Calcium help please.

F

Freshandsalty

I started my tank with Coralife salt and I was not aware of how high the calcium was in that mix. According to this site http://aquariumwatertesting.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf
the average calcium is around 450 with salinity at 30 parts per thousand, but my water tests at 660 at 1.026. I have been doing small 5 gallon water changes every 2-3 weeks to try not to increase it even more. My tank is 58 gallons and I have a 20 gallon sump. I have a baseball size birdsnest colony and a 4' monti cap, about 5 other small 1" sps frags, a 3" Pagoda cup coral, 50-75 polyp zoa rock and about 60lbs of LR that's covered in coraline.
My main parameters today are;
Ph-8.2 (API)
Alk-7.2 (Salifert)
Calcium-660 (API)

I have been using an API calcium test kit, which I bought recently. I thought maybe it could be off but would it be that far off? What course should I take assuming the test kit is accurate? How long should it approximately take for my tank to use up enough calcium to bring things into normal range? I would also like to start dripping kalk soon to maintain ALK and Calcium since i've just been keeping things steady by doing water changes more frequently.
 
IMO a salt mix with a calcium level of 450 is not high. How did you get the calcium higher than that? Are you using a 2-part solution to maintain your levels? That could be your culprit.

Also, if you're doing 5 gallon water changes, try doing it a little more frequently that every 2-3 weeks. It should not shock your corals at all.

Lastly, compare your test results with that of an LFS. If your corals are not showing signs of stress or you're not getting excessive calcium residue on your rock, glass, or sump, you might be OK.
 
I really don't think that you calcium is at 660 ppm with a Alk of 7.2. If it really is that high you would see a snow storm in your tank as it would participate out. It is more than likely a test kit error. Take a sample of you water to a LFS and have it tested or/and try another test kit. I would not dose anything at this point to try and correct.
 
Ok well according to LFS my calcium IS 660, and Alk is around 7.4. I think the culprit was my hydrometer. I haven't been using my new refractometer because I was having issues reading it correctly, but lfs tested it and it's calibrated correctly. So after getting back home I tested with it and my salinity is almost 1.028. I was advised to get some 2 part buffer and just add the Alk portion for a few days and that would balance out the low alk/high calcium problem. And of course I'm bringing down the salinity with some fresh ro/di.
Does this sound correct to you?

Thanks.
 
@Freshandsalty wrote:
Ok well according to LFS my calcium IS 660 said:
Yes that does make sense just adding the Alk portion of the two part. Be sure to test daily until it is stable. The high specific gravity explains why the calcium did not participate out of the water, I'm sure know to bring it down slowly. The calcium level should drop on it's own.
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What would be the best way to bring it down slowly? Small water changes of say 1.020 or so every week until it's right? Or just drain a few gallons a day and replace with ro/di?
 
@Freshandsalty wrote:
What would be the best way to bring it down slowly? Small water changes of say 1.020 or so every week until it's right? Or just drain a few gallons a day and replace with ro/di? said:
I would drain off a few gallons and replace with RO/DI water over a week. It is also more cost effective.
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