ca high

[deepblue68]

i have a question for anyone. i was dripping kalkwasser to keep alk and ca up and i really did not have anything in my tank to consume a great amount of calcium so my ca is about 530ppm. my alk is 3.20 meg/l and kh 9.0dkh with a ph of 8.19. should i perform a water change to get ca down, leave it alone or do something else. i wanted to get ph to 8.3 like it was when i was dripping the kalkwasser. i forgot to mention i was dripping kalk for top off from evaporation and i was dripping it 24/7. i quess a little to much. i know the tank balance is not to far off and i do not want to mess it up really bad by doing something stupid. i also would like to know what the best way to get my ph to 8.3 and maintaining it there? should i go back to dripping kalk with a smaller dose and time frame?
thanks for any help

hi randy
if you see this can you give me a hand?
i read your article but i wanted to throw this out and get some feedback before putting anything else in my tank.
thanks to all

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

At a glance, those values are OK and do not require any immediate action. :)

I'd keep dosing the limewater since you want to use it to raise pH and maintain calcium and alkalinity in the long term (assuming that you do).

In the short run, the calcium is a tad high, and to correct that you might add some baking soda, or baked baking soda, periodically to boost alkalinity relative to calcium, and keep doing that until calcium comes down to about 450 ppm or so.

[deepblue68]

hi randy
yes i want to use the kalkwasser to raise alk and maintain ca. i was hoping you would see this post because i really did not want to add something unless i had to. i will add the baking soda as per your article to get he ca down. do you perfer baking the baking soda or can i just put it in straight? this is a really fun hobby at times and owning and maintaining a marine aquarium has been a dream since i was a boy. i remember looking in amazement at the marine fish at my lfs where my dad would take me to to get tropical fish.
thanks for the help
people like you and others at reef central make this hobby what it is.i will keep you posted on the tank.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you need to raise pH more, bake it. Otherwise, don't.

You're welcome and thanks! :)