trouble maintaining ca levels

[cmiller]

i need help. for the past 8 to 10 weeks i've been having trouble getting my ca levels above 300ppm. this has never been an issue for me for the past 5 years of reef keeping and i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong now. i've been researching this for several weeks, trying to educate myself about the relationship betw. ca and alk and mg but i can't seem to figure out how to correct for low ca. any help is much appreciated.

been using both parts of b-ionic two part dosing, and this week stopped dosing part 1: alkalinity and only dosing part 2: ca 25ml/day.

did a h2o change on 12/4 which brought my alk level down from 13dKH to 11.3dKH.

alk jumped back up to 19dKH on 12/13 so i did a second 20% h2o change and got alk down to 12.5dKH where it has stayed for the past week.

other additives include :
5ml iodide 3x/week
10ml strontium 2x/week

here are my other levels:
pH: 8.2
specific grav: 1.025
Mg: 1200ppm
phosphate: 0
Nitrate: 0

again, any feedback is more than welcomed.

ca absorbing critters:
46 gallon reef includes 2 large tridacna clams 1 small tridacna, 1 med size open and 1 med size closed brain coral, med med torch, 2 med leather corals, 1 med plate coral, med candy coral, bunch of zoanthids and soft polyps, 2 cleaner shrimp

is 25ml of ca too low for this invert load?

thanks.
chris

 

[returnofsid]

There is a chemistry calculator in one of the links in my signature. When you enter your goal levels and existing levels and then click on the graph, it will tell you which zone you're in. Down below the graph, it'll also explain how you most likely go to the zone you're in and how to correct it. Clicking on Submit Alk or Submit Ca will give you the dosing amounts you need.

I would say you have quite a Calcium load with the 3 clams in a 46. Might try using Randy's 2 part supplements instead of what you're using. There's also a link to that in my signature.

How often are you doing water changes? How much water are you changing? What salt mix are you using? Even regular water changes should keep you in the 350-380 range.

 

[cmiller]

There is a chemistry calculator in one of the links in my signature. When you enter your goal levels and existing levels and then click on the graph, it will tell you which zone you're in. Down below the graph, it'll also explain how you most likely go to the zone you're in and how to correct it. Clicking on Submit Alk or Submit Ca will give you the dosing amounts you need.

I would say you have quite a Calcium load with the 3 clams in a 46. Might try using Randy's 2 part supplements instead of what you're using. There's also a link to that in my signature.

How often are you doing water changes? How much water are you changing? What salt mix are you using? Even regular water changes should keep you in the 350-380 range.

This is a great reference. Thank you! a question for you: when i used the calculator specifying i wanted to go from ca 300ppm to ca 425ppm it recommended i dose 12.1 fl oz of esv b-ionic part 2 (1/3 to 1/2 on first day, then test, then add remaining ca supplement after testing) this seems like a dangerous amount of ca to dose (e.g., 6 oz = 180ml, an amount that exceeds the recommended daily dosing per esv instruction). my thought is to add the max amt of ca that esv says is safe for my size tank (1 ml per gallon of tank water, in may case 46 ml) per day and bring ca up that way. your thoughts on this approach? is 46 ml of ca still too much ca to add per day?

I may try using randy's 2 part when i finish up with my esv. thanks for the recommendation. i've got a ca reactor equipment but everything i have read has recommended that i wait to fire it up until i get my ca levels up to and stablized at desired level (e.g., 425ppm).

i average 20% h2o change every 3-4 weeks. more frequently in the past 6 weeks or so; about every 2 weeks in trying to correct for high alk. i use instant ocean salt mix, a brand that seems to be trusted by reefkeepers, no?

again, many thanks for the feedback. love this site. so many helpful and experienced reefkeepers willing to help solve issues.

chris

 

[returnofsid]

I'm not familiar with the calcium supplement you're using. You might consider adding the supplement to RO/DI water, allowing it to mix and then dripping it as your top off, each day for a few days. That way, it apreads the large dosage over a longer period. I would suggest moving this into the Chemistry forum. Boomer is the forum moderator and is the chemistry GURU on Reef Frontiers!!

 

[cmiller]

right on. thank you very much

 

[mister crabs]

IO salt has been know to be low in levels needed in a reef. look into possibly tropic marin pro. its what I use and i get over 400 calcium levels right out of the bucket. wit water changes only every 3-4 weeks you will still need a reactor, kalk, or 2 part to maintain.