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95galReef

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My Calcium is off the charts and is holding down my Alk and PH, Anyone know how to lower it without doing a water change.
 

tanzy

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Throw in a bunch of clams or add more kalk!!! Calcium will precipitate with high pH. Are you sure your test kit is reading the right amount of calcium?
 

95galReef

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Used three test kits and my Calcium is over 500. Both my Ph and Alk are very low (and they won't budge) and I assume its the Calk thats holding them down.
 

jdeets

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Hate to say it, but it sounds like you've got a massive ionic imbalance. Water changes are the best way to cure it.

If you can't raise alk with buffer, then water changes may be your only practical solution. The problem is that for Ca to come down naturally, you need calcification in the system. With low alk, you won't get as much calcification. So your Ca won't come down. Nor will your calcifying livestock grow well or be happy.

Two words: water change.

It comes to a point where the supplements quit working. I take it you haven't been doing regular water changes. Water changes dilute ionic imbalances. Over time, adding a bunch of chemicals to keep thing in balance, while not diluting their deliterious effects with water changes, will get you into trouble. That's where you are now.

If you haven't done water changes in the past, now's the time to suck it up and do them.

I post pretty regularly on the biomineral threads and often can come up with an "easy way out" but I couldn't and wouldn't recommend anything but water changes in your case.
 

tanzy

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Water change sounds like so much of a hassle for a excess Calcium! When you add excess kalk or buffer in a normal system, there will always be a white storm of calcium precipitate. Won't that help remove calcium? How about adding Strontium and Magnesium?
Sorry about adding more Kalk idea, it will remove more bicarbonates! How about adding more bicarbonates?

[ August 22, 2001: Message edited by: tanzy ]
 

Clown Trigger

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I also vote for a water change.
Best way to correct anything!
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jdeets

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NOTE--Most recent post was not needed. 95galreef fixed the problem. See the thread "YOU MUST READ THIS" in the GRD forum...
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[ August 22, 2001: Message edited by: jdeets ]
 

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