Low Alkalinity and high calcium

[florida reef]

Reefers,

Here are my params:
Tested at 730pm lights have been on since 8am
Mag: 1360
Calcium: 550
PH: 8.1-8.3
Alkalinity: 6.1dkh
Nitrate: <5
Phosphate: <1

So, I am dripping kalk and thought it would be a good idea to dose ca and mag(not such a good idea). Before I knew it my ca and mag were sky high. About 4 weeks ago I realized this problem and stopped dosing ca/mag and my mag is back into the acceptable range but calcium is still high.
I rechecked my ca and mag one week ago and they were still high so I began mixing my kalk a little less potent. Today I checked my alk and it was super low! How do I raise my alk without raising my other levels? Also, could the high calcium be causing my low alk(I'm not a chemistry major) haha.
The good news is I have no loss go livestock and everything still looks good.

Thanks guys/gals!

 

[florida reef]

BTW, I'm using sailifert test kits that are near brand new. I also double checked my alk with an elos and received the same reading.

 

[Aquaph8]

Thats not too bad. Just raise your Alk slowly and they will balance out. Calcium and Alk go hand and hand if one goes up the other will go down most times. This happened because you were dosing Calcium and not Alk. The Kalk will do both for you. If you need to use two part also, you need to do both. Stop Calcium and just boost your Alk and you'll be good. Bulk reef suply has a great calculator to tell you how much you need to dose.

 

[Aquaph8]

What are you using for Cal/Alk dosing?

 

[orthokardia]

I would use the alk portion of a two part like the bulk reef supply or just an alk sup of your choice. The low alk is most likely just due to dosing more ca as kalk has a good balance. I think the getting one way to high and causing the other to precipitation out would lead to much more extreme numbers, but wait to hear it from someone with a better understanding.
BTW are you getting rocking blues? my blues always look better at low Kh.

goood luck!

...bart

 

[orthokardia]

+1 on what brett said. I am one slow typist

 

[florida reef]

So am I understanding that I should begin slowly dosing the part b(or whichever is only alk) to raise my alk to an acceptable level?
I am currently using brightwell kalk+2

@Bart: I can't really see a difference in coloration.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Aquaph8]

You got it. Think of it as a scale as one goes up the other goes down. The trick is to find the balance between the two. Kalk is already pretty balanced but when you throw 2 part in the mix you have to find the balance between part A and part B.

 

[florida reef]

Ok. Also, the way I understand it kalk should not be used to raise levels, only maintain them. I dosed 5ml of part B tonight so I'll test tomorrow afternoon and see what process I've made. Again, thanks for the help. Adorable kids btw.

 

[Aquaph8]

Use this click me to determine how much you need to dose to get where you want. It may not have the exact product you use but you should be able to find something close. At 5ml your not gonna see much of a change in 90 gallons of water. I try not to change my Alk by more than 1dkh per day. Let me know how it goes and thanks.

 

[WirelessMike]

Use this click me to determine how much you need to dose to get where you want. It may not have the exact product you use but you should be able to find something close. At 5ml your not gonna see much of a change in 90 gallons of water. I try not to change my Alk by more than 1dkh per day. Let me know how it goes and thanks.

Best link I have seen in a long time! Math is hard! Ty for sharing

 

[Nano sapiens]

Reefers,

Here are my params:
Tested at 730pm lights have been on since 8am
Mag: 1360
Calcium: 550
PH: 8.1-8.3
Alkalinity: 6.1dkh
Nitrate: <5
Phosphate: <1

So, I am dripping kalk and thought it would be a good idea to dose ca and mag(not such a good idea). Before I knew it my ca and mag were sky high. About 4 weeks ago I realized this problem and stopped dosing ca/mag and my mag is back into the acceptable range but calcium is still high.
I rechecked my ca and mag one week ago and they were still high so I began mixing my kalk a little less potent. Today I checked my alk and it was super low! How do I raise my alk without raising my other levels? Also, could the high calcium be causing my low alk(I'm not a chemistry major) haha.
The good news is I have no loss go livestock and everything still looks good.

Thanks guys/gals!

The question, "Kalkwasser is a balanced product so why does Ca slowly climb when Alk does not?" has perplexed many a reefer.

An explanation from Randy Holmes-Farley:

'Calcium (Ca). In my reef aquarium, I use only Instant Ocean salt and I have not added any additional calcium except as limewater for a number of years (during which time I have continued regular 1% daily water changes). So why is my calcium level (472 mg/L) higher than one would normally expect for Instant Ocean (maybe between 350 and 400 mg/L)? That long term rise in calcium is actually the expected result when using limewater to maintain alkalinity.

Limewater adds calcium and alkalinity in exactly the same proportions as in pure calcium carbonate. So if that is what is used by corals to make skeletons, and what precipitates on pumps and such, then calcium would stay constant.

But both magnesium and strontium get into growing calcium carbonate crystals in place of some of the calcium. A few percent of the calcium is replaced this way. Consequently, since the same amount of alkalinity (the carbonate) is used over time, and somewhat less than the balancing amount of calcium, calcium rises if alkalinity is maintained. I’m happy to see the result match the theory, and the calcium level seems fine to me.'

When I have Ca at around 460, I drop my Kalkwasser potency slightly and then add some alkalinity booster to the system to maintain my Alk level until the Ca level drops back down to ~400. I have to do this about every 4-5 months to keep the Ca level within the suggested reef keeping range.