kalk doesn't raise calcium too much?

[Marshall]

Hi,

I've got the typical winter low pH problem and I'm considering dosing with limewater in my top off water to raise the pH. My calcium levels are about 450ppm and obviously I don't want them to go much higher... I top off like 5 gallons every couple days (on a 150 gallon + a 40 gallon sump). I saw a previous post about this but I wasn't sure why the limewater did not raise the calcium too high.

Cheers,
Marshall

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No it won't raise calcium excessively. It adds both calcium and alkalinity in a balanced fashion. So an overdose raises both together, and just results in slightly raised levels, or in increased abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate, or increased calcification by corals and coralline algae, or some combination of all three. I've never heard of it leading to excessive calcium and alkalinity values.