Reducing Ca levels

Hey everyone, my 180 has been going for about 5 weeks now so I'm just starting supplement Calcium and Alk to get levels where they need to be so I can start adding coral. I'm dosing via a bubble magus BTW. Anyway, I should have taken some readings before I started dosing because 4 days later my Ca is at 640 and my alk is at 8.1. I continued to dose the Alk but stopped the Ca and a week later the Ca levels went down very little....like 20. I did a water change and did a Ca reading a day later and it's still at 620. I'm planning on a mixed reef with a few Zoas, Ricordias, LPS and SPS. I plan on starting with the Zoas and the Shrooms first. So since the shrooms and Zoas aren't so touchy/sensitive, with my Ca that high and not really dropping can I add some Zoas and Shrooms to help drop the Ca and not really worry about the high Ca really affecting them?
Thx

 

Water chnages.

You really don't need to dose for the foreseeable future. In a tank that size, it will take an awful lot of growth from decent sized SPS colonies, coraline and clams to effect concentrations in calcium or alkalinity. Right now, you are increasing your concentration with each dose with nothing to remove it from the water column. It just continues to get more concentrated and more concentrated.

I would do water changes and then test. Dose manually to get it to where you want and then add your coral. Once you begin to notice growth in your coral, take measurements weekly to get an idea of how much calcium and alkalinity your tank consumes on a daily period. Adjust and begin using your dosers to accommodate.

It could be awhile, however.

 

Agreed.

Also, polyps, mushrooms, and leathers don't use Ca, only stony corals for their skeletons.

 

What type of salt are you using? I used Kent when I first started and salinity was up near 600. It didn't come down till I started using I.O.

 

I believe the salt you are using is already high in calcium, which is why the level isn't dropping when you do a water change. Also, you don't really need to be dosing right now. Check your big three levels over the span of a couple weeks and I bet you don't see a sizeable difference. If you do, your water changes will likely keep up with consumption at this time.

 

Best way to drop CA, ADD CORAL!!!!!

If you dont have any corals at this time a high CA is nothign to really worry about. IF the tank is empty you can overdose ALK which will cause CA to precipitate out and make a mess but not a suggested mehtod if your tank has livestock lol