Levels out of whack?

I received my package from BRS the other day and did some testing tonight with the Red Sea Coral Pro Reef Foundation test kits. Here are my levels...

Calcium: 490
Alkalinity: 6.2
Magnesium: 1340

SG: 1.027 (measured with refractometer)

The calcium is high, alk is low and mag seems ok?

How should I correct this? I also ordered the BRS 2 part so I can use that to increase the Alk... Should I just let the calcium fall naturally and keep testing in the mean time?

Thanks in advance!

 

Are your corals not looking good? Bleaching or color? That ALK is really low

 

Mushrooms and palys are not deep in color or bright. Not quite bleaching though.

 

Your Calcium may be causing the Alk. to drop.Your Mag. is fine.I would allow the Calcium to drop or do a WC. If you only have soft corals it is not necesssary to dose your tank.WC's should keep your levels acceptable. You can try to dose a small ammount of Alk. but it may precipitate until you can lower the Calcium a little.Your Salinity is a little high.1.024-1.025 is the norm for most.Has the refractometer been calibrated??

 

Vinny, I plan to start dosing because I want to make sure everything stays stable and I would like to eventually start keeping LPS. I calibrated the refractometer when I first got it a year ago. Should I recalibrate?

I'll do a water change and try to lower the Calcium that way. Is there any other way to lower it to get all my levels where they should be?

 

Until you have actually put corals in that utilize the Calcium and Alk. It is not necessary to dose.Even after adding LPS it may not be necessary to add Calcium MAG and Alk. to the tank.It depends on the type and number of corals, brand of salt , and frequecy of WC's. Dosing can be tricky and chasing numbers is not advised. Heres an easy way to tell exactly how much Calcium,Mag. and Alk. is being used up in the tank.Do a WC. Test the parameters every day at the same time for a week.You will then get a better idea of what is being used (if anything) and how much you will need to dose to keep your numbers in the proper range.Making a chart(graph) is a good way to track the levels of your tank . Keep in mind also that the numbers will change depending on what time you test and the numbers you get are just a snapshot in time.
P.S. Yes I like to calibrate every 3 months or so using a good calibration fluid.

 

Vinny, I re-calibrated today and I was right on point still with my calibration fluid. So it is 1.027.

I did a 4 gallon water change (a little over 10%) and after a little while I tested and alk went to 6.3 and calcium was over 500. This leads me to believe this Oceanic salt I bought is way too high in calcium. I did not test it though (maybe I should have, lol) so I'll make a batch of that next water change and see if that is my issue. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't I read that some batches of Oceanic were found to have crazy high calcium levels? If it is I'm going to switch to a more reliable salt mix.

Anyway, I'll slowly try to raise the alk with the alk portion of the 2 part solution. I want to get it up to about 8.5 to start and I'll do this slowly over a week period or so.

 

It is entirely possible you have a bad batch of salt.Coralife or Instant Ocean would be my choice.I would take a water sample to your LFS to ensure your test kit is accurate as well.

 

Vinny, I wouldn't think it was the test kit because they are brand new. Red Sea Pro from BRS. I think I'll go with Instant Ocean! Seems pretty standard and easily the most accessible in my area.

 

I have had several bad test kits.Even brand new and including Red Sea brand. It is always a good idea to double check readings. Most LFS's will test water for free.