calcium level
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Washburn82
Reefing newb
Calcium is very beneficial to corals and inverts from what i read and you should be in the range of 450-500. You can buy calcium additives to increase your levels or depending on what salt or cyrstal mix you use a water change will also increase it.
x19
Reefing newb
You're at the low side on calcium but if you don't have too many corals I'm sure it will be fine until next week's water change. The key you want to figure out is how fast your corals are depleting the calcium from the water. So, test your tank after a water change, then check the tank again a week later. Then divide by seven to figure out how much Ca your tank is using daily.
Once you have that figured you can look into a dosing regime to keep it within target levels, and for that there are literally a ton of options.
For reference:
Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
Once you have that figured you can look into a dosing regime to keep it within target levels, and for that there are literally a ton of options.
For reference:
Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
little_fish
Moderator
You should test what your saltwater mixes up at, depending on your brand you might have a type with lower calcium levels.
But what type of coral do you have? If its a soft coral, the calcium level doesnt matter
But what type of coral do you have? If its a soft coral, the calcium level doesnt matter
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
I do 50% water changes and I spike the make up water's cal level to about 500ppm or higher. My tank keeps good cal levels for the next 6 to 8 weeks. This way is easier and safer than dosing. Doing a 50% change on a 90g could be a pain though.
I use natural sea water, I have about 9 or 10 LPS and one leather coral.
little_fish
Moderator
how often are you doing water changes?
also, what is your alk and mag levels at?
also, what is your alk and mag levels at?
I actually had very high levels of calcium before (way over 500) a few weeks ago, I had about 8 or 9 different types of shrimp die, multiple snails, as well as a couple of fish ( I only had 3, now I have one left) so I basically stopped all water changes, stopped all additives, just added kalkwasser as needed. The corals are now doing good (I have 9 or 10 LPS and one leather), fish still alive, I added a sand sifting star, the remaining snails are doing ok, it's just that now the calcium seems a little low
little_fish
Moderator
Water changes arent going to kill your fish, something else happened to kill them. Doing water changes is very important in maintaining the health of your tank. Not only does it take the bad stuff out, but it replaces all the trace minerals your tank also needs for proper healthy.
But I would avoid using the natural seawater, unless you are getting it fresh from the ocean. The natural seawater has so many different microscopic algae and other micro-organisms that can die and cause problems for your tank when add it to the tank.
But I would avoid using the natural seawater, unless you are getting it fresh from the ocean. The natural seawater has so many different microscopic algae and other micro-organisms that can die and cause problems for your tank when add it to the tank.
With the stocking density you have, If you keep up with water changes generally your trace elements should be replenished in the setup you described as long as you don't keep too many corals that require and utilize higher concentrations of trace elements, Ca etc. Usin a good quality salt like Tropic Marin, will help keep the Ca and trace elements in check.
