cloudy water after using reef advantage calcium

calygula · #1 01-20-2005, 16:06

just got my reef advantage calcium and reef builder yesterday. had not been dosing anything, except for buffer in my water changes. yesterday i began adding calcium. i added twice yesterday, and once this morning. i came back from work and tank is very lightly clouded (it's usually crystal clear). i've been adding 5 grams (rounded teaspoon) at a time. i know adding carbonates w/ calcium causes one to precipitate out, but i only added calcium. i'd imagine if you put more calcium in the tank than the water could handle it would precip out, but i don't think that could be the case, because i never add calcium, and have only done 3 additions from the reef advantage calcium.

tank is a 55 gallon fowlr, 65lbs aragocrete rocks, 28'' purple mouth moray.
yesterday's specs:
alk: 5meq/L
Ca: not detectable (though i doubt this is true case, my hagen test kit seems to be junk)
sg: 1.023
temp: 78
ph: 7.8

any help is greatly appreciated, i need my water clear again!

Tech Support JR · #2 01-20-2005, 16:54

The clouding you see is most likely calcium carbonate coming out of solution. The amount of Calcium (Ca) that you can keep in solution will depend on the amount of Alkalinty (alk) you have in the water. The point of balance is about 4 meq/L Alk with 400 - 420 mg/L Ca. If you add Ca beyond this with the same alk your will lose a little Ca and alk to fallout. If you add Alk beyond this with the same Ca you lose a little Ca and Alk to fallout. If your Alk is lower than 4 you can have more Ca soluble in solution - higher Ca. If your Ca is lower than 400 you can have more Alk soluble in solution - higher Alk. In your case you have an alk of 5 which means you may not be able to sustain as high a Ca. However, you really need to have an accurate read on the Ca. Might I suggest a new Reef Status: Calcium kit? :)

calygula · #3 01-20-2005, 18:59

how much calcium will stay in the water w/ 5 meq/L?

Tech Support JR · #4 01-21-2005, 09:22

You should be able to keep about 380 - 400 mg/L Ca with 5 meq/l alk. You might be able to keep it a little higher depending on what your alk is made of (carbonate vs borate vs hydroxide) and your magnesium level. Perhaps 420 mg/L.

calygula · #5 01-21-2005, 14:53

well if i'm precipitating out calcium and my alkalinity allows me to get that high (in Ca levels), then this precipitation means i'm already at about 400mg/L right?

Tech Support JR · #6 01-21-2005, 17:45

Yes, you are probably in the neighborhood. : )

jgram · #7 03-10-2005, 09:54

I am experiencing a similar problem with my Alk levels high with a "dust storm" appearance. Is there anyway to dilute or regain the proper balance.For the moment I've stopped adding the supplement. My Xenias are not happy. All other parameters appear normal. I did a 10% monthly water change a few days ago and did not notice any difference. I started using Reef Builder and Reef Adv Ca (same as original poster)

TIA

Tech Support RB · #8 03-10-2005, 11:46

A system that is in "ionic balance" is one that has a balanced ratio of cations (positively charged ions like calcium, magnesium, strontium) and anions (negatively charged ions like carbonate). If there is a correct ratio of these ions in a system, then they will stay in solution and not precipitate out. What I suggest as "balanced" is around 400 mg/l of calcium to around 4.0 meq/l of alkalinity.

To correct your system, given that it is not in balance and ions have precipitated out of solution as evident by the "dust storm" you mentioned, enough partial water exchanges should be performed to bring your calcium level closer to 400 mg/l and to bring your alkalinity closer to around 4.0 meq/l. The salt mix you choose should ideally mix up to around 400 mg/l of calcium and around 3.5 - 4.0 meq/l alkalinity. When performing partial water exchanges with this "balanced" salt, you will always be exchanging your water for water that has 400 mg/l of calcium and 3.5 - 4.0 meq/l of alkalinity. In essence, you will always get closer to your desired levels with every partial water exchange. The bigger the partial water exchange you perform, the faster you will get there. Once you have gotten close to these levels, it should then be safe to start adding calcium and alkalinity supplements as needed to maintain those levels. Keep in mind that it is best if calcium and alkalinity supplements are added on opposite days to further avoid the possibility of creating a precipitate.

hskim · #9 04-09-2005, 12:30

I had the same problem. My Alk was 3.5meq/l and calcium was 390mg/l and when I added the Reef Advantage Calcium the water turned cloudy and stayed cloudy for couple of hours. This never happened before and I've been using RACalcium for more then 6 months now.

I dose Reef Buffer twice a week and RACalcium twice a week, also.

Could it be because I stopped dosing RAStrontium and RAMagnisium. I used to does both of these when I started on RACalcium. My Strontium level is 5mg/l and Magnisium level is 1300mg/l.

Tech Support RB · #10 04-12-2005, 09:11

Your current alkalinity and calcium levels seem fine but you may want to get a second opinion on your test kits just to be sure they are reading correctly. Assuming they are reading correctly, the cloudiness could be related to the manner in which the product was dosed. For example, if it was pre-dissolved in a cup of saltwater rather than freshwater you would see a white haze (precipitation). Or if it was pre-dissolved in a cup of FW that had some residue in it from previously pre-dissolving a buffer. Or maybe it was dosed to your system in the same time frame as a buffer. Please respond if these possible scenarios do not help.