Is excess Ca a problem ?

My Ca runs around 500 - 515, I do not dose with anything. Weekly 25 % water changes, using Reef Crystals. The other stats are -

130 gal w/ 40 gal sump (2) mag 7 return pimps, (2) hydor 3 circ pumps.

ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 8 - 10 ( still working on that one )
Phos - 0
Ph - 8.3
KH/Alk - 11.8/4.3
Mg - 1380

Argonite sand on bottom. Tanks has been up since 7/09, but am going slow. Not a lot of corals yet. 1 Acropora, 1 montipora, 2 buttons, 1 mall brain, and 4 small fish, + cuc.
Is the high lvl of Ca a bad thing ? Could me vacuming the sand each water change be causing it by making it desolve faster ?

Thanks as always

Kim

 

As long as your alk is above 8 dkh, no it isn't an issue.

My first question is what brand of test kits are you using? There is a possibility that one or a couple are not accurate.

 

At that level it's not really bad, that's strange that you don't dose and it's that high, it could be the salt.

 

Levels of calcium above about 380 are shown to be almost pointless in aiding growth of corals. You will notice buildup on your glass and pumps faster however.

I don't know if vacuuming your sand is causing this.

 

I am using Salifert kits now, but I used a leftover red sea kit to recheck the Ca lvl.

 

problem is which isnt a problem.. is you dont have enough calcium demanding corals yet.. if you had more SPS and coralline algae your calcium levels would be dropping for ya.. 400-500 is a good range.. I would cut back on water changes for a few weeks.. let the tank water runs its course.. I'd do a 15% every 2 weeks, and see in a month how your water reacts.. also using a different salt that has a lower calcium content would help for now.. like instant ocean regular salt mix.. also take your water sample to 2 LFS and have them test it for calcium beofre doing anything..

you could always go by 3-4 sps corals too thats more fun!

 

I have a chart somewhere of newly mixed SW to check levels. I will find that and post up to see what RC has for levels in newly mixed batches.