulfates naturally in seawater too.
Or if worried about that (which some people surely are) you can use products from Bulk Reef Supply which has mag sulfate and mag chloride (or maybe magnesium cholorate?) to mix as you please or dose individually. There is 2-3x more chlorates/chloride in natural seawater than sulfates, so most folks will do a 1:2 or a 1:3 mixture, whatever you please. I have never found online any concrete evidence of any tanks crashing or other calamities from using only epsom salt to raise mag (only made up stories and myths so far). I have also heard of people using it long term with no ill affects.

 

assuming your alk at 2 is in meq/L not dKH. raising dKH will lower Ca, Mg is the buffer between them. with Ca at 500, Mg should be around 1500. Ca:dKH is 20:1, 1meq/L=2.8 dKH, with Ca at 500, dKH should be around 9 meq/L or 25 dKH. cooked baking soda will raise the dKH and pH, once in the window
Chemistry and the Aquarium
the tank should balance itself out, but you must figure out the consumption rates for Ca,dKH,Mg and dose accordingly.

Sr, K, B are other contributing factors, you can use
(K) Potassium Test Kit*::*Zeovit Media & Misc.*::*ZEOvit USA
to test K, and
iHerb.com - Product Details - Now Foods, Potassium Chloride Powder, 8oz (227 g)
to raise K

you can use
"Bulk Reef Supplies- High Purity Borate / A.K.A. Boron dKH Supplement"
to raise B, which is part of dKH

Sr is tricky, most livestock cant handle anything over 20
the consumption rates for Sr,K,B are not as much as Ca,dKH,Mg but should still be monitored.

as mentioned epsom salt will raise Mg, but will lower pH a little due to the salts, you could use this
Seachem. Reef Advantage Magnesium
overdosing Mg will lower dKH

depending on which salt is used for a water change, that alone will bring the tank back into the window
Reef Central Online Community - A General Guide to Salt Mixes

trace elements are another contributing factor, and can be replaced through water changes or dosing.

Ca at 560 isnt bad, its not recommended to have Ca over 500, i keep my tank at Ca 500, Mg 1500, dKH 25, K 400, B 10, Sr 15

 

LG,
The SeaChem Reef Advantage Magnesium is only a blend of Magnesium Sulfate (epsom salt) and Sodium Chloride (NaCl, table salt). Pretty package, but simply overpriced. There is no Mag Chloride in it, so it has no "benefits" over using simple epsom salt.

 

Well, I purchased the basic supplies..$7.00 Epsom Salt, Baking Soda, Borax.
Put in 1/2 cup Epsom salt @ 10:30 am raised Mg from 1290 to 1360 waited about 3 hours and @ 1:30 pm I added one measured teaspoon,slightly heaped but not crazy over 1 tsp. of the 4:1 soda,borax mixture to a beaker of tank water to dissolve and introduced to sump....noticed that some of the corals did a little tightening up after the MAG UP...but loosened up and went to a very nice state after the soda/borax buffer was added
Tested water @ 8:00 am this morning.
Results as follows...

WAS IS

Ca2=560 Ca2=520
No2=0 No2=0
Po4=0 Po4=0
PH=8.0 Ph=7.8 added some buffer will check again this evening.
Nh3=0 Nh3=0
dKH=10 dKH=11
No3=0 No3=0
Mg=1280 Mg=1290
Alk=2.0 Alk2.8
Salt=1.028 Salt=1.027
Temp=79 Temp=78
So in closing, I do believe that the basic chemicals required to stabilize these condition mentioned in the front of this post can be handled with these simple household products, without any adverse effects. But it must also be noted that testing/dosing using this method must be done with care and extreme caution. (no label to read) : )
Thanx for your assitance..
LG