Low Calcium

[FishTales]

I have a very low readings on Calcium. Any advice on how to get this increased....fast? I have just been adding 1 tsp of calcium suppliment daily so far. I'm thinking maybe a few water changes might be my next plan of action.

 

[Bifferwine]

What is your calcium level? Do you have a lot of hard corals? Having low calcium is not an emergency.

 

[FishTales]

If I am reading it right.....it's 20mg or below. Says if blue color forms after the 1st drop then it is 20 mg or below. It turns blue immediately.

 

[FishTales]

no hard corals just several mushrooms.

 

[tankedchemist]

what brand of test kit are you using?

 

[FishTales]

API....Aquarium Pharmaceuticals

 

[BL1]

The whole vial should be a dark blue color, not just a blue tint. But with only mushrooms in your tank, you don't even need to test for Cal.

 

[FishTales]

I think my problems were coming from my water changes. I was topping the water off without saltmix because the salinity would get high during the evaporation process. The two reasons I am testing for calcium is to help combat the hair algae and to eventually get some hard corals.

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes, you are right, you are not supposed to top off using saltwater. Top off using freshwater only.

If you are keeping up with water changes, then your calcium levels should be okay just from the salt. What brand salt are you using?

 

[bjohanson1234]

You never top off with saltwater!!!!

Just keep up with weekly waterchanges, and it "should" come up.

 

[FishTales]

Ok. It's Reef Crystals Brand.

 

[PRC]

I'm sure you're misreading the test. We've all done it. The mushrooms or corals that you do have aren't using up the calcium, if you're keeping up with your water changes you're fine. Reef Crystals is what I use, it has calcium in it.

 

[Bifferwine]

It's quite common (unfortunately) for test kits to be bad, too. If anyone ever has a result that just looks shocking, it's better to buy a new test kit to double check it. More often than not, the test kit is just bad.