Calcium always too high?

[Neaco]

Have had 120 gal reef tank for more than 10 years.   Calcium always tested around 390 to mid 400’s.   Been using Brightwell salt and Salifert calcium test kit for many years.   Starting in October my calcium tested >500.   Was using an old test kit so got a new one.  Still >500.   Stopped adding calcium (B-ionic Calcium and Alkalinity drips) for a couple of months now.  Well stocked reef tank.  Just believe this high reading?   Keep stopping the calcium dosing? ( no change in the dose for many years).  I’m not doing any more frequent water changes.  I guess my corals are just done needing calcium? Ha ha. Ideas?  I’m thinking of just getting a different brand test kit even though this test kit has had the same reading using two different kits.  

[DaJMasta]

How is alkalinity and magnesium?  Calcium depletes slower than alkalinity, so any drop could be an indicator of use, and maybe if something happens to be sort of deficient, uptake of calcium could be slowed.  I guess without sufficient magnesium such high calcium would likely precipitate out.

If you've checked multiple kits (especially different brands), it's at least unlikely to be just a bad reading, it's probably at least in that ballpark.  I think it's probably worth checking other parameters and seeing if anything is amiss.  There's always ICP as an option to check the accuracy of your measurements, too, it's reasonably affordable/easy now.

 

How have the stony corals been in terms of growth, recently?  Not just that they're happy, but are you seeing a normal level of growth?

[Neaco]

Odd readings.  Mg:1485.   Usually runs around upper 1200s.   Alk: 14.1 dKH or 5.02 meq/L.    Usually runs around 7 dKH and 2.5 meq/L.   I did add a new Versa pump for calcium and Kamoer pump for alkalinity couple months ago but no change in amount dosed (unless pump is not dosing as I have set).  And I have only had R/O water with no calcium in the calcium pump for about 6 weeks now due to the high calcium levels.   I have some receding of my Lobo and I was worried that I was losing it but seems to be getting better after started spot feeding Goniopower. (Got that for my Goniopora).  

[Neaco]

Also, I haven’t dosed magnesium in eight months to a year.  

[Neaco]

I have been using Brightwell salt mix in 150 gallon buckets for many years.  When Marine Depot went out of business a few months ago I grabbed a bunch of 50 gallon bags of the exact same Brightwell salt and have been using those 50 gallon bags since. Could there be a big difference in these salt mixes causing this issue?

[DaJMasta]

How's your salinity?  Since everything's a bit elevated but in fairly reasonable proportions, it almost reads to me like there's just too much total salt in the amount of water.

I wouldn't expect inconsistency in the salt mixes, but it's certainly not unheard of, could be worth checking the next batch mixed up to see.

[Neaco]

My salinity is 1.024 and I make sure the salinity is 1.024 of the new water when I do my water change.    The salinity does creep up to 1.025 at times.  I have been adding Kent Marine Microvert for a couple of years now.  I started adding Kent Marine Coral Accel about six months ago when I got several new Corals and just kept using it. It says use Microvert a few times a week and I use it maybe once every one or two weeks and it says use Coral Accel every day and I use it maybe every one or two weeks.   So I’m not sure this is adding much

[YHSublime]

Did you trial your dosers to ensure they are delivering the amount/per time? And the lines aren't clogged anywhere, and you're dosing each solution apart from each other? 

 

Are you sure you're testing correctly with the salifert CA test? 

[Neaco]

I did not trial the dosers but I should do this.  Have not dosed calcium for about six weeks now. Still getting >500.   If the line was clogged then maybe the calcium would be low not high.  Calcium and Alkalinity are dosed separatly using different pumps and at different times.   And have been using Salifert tests for years and understand how much to pull up with the lower part of the stopper ending at the 1.00 mark with some air below it and reading at the “upper part” of the stopper with it “upside down” at the end.    Always got “expected” levels for many years (20 years?).  Maybe I’ll stop adding all additives and keep testing the calcium/alkalinity/magnesium until it gets to normal.   It’s been many weeks.     Hope I am not depriving the corals of these important elements if I do this.  

[Neaco]

I haven’t does magnesium in about a year and it’s very high now for some reason. 

[Neaco]

Maybe I should test my R/O water and also my water change water for Calcium and Alkalinity and magnesium.  

[YHSublime]

Maybe...

 

I'm not questioning if you are doing all those things right, but sometimes it's the simple solution, right?! I would see what your NSW is mixing up at, and maybe just for piece of mind have somebody else run a test on your calcium. Possible that maybe your test for calcium is correct, but maybe your alkalinity test is off? The higher dKH levels should equal a lower calcium reading. 

 

Dajmasta I think is onto something with the Magnesium, but it seems like you're in bizarro world. From my understanding, your higher magnesium numbers would mean a lower calcium number, as it would lead to an increased abiotic precipitation? 

 

I'm thinking out loud here, there are way smarter folks than me on WAMAS that I'm sure will chime in soon enough, but I'll leave you with this: When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not unicorns. 

[Neaco]

Haha.  Good advice.  

[DaJMasta]

While I'm still not sure what's actually going on - have you checked your refractometer's calibration recently?

[Neaco]

My tank water reads 1.024 based on my Milwaukee refractometer salinity unit. That is where I keep my tank at.   The water change water always reads 1.024 before I add it.   That is what he reads right now    Tank still reads greater than 500 calcium. Water change water reads 425.

Salinity unit it reads zero with R/O DI water.   But I just found standard salinity solution from Brightwell  that I didn’t realize I had which is 1.0264 specific gravity.  My refractometer reads this as 1.032.   So based on this information, I guess the 1.024 reading of the tank and make up water is incorrect.  I will have to recalibrate the refractometer.  In the meantime, the calcium level is fine in my make up water and still too high in the tank water and both have the same salinity.  Tank must be sucking up calcium from the atmosphere?  IDK.  I must’ve just been overdosing it somehow.   Although I checked the volume of my calcium and alkalinity dosers and these are correct.  80 mL of alkalinity and 80 mL of calcium, ESV B-ionic Component 1 and component 2.   Both bottles diluted with R/O water as instructed.   Have been using this dose for a few years With normal Calcium and Alkalinity levels.  Although I had a bionic doser that broke several months ago and now I have a Versa unit for calcium and Kamoer unit for alkalinity.  Dosed slowly at different times of the day.  And I checked the output and they are both correctly at 80 mL like the old doser was.    Maybe somehow it just gives too much and I will have to reduce it and that will solve all of this.   

[Neaco]

Also when I re-calibrate my Milwaukee monitor with 1.000 calibration fluid to zero ,  my 1.026 calibration fluid actually reads 1.034.  My 1.025 calibration fluid reads 1.030.  The online refractometer manual doesn’t say what to do about this.   

[DaJMasta]

It's been a bit, but is there any information about cleaning the sensor, reconditioning, or replacing it?  I don't know how it calibrates by default, but a single point calibration usually relies on a factory-set calibration curve and just offsets or scales the curve to match the calibration test fluid, so if you're running into nonlinearity when checking other points, it's a pretty sure sign that either the sensor itself or the electronics driving/measuring it have gone bad.  There are at least some kinds of sensors and some designs that facilitate easy cleaning, replacement, or readjustment, but in more consumer oriented products (like much of Milwaukee's line), if it's possible it may not be well documented.

I would have a look around at cleaning or reconditioning salinity or conductivity probes and see what is recommended.  It's common for different makers to have probes that use the same materials and measurement technique because they are known to be good choices and offer advantages over other designs, so odds are reasonable that if you find a manufacturer that lists some cleaning steps for their probe, it's pretty likely that similar steps could try to clean off yours.  Otherwise, aside from opening it up and having a tinker, your best bet would probably be to replace it.

[Neaco]

Thanks.  I will try to get in touch with the manufacturer and see what they say.   

[khh27]

They do temperature compensation also so it could be throwing your salinity off based on it trying to temp compensate

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