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  #661  
Old 09-19-2010, 05:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Lance View Post
What the #%&* is going on?

I dose 250ml of BRS Calcium Chloride every morning via dosing pump (which takes 2.75 hours); and 230ml of Soda Ash via dosing pump in the evening (which takes about 2.5 hours). I manually dose 100ml of Mg every third day.
This regimen keeps Ca steady at 420 to 430; Alk at 8 to 9 and Mg at 1300 to 1325. I test every 2 weeks and these numbers never change.

UNTIL TODAY! Ca = 520 Alk = 5dKH Mg = 1320
I immediately thought the doser dripping the calcium had gone wonky and was over dosing which would also drive the alkalinity down. I checked the doser and it measured out exactly 250 ml. So I checked the alk doser as well and it is working perfectly. WTF!

I remember I opened a new container of BRS calcium chloride a while ago. Is it possible that BRS's mix is off? Or the wrong label was put on the pail? Anybody run into this before? I don't know whether I should throw the pail out or keep using it and adjust the dosing volumes. Thoughts?
Check your pumps and heater for precip. I've had that happen to me over a period of a few weeks...couldn't keep the alk level up for the life of me and then my pumps seized up and I discovered where it went. It could be your cal/alk demand has dropped causing your alk levels to get high and then precipitate out
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  #662  
Old 09-19-2010, 04:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marie View Post
Check your pumps and heater for precip. I've had that happen to me over a period of a few weeks...couldn't keep the alk level up for the life of me and then my pumps seized up and I discovered where it went. It could be your cal/alk demand has dropped causing your alk levels to get high and then precipitate out
Nope, pulled a pump apart: very little precip. I just don't understand what could have caused the Ca level to rise so fast. There has been no change in the tank, except for a few SPS and zoa frags I added four days ago. Corals are growing so the Ca requirements shouldn't have dropped. I'm really baffled by this one. I have stopped dosing Ca until the levels get back to normal and will see what happens.
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  #663  
Old 09-19-2010, 04:59 PM
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I would have suggested checking with another test kit but if all 3 went nuts since your last test then something must have really changed. You'd think you'd notice a bunch of unhappy corals if your consumption changed THAT much? At least it's easy enough to deal with but it'd be nice to know wth happened.
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  #664  
Old 09-19-2010, 07:27 PM
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Maybe the tank isn't consuming as much of the calcium as usual. I would try adjusting the levels. But I know nothing about dosing. That's just what makes sense to me.

*edit: I didn't see the other posts before posting mine as they were on the next page.
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Last edited by Greenmaster; 09-19-2010 at 07:29 PM.
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  #665  
Old 09-19-2010, 07:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lastlight View Post
I would have suggested checking with another test kit but if all 3 went nuts since your last test then something must have really changed. You'd think you'd notice a bunch of unhappy corals if your consumption changed THAT much? At least it's easy enough to deal with but it'd be nice to know wth happened.
I did double check: Salifert and Elos kits. Mg levels are fine, it's the Ca and Alk that went wonky. Like you say, it's an easy fix, it's just baffling as to what would cause it.
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  #666  
Old 09-19-2010, 07:43 PM
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I know how to fix this, get a bigger tank and dilute with freshly mixed water till the level is correct! easy. P.S. dolphins don't care what the calcium level is.
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  #667  
Old 09-19-2010, 07:48 PM
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I know how to fix this, get a bigger tank and dilute with freshly mixed water till the level is correct! easy. P.S. dolphins don't care what the calcium level is.
This ain't West Ed Mall man lol.
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  #668  
Old 09-19-2010, 08:35 PM
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Maybe because the temp of the water is down, now that the summer is over, so the corals are not using as much calcium?
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  #669  
Old 09-19-2010, 09:13 PM
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Maybe because the temp of the water is down, now that the summer is over, so the corals are not using as much calcium?

Nope. We have air conditioning. Tank temp stays pretty constant.
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  #670  
Old 09-19-2010, 10:15 PM
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Was just a guess... Does your tank get any light from outside?
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