High ALK / Low Calcium

[giles]

I have a fairly new tank set up, 3 months old, and have not encountered this problem before. My tank has high Alkalinity about 10.8 and low calcium 300 ppm. My PH is around 8.0 which is also a little low. These parameters do not seem to change regradless of the quantity and volume of additives I add to the tank.

I add PH/Alk buffer and the PH and ALK remain unchanged. Stopped doing this about three weeks ago. I have been adding Turbo Calcium daily for two weeks also without any changes in KH or Calcuim levels.

The inhabitants seem fine. I only have 3 fish and 2 corals. However, I am wondering if I should try to correct the problem or forget about it.

Thanks for your help.

Giles

 

[Len]

giles,

I'd give your tank some time. Newly set up aquariums (yes, 3 months old counts as new ) sometimes exhibits very high alk which will gradully come down over time. I'd stop adding buffers of any sort for now. Kalkwasser drip may help bring pH and Ca levels up and you might want to try it, keeping an eye out on the alk. Alk of 10.8 really is a fine value so I wouldn't worry much about it.

Another simple thing to do is to make sure your have proper air/water gas exhange. The interaction plays a big role in water's chemistry, and sometimes opening up a window or plumbing your skimmer's air intake to a room with "fresh" air makes a world of difference.