cal. level question

[aquaholic33]

i just bought a new cal test kit. It's the instant ocean brand. After the test it came to be 465 parts per liter. Is this good? All i read is about parts per gallon. how are these levels?

[rhythmicfire]

My Calcium is measued in ppm...

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by aquaholic33
i just bought a new cal test kit. It's the instant ocean brand. After the test it came to be 465 parts per liter. Is this good? All i read is about parts per gallon. how are these levels?

I agree its ppm.

How does the test kit work-----do you use a small syringe based in mm units or do you count the drops. The count the drops can be very inaccurate--with one drop being 50 mL there is not a big margin for error.

[reef1973]

400-420 ppm is normal. 465 is fine. I like to keep my Cal around 450-480 ppm and Alk around 9-11 dKH since I'm heavily stocked with SPS.

[bertoni]

The kit probably returns mg/L, which is the same as ppm for hobbyist purposes. The actual difference is around 2%. 465 is okay, although I'd let it drop to 400-450 ppm. That might save a bit on supplements.

[aquaholic33]

thanks for all the info. My alk is at 11 so I guess I am good. The tank is looking great, just want to keep it that way.