Question Calcium reactor issue.....

[ReefnQueens]

I’ve had my reactor dialed in for a few months and I’ve recently been getting much more coraline growth but what’s been confusing me is that my alk keeps going up (@ 10.5 right now) and calcium has been going down (@400 right now), between the extra growth of coraline algae and growth from sps , I figured the calcium dropping is normal , so I cranked up effluent slightly and adjusted co2 to keep ph steady , my alk keeps climbing but calcium won’t budge so I broke out an old brs doser and started dosing just esv calcium to bring up the calcium slowly.... I did a water change recently to bring down alk but it kept climbing with the calcium reactor running so I shut it down , stopped effluent while just keeping the reactor pump circulating internally.... any advice or suggestions?
Ph-8.3
Alk-10.5
Cal-400
Mag-1400
Nitrates-.10
Po4-.02
Salinity-1.026
Temp-77.7
Carx-Reborn & remag (mixed with old crushed up sps skeletons)
Using apex as controller, ph probe was calibrated during setup...
My tridents been acting funky so all test kits were salifert

 

[BYU]

pm me
something def seems off
i’m using apex and calcium reactor
i can try to help give you my setting on my trident

 

[ReefnQueens]

something def seems off
i’m using apex and calcium reactor
i can try to help give you my setting on my trident

Pmed you

 

[greg 45]

There are time that you will get a imbalance.
Dose calcium in your case / to get your desired calcium number back up ,

 

[Czynot]

double check your alk and cal with hanna. Trident not the most accurate or reliable.
Slow the effluent or turn reactor off until Alk come back down to your level. Adjust the cal to your desire level. start the reactor again.

 

[polywise]

turn off your reactor for a few..
I find it best to get calcium adjusted manually getting into a range that you are looking for.

Then turn your reactor back on at a much slower drip rate than previous.
if ALK stays OK but CA still slowly drops -- try dropping the ph a bit (don't change the drip rate) just keep down ticking the PH a bit. you should see the CA start to improve.

 

[ReefnQueens]

turn off your reactor for a few..
I find it best to get calcium adjusted manually getting into a range that you are looking for.

Then turn your reactor back on at a much slower drip rate than previous.
if ALK stays OK but CA still slowly drops -- try dropping the ph a bit (don't change the drip rate) just keep down ticking the PH a bit. you should see the CA start to improve.

thats exactly what im in the middle of doing while letting the trident marinate before calibrating (thanks BYU), before i shut the reactor off i pretty much had the drip at one drop per second and the ph set on the apex for 6.5 off- 6.55on. maybe my problem lies in there maybe i should go to like 6.7 off? a big part of my problem was i was relying on the trident and and also manually testing confusing myself with whats right and whats wrong? im gonna calibrate the trident in the next day or so

 

[reefman]

check your mag

 

[ReefnQueens]

check your mag

that just read off the charts , i gotta re check that when i get back tonight

 

[FMF0331]

Trident not the most accurate or reliable.

Agree 1000%

 

[Czynot]

I run calcium reactor. My big 3 are stable. As you can see my trident is all over the place. If apex dose according to my trident result? I will be all over the place.

 

[chemisfun11]

What kind of salt are you using and do you test it? I had alk issues in the past using a Ca reactor and discovered the imbalance was due to the salt mix which is often overlooked. Remember that your Ca reactor is adding balanced Alk/Ca so the imbalance can be caused by coral/coraline growth. Check out the salt mix and each batch even from the same company can be different.

I use Instant ocean and add about 36 grams of CaCl2 for every 40 gallons of NSW to balance it with the high alk this brand often provides.

 

[ReefnQueens]

What kind of salt are you using and do you test it? I had alk issues in the past using a Ca reactor and discovered the imbalance was due to the salt mix which is often overlooked. Remember that your Ca reactor is adding balanced Alk/Ca so the imbalance can be caused by coral/coraline growth. Check out the salt mix and each batch even from the same company can be different.

I use Instant ocean and add about 36 grams of CaCl2 for every 40 gallons of NSW to balance it with the high alk this brand often provides.

im using tropic marin and i am having a decent amount of coraline growth right now which is nice cuz its on my rocks way more than glass .... i think i resolved my issue, i have a new salifert kit and hanna checker being delivered today so im hoping to use them to confirm whats been going on ..... my readings were all over regardless what i used to test , my trident had some issues from me not priming correctly on the batch before last and i went off those numbers as far as dosing or dialing in my reactor .... it was too much going on at once , im starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.....next up , getting comfy with nitrates and phosphates lol

 

[ReefnQueens]

lemme ask you guys, my calcium reactor hasnt been dosing my tank for about a week give or take , the ph went up cuz i shut off the co2, ive kept the circulating pump running this entire time and thats it , do you think it may have went stale in the reactor? should i flush it out or maybe just dump some of the effluent ? what are your thoughts on a reactor that just been sitting for a week but has just had the circulating pump on

 

[chemisfun11]

I would let yank water flow through it for a few hours. You should be fine, but this is coming from someone with a lot of water volume. The solution to pollution is dilution! If you are nervous flush out the old water with nsw and you should be back in action.

 

[ReefnQueens]

I would let yank water flow through it for a few hours. You should be fine, but this is coming from someone with a lot of water volume. The solution to pollution is dilution! If you are nervous flush out the old water with nsw and you should be back in action.

lol the solution to pullution is dilution , i like that, but yea i think im nervous i should go the other route

 

[chemisfun11]

Better to be safe. Especially since bad things can happen fast. Good things take time. Anytime I rush something in this hobby it leads to disaster. Patience goes a long way. Happy reefing!