Is this an effing Ca storm?

[theearthling]

I accidentally dosed the Kalk a little fast tonight, and now my tank looks like this:

http://www.simonpeck.com/aquaria/images/calcstorm.jpg

Is this a calcium storm?

[theearthling]

Here's my tank again, about 20 minutes later. What's going on?

http://www.simonpeck.com/aquaria/images/later....jpg

[Rock Anemone]

Yikes, over dosing Kalkwasser to fast can be very hazardous to the tank.

How much did you over dose? I would do a 25-50% water change to be safe. Do you have any corals in there yet, how are they looking?

Be very careful when dosing Kalkwasser.

Rock Anemone

[Konadog]

That looks like you just dosed the Kalk before it settled. The calcium storms I have seen look like chunks (small flakes) floating around. Once it settles, check your calcium levels, if very low, then yes but I don't think so.

How bad is the PH now?

[theearthling]

I have a nurce topoff system that dumped about 2.5 gallons of kalk into the tank over the course of about 30-45 minutes due to a malfunction. The Kalk was fully settled - I mixed it last night. At first it looked fine, but it's gradually getting milkier.

I have a BTA and a clam and some zoos. The BTA isn't too happy, but the clam looks fine.

[crazyfishlady]

Check your pH and salinity ASAP! That will tell you if it's CA precipitate or just so much Kalk you turned your water milky...YIKES!:eek2:

H2O change right away.
Erika

[theearthling]

Well, this is confusing: it's my Alk that's low...

Ca 425
Ph 8.5
Alk 2.06

[floppyfish]

That Ph is rather high, I'd do a WC asap.

[theearthling]

The cloudiness has cleared up considerably. I did a 25% water change. There is a white powder covering everything. I know it isn't the kalk dust, because the topoff tank was nearly clear (after 24 hours of settling), plus the cloudiness in my tank didn't begin to intensify until a good half hour after I shut off the topoff.

[Rock Anemone]

I would get a Turkey Baster and dust off the Live Rock. There could be some Kalk residue on them that could cause some bleached spots.

Glad to see things are clearing up. How's the tank doing? I would consider doing another water change tomorrow. What are your parims as of now? What is your Alk usually at?

Rock Anemone

[theearthling]

I don't think it's Kalk dust, Rock. I think it's Ca precipitate. It was clear going in. But I still plan to dust it off. My Alk is usually a hair under 3. I need to test the water again, but the lights have been out for a couple of hours, so the pH will be misleading.

[Rock Anemone]

Alright, if it's Ca precipitate there shouldn't be a problem but dusting the rocks off would be a great idea, as you plan on doing.

Testing the water tomorrow sounds like a plan! Best of luck with getting the tank back to normal! Keep us updated.

Rock Anemone:D

[massman]

im no chemist,
but i think you may have precipitated calcium carbonate.
excess ca ions from the calcium hydroxide (kalk), have bound to the carbonate ions in the water, causing precipitation.

this would then lead to a drop in alk.
ca will be fine due to the excess in the kalk.
ph 8.5 is a tad high however it depends on what your tank normally runs at.
if it is at 8.3 then a rise to 8.5 is not critical, however if it runs at 8.0-8.1, then you may hve to act quickly.

make sure your topoff allows for settling in the kalk reservoir, ie tops off the clear liquid above it only.
if the sedimentation has dropped in, then this may be what youre seeing.

ph is the critical factor when dosing kalk. all the rest can be readjusted slowly over time.

[theearthling]

Thanks for the reply, massman. I usually test my pH at night, and it does run about 8.3 then. I'm still concerned about it being high, but at least it wasn't a drastic swing. My topoff certainly allows for settling of kalk, and its uptake is a good 2 inches off the bottom to avoid picking up sediment. It has worked well for about a year, but my overflow clogged tonight which led to low sump levels, high tank levels and a kalk overdose.:rolleyes: