water chemistry

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I just tested my water and I noticed a few problems.
My calcium is at 350ppm. Even with dripping kalkwasser I can't raise it above 350, what else can I do?

My ph is pretty low at 7.4 ppm. How do raise this?

Nitrate is at the usual .10 -.20 ppm.

I just moved my 125G so I figured I'd have a mini cycle since I had to disturb everything by emptying the tank and re setting it up. I've never had my ph so low though.

Ammonia is 0
Nitrite is 0

I am also experiencing a moderate to severe algae bloom. brown / red algae on the sand bed and a red slime algae on the rocks. My neon green sea mat needs to be "blown off" daily with a turkey baster because the red slime algae covers it and then it doesn't open. I did lose quite a few snails and crabs for some reason so I have order a new cleanup crew.

It will be awhile before the whole project is 100% complete. The winch system needs to be done yet and the trim needs to be finished. We also have to rethink the access to the tank. Originally we were only going to have doors in the canopy in the dining room, but after cleaning glass a few times it would be easier to have access from both sides I think.

Thanks,
Angie

[peregrinus]

check your ALK that will have an effect on CAL.

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I do not have an alk test kit. I will order one, thanks.

[dakar]

Salifert's Alk test kit has been working very well for me.

Afterwards, if you need to increase the amount of calcium your kalk mix can carry try adding vinegar to the water prior to mixing it up. 1tbl per gallon of water let me double the amount of pickling lime without it preciping out as it dripped.

BTW, just out of curiosity what salt mix do you use?

[Reptoreef]

A ph buffer with an an additional alk test is a must. First of all, when the PH drops below 7.8, your corals stony coraqls begin losing their skeletal structure(it basically is desolved), but it must be raised very slowly. Your ca realy isn't bad... it is above 300(NSW). As you use a buffer, alk will increase so test as you tweak. Remember, you're still cycling so take it easy... relax, right now, patienc is gonna be key. Best of luck,

Repto

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I use instant ocean. No special reason for using it, it's just always available and it's what I started with years ago. I'm going to have Dan pick up the Alk test kit tomorrow when he goes to the funeral. Thanks anyways.

Also, I added Kent Marine Superbuffer-dkh to my tank. That should help get that back to normal.

I'm also going to start adding Kent Marine Tech CB part A and part B to bring up my calcium and alk. I have never used this before, but I will try it. I've had it for about a month but I hate adding things I have never tried before. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Reptoreef]

Remember, test before you tweak... it's pretty important!!!

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I will always test before I add anything. I only added the minimum for the supperbuffer dkh. I will test again tomorrow night. I will have the alk test kit then. I don't have a lot of corals in my tank yet so I'm not sure where all of the calcium is going.
Here is what I have:

sea mat 4x6
2 green star polyps 8x8
3 purple star polyps 3x6
hammer 8 heads about .75 inches each
tons of zoanthids
ricordias
a few leathers
tons of mushrooms

that's basically it. i do have quite a bit of Coraline algae. My rocks are almost 100% covered in purple Coraline. Almost too much purple for my liking.

Angie

[Reptoreef]

Alk issues are usually appearant with an increase of coralline bleaching... is this an issue you have or are having recently?

[davejnz]

I've used the calcium part of Kent tech CB.It takes 23ml of the calcium part to balance out 1 tspn of superbuffer.Calcium is usually not the limiting factor in a reef tank,its alkalinity.When your system is depleted 1dKH of alkalinity only 20 ppm of calcium will be depleted as well.If your adding balanced calc/alk additives,regular testing of alkalinity will give you a good idea where your calcium is at.