High mg and ca

[Shaifulshadow]

Hi guys. Im fairly new to this hobby. Tank was running fowlr but recently trying to keep corals. Tested water parameters, my mg and ca is quite high. Ca:690, mg:1890. Did not dose any ca or mg additives. Only dose kh as it drops as per normal. Previously using skimz salt but now change back to red sea blue tub. Any other ways to bring down my mg???

[SubzeroLT]

Suspect there could be measurement errors. What is the salinity you are running at? What type of device are you using to measure salinity? It is possible that your salinity is very high - hence the high numbers.

 

Aside from letting it deplete naturally, the only way to bring down Mg, Ca is to change water with 'good' parameters.

[Shaifulshadow]

19 minutes ago, SubzeroLT said:

Suspect there could be measurement errors. What is the salinity you are running at? What type of device are you using to measure salinity? It is possible that your salinity is very high - hence the high numbers.

 

Aside from letting it deplete naturally, the only way to bring down Mg, Ca is to change water with 'good' parameters.

My salinity is at 1.026 and using the swing arm type of device. Possible reason mayb my device is nt so accurate???

[SubzeroLT]

I think that's likely the root cause. Swing arm salinity meters are notoriously inaccurate.

Suggest you invest in a optical refractometer as a first step.

[Shaifulshadow]

26 minutes ago, SubzeroLT said:

I think that's likely the root cause. Swing arm salinity meters are notoriously inaccurate.

Suggest you invest in a optical refractometer as a first step.

Alright. Thx for the tip!

[Harlequinmania]

Try doing a major water change will also fix the issue and to try balance the parameters

[Shaifulshadow]

13 hours ago, he said:

Try doing a major water change will also fix the issue and to try balance the parameters

Already did a major wc before. Mg was at 2010 and ca was 890. Changed to a red sea blue tub salt mix and the values decrease but its still above the recommended values. Will try to use a refractometer first though.

[Shaifulshadow]

On 1/31/2021 at 8:56 AM, SubzeroLT said:

I think that's likely the root cause. Swing arm salinity meters are notoriously inaccurate.

Suggest you invest in a optical refractometer as a first step.

@SubzeroLT got my refractometer and checked the salinity. Was super high at 1.038.Most likely my swing arm type of measurement is the issue gonna be performing a wc later on

[SubzeroLT]

Great you found the root cause.

You can take a bit of water out. Then drip in RODI water slowly to dilute the water. Measure continuously so you don't overshoot. This should work well as the reduction in salinity will be quite slow.

 

[Shaifulshadow]

1 hour ago, SubzeroLT said:

Great you found the root cause.

You can take a bit of water out. Then drip in RODI water slowly to dilute the water. Measure continuously so you don't overshoot. This should work well as the reduction in salinity will be quite slow.

 

Sure. Will do this slowly. Thx for the advise