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Author Topic: Calcium up take at a low!  (Read 8376 times)

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Offline erky

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Calcium up take at a low!
« on: January 30, 2017, 10:35:47 »
I have a 180g SPS dominate reef and it soaks alk up really well, but i get little to no CA absorption. My current water parameters are 
CA - 520 (i know a little high, over dose with wrong concentration a while ago)
Alk - 9 dkh
MG - 1350
po4 - .03 (hanna)
NO3 - 15 (just had a small spike from aminos)

My real question is why in the world in the past month did my calcium only drop 20ppm? A few of my corals are showing signs of growth, but only 4-5 out of ~100 sps's. I am getting a little disappointed in this tank, but I am not going to give up yet. I can do another Triton test, another $50 for peace of mind is worth it to me. If anyone could provide some feed back I'd love to hear it.

Offline joelbegt

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2017, 11:19:02 »
Any more information on your setup?

Lighting type and schedule and par if you know
Flow
Two part I assume
Ph
Skimmer
Temp
Bare bottom, or sand?

Waterchange schedule and %
« Last Edit: January 30, 2017, 11:24:42 by joelbegt »

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2017, 12:52:26 »
T5 and LED 8 hours a day
jeboa wp-40 and 2 hydor pumps
2 part yes
Ph i will check
skimmer is a corallife 220, upgrading to a BM cone 7 today
temp - 76-78
sand

WC's been doing every 3-4 weeks 30 gallon

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2017, 13:01:40 »
here are some pictures of corals i have, been dipping a few trying to find out if there is an pest in the tank or not, the 3 that i have dipped this morning i found nothing. here are a few pics, one night have something on it but i dont know.





Offline joelbegt

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2017, 15:33:36 »
Looking at those pictures shows high nutrients.  (Note how green past death is)

Not sure if your hand dosing or using pumps, but one pump may be dosing more than the other explaining the difference in uptake.  I can't think of a time where I had uneven dosing using an a&B Product or BRS

I personally prefer keep it simple Berlin method, but barebottom if I'm SPS focused.  I shoot for almost undetectable phosphates and nitrates, 50-100x flow(you are a bit short), big skimmer, and lots of light(read this as 350-500 par), 10% waterchanges weekly.  Dose nothing but alk and cal and maybe mag if necessary(I find it's not with 10% wc).

If I'm having issues I generally dilute the problem with 25-30% waterchanges 3 days in a row.  Use a salt that mixes where you plan to run your tank.  I attached a pic for growth reference when things are going well for me.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2017, 21:56:31 »
that first pic looks suspicious to me.  Might be an aefw.  If there is some dead sections on the lower part of that coral take a close look at it for eggs.  They will be pretty oblivious if they are there.  They are always laid on dead sections of the coral.  When I battled aefw I didnt think there was any way that I had them and my corals were just not doing well and some were stn from the bottom up.  I finally found them by seeing a funny looking oval spot on one of the corals and I took a turkey baster to the coral and quite a few blew off.  You might blast a few with a baster or power head.  If you have them they will appear as white to clear flakes coming off the coral.  Hope that is not it.  If so you have a battle ahead of yourself.
jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2017, 22:33:56 »
 Just to add to Jeffs post, when searching for aefw dont use bayer. Bayer is white and cloudy making it difficult to see. Dip with coral rx in a white bucket and lots of light shining directly into dipping container. Aefw when they come off look like a tiny peice of beige flake food. Thin like onion skin.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2017, 12:22:58 »
I ordered flatworm exit, and plan to dose the tank with it. I am at the point i need to do something and i can tell a few of my corals are not happy currently! Some other corals are growing well and their color is great, just strange on what is going on.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2017, 13:33:51 »
ph is 8-8.2 this morning to all who were asking

Offline joelbegt

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2017, 14:10:29 »
Flatworm exit won't kill acro eating flatworms just so you know

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2017, 14:21:44 »
Flatworm exit won't kill acro eating flatworms just so you know
I honestly dont think its aefw, bc from everything i have dipped there has not been any show up.

thanks for the heads up, i just hooked up a fresh air line to my skimmer thinking that might help a little as well, the tank is right next to the furnace in the basement might be causing some issues that way.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2017, 14:52:52 »
here are 2 images of what comes out after dipping a coral



took those is a macro lens after i dipped a. tenuis i have it was showing signs of stress.

Offline lazylivin

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #12 on: January 31, 2017, 19:59:09 »
I dont see any in pics. If no pests then it is a water issue. Sounds like a big water change is in order

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2017, 20:37:11 »
I dont see any in pics. If no pests then it is a water issue. Sounds like a big water change is in order

well i can do 2 90g changes, 2 days apart. then monitor from there. I am going to add more flow to the tank, just not sure what i want to get/spend also

Offline lazylivin

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2017, 20:59:23 »
Sounds like a good plan

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2017, 21:49:14 »
Is that what is left over after dipping the first coral in the pictures with the circle drawn on it?
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #16 on: January 31, 2017, 21:55:36 »
Yes

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #17 on: February 03, 2017, 13:51:36 »
I ordered a Gyre and it should be here today, for those of you who own one, in a 6ft tank should i place it on one of the ends or just in the middle back glass of the tank for best results?

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #18 on: February 03, 2017, 13:53:31 »
I also did a 90 gallon water change last night, i will test my levels later tonight if anyone wants to know.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #19 on: February 03, 2017, 17:04:54 »
I have done the large changes but really didnt see any change by doing so.  I know others on here have had a lot of success with doing so.  It usually takes a good week or more before I see my corals get back to normal after a large change.
Jeff

Offline joelbegt

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #20 on: February 03, 2017, 18:12:00 »
What salt brand?

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #21 on: February 03, 2017, 18:24:18 »
Aqua forest probiotic

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #22 on: February 04, 2017, 09:15:02 »
Gyre 250 is rocking the flow now in the tank

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #23 on: February 05, 2017, 12:46:40 »
checked the temp this morning and it was 75, working on getting that raised a bit higher, the additional flow is wonderful, one coral really loves it so far!

going to start logging my PH every few hours to see what kind of swings the tank is doing.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #24 on: February 12, 2017, 19:30:44 »
anyone have a ph monitor that i can borrow while mine gets fixed?

Offline AJ

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #25 on: February 12, 2017, 19:33:39 »
I believe there is a handheld PH meter in the club test kit.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #26 on: March 04, 2017, 10:03:25 »
my ph is pretty stable always above 8.0 day and night, im really getting annoyed at what is going on, does anyone have any ideas of what to do?

I am going to take a few more pictures soon to see if there is anything pest wise going on, but i have dipped and dipped with not luck.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #27 on: March 04, 2017, 11:29:08 »
I was experiencing alot of the same issues as you.  Pulled my hair out trying all kinds of different things.  It had been a couple of months since I had calibrated my refactometer so I decided to check it.  WOW it was off by .05  My salinity was actually at 1.019  During all this I was doing 50 gallon water changes and my alk was also clear up in the 12 range.  Needless to say my corals had lost alot of color and many had stn and lost a couple of them completely.  It has been about 2 weeks since I got the salinity and alk back to normal and I am starting to see my p/e come back and alittle of the coloration return.  If you havent calibrated you refractometer in awhile do so.  You might also ck your alk test kit against the known regent that comes in the kit.
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #28 on: March 04, 2017, 16:27:50 »
I was experiencing alot of the same issues as you.  Pulled my hair out trying all kinds of different things.  It had been a couple of months since I had calibrated my refactometer so I decided to check it.  WOW it was off by .05  My salinity was actually at 1.019  During all this I was doing 50 gallon water changes and my alk was also clear up in the 12 range.  Needless to say my corals had lost alot of color and many had stn and lost a couple of them completely.  It has been about 2 weeks since I got the salinity and alk back to normal and I am starting to see my p/e come back and alittle of the coloration return.  If you havent calibrated you refractometer in awhile do so.  You might also ck your alk test kit against the known regent that comes in the kit.
Jeff

with RODI or distilled water? 

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #29 on: March 04, 2017, 18:41:21 »
I bought a calibration fluid off eBay. Your welcome to drive up and check yours but I know it is a drive. If you haven't calibrated I would say that's a must. Also make sure the calibration fluid is same temp as the water your testing
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #30 on: March 10, 2017, 17:54:43 »
Did you get your meter calibrated?  Was it off?
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #31 on: March 11, 2017, 08:14:58 »
ive used rodi and its dead nuts on 0

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #32 on: March 11, 2017, 23:23:44 »
I would still pick up some calibration fluid.  I cked mine tonight with ro water and it was actually below the scale.
Jeff

Offline thepipbull

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #33 on: March 15, 2017, 17:49:35 »
mine was off to using RO water by 5 I think
Hows everything looking

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #34 on: March 18, 2017, 14:37:53 »
some corals are doing amazing and coloring well, but others look like they were just pulled out of the sewer....

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #35 on: March 21, 2017, 15:22:12 »
alright jjos99 you win salinity was 5ppt lower than it should of been, got calibration fluid today and warmed then tested, currently adding more salt to the tank, SLOWLY

Offline thepipbull

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #36 on: March 21, 2017, 22:18:32 »
it happened to me too....5 off as well couldn't believe it

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #37 on: March 22, 2017, 18:22:35 »
Glad to hear you found something.  Watch your alk as you add the salt.  The increased salinity can also effect the alk.  I am slowly seeing better color and p/e but it is taking its time so dont expect a quick turn around but things should get better.
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #38 on: March 30, 2017, 22:48:06 »
Have you seen any difference in your corals yet? 
it been a good 6 weeks since I got my tanks salinity back in check and my corals are showing better color and p/e now but has been very slow.
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #39 on: April 01, 2017, 08:43:05 »
been out of town the past week+ so hopefully everything is doing well.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #40 on: April 04, 2017, 08:28:23 »
got home yesterday and some noticeable improvement in a few corals, some serious growth on 2, but 2 others still look like crap, not too worried about them as they most likely are not going to make it.

I do have a mean case of cyano going on right now also, not sure where that came from, but need to get it figured out.


Also on my other tank it decided to leak all over my office floor while I was gone, looks like I lost some LSP and montis in that one...

Offline thepipbull

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #41 on: April 05, 2017, 18:13:01 »
Glad to see it getting better. I would Dip the 2 looking like crap just to see if they can be saved. If your seeing STN I would cut them above it.
Chemi-clean is the best for cyano it wiped mine out over night. I noticed it 2 weeks later and dosed again hasn't come back. Will probably do a small dose quarterly for maintenance.
what cause the leak. I travel a lot too and always worry i forgot to do something

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #42 on: April 06, 2017, 11:42:43 »
Glad to see it getting better. I would Dip the 2 looking like crap just to see if they can be saved. If your seeing STN I would cut them above it.
Chemi-clean is the best for cyano it wiped mine out over night. I noticed it 2 weeks later and dosed again hasn't come back. Will probably do a small dose quarterly for maintenance.
what cause the leak. I travel a lot too and always worry i forgot to do something

i dont have a clue what caused the leak, neighbor filled the tank up and she said it was super full in the diaplay and hardly any water in the sump, but that doesnt make sense at all.... So 4 days went by when she was over to when i got home and the tank was below the overflow and the sump was full... Im so confused on how that happened. Im assuming the tank had a leak or something but never saw anything. I tore it down and have some rock and fish in a spare sump i have.

I am going to get the cyano under control with some chemi-clean as that has worked in the past, and then jump into getting these nitrates under 5ppm they are currently 10+.  I think carbon dosing will be my best bet, thoughts on that?

Offline thepipbull

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #43 on: April 06, 2017, 18:32:13 »
that's crazy hate it when i cant figure something out
Carbon isn't going to doing anything for the nitrates..its more for chemical warfare and keeping the water crystal clear..
A water change and more frequent changes should bring it down also a refugium helps a lot     

Offline Humphrey

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #44 on: April 06, 2017, 20:39:53 »
Pit bull I think erky means vodka, vinegar, or sugar etc. carbon dosing.

That will work yes.  10 isn't crazy high.  Water changes also an option, but you could probably pull it down in a couple of weeks with careful carbon dosing paired with Dr. Tims waste away as seeded bacteria... I think there is a brightwell product too that has denitrifying bacteria.  Someone's probably used it.  I pulled a tank down from 20 in about 2 weeks using vodka with half dose to maintain it.

Might take a little longer if you don't seed it.

I haven't had much in the way of nitrates since employing marine pure in my sumps.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #45 on: April 27, 2017, 20:49:23 »
the tank is really showing some great improvement, growth has started again, and colors are really starting to show clear and vivid!

Offline Steve

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #46 on: April 27, 2017, 21:13:49 »
That is great news Erik, I need to get down to see you.

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #47 on: April 27, 2017, 21:37:11 »
That is great news Erik, I need to get down to see you.

yeah things are growing that you want.

I am considering doing another fiji order soon.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #48 on: April 27, 2017, 22:02:52 »
When I was taking some mechanical classes years ago one of the professors always would say to use the KISS method when diagnosing something.  Keep it simple stupid.  We all tend to overthink things too much.  It has burnt me many times
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #49 on: April 27, 2017, 22:05:53 »
When I was taking some mechanical classes years ago one of the professors always would say to use the KISS method when diagnosing something.  Keep it simple stupid.  We all tend to overthink things too much.  It has burnt me many times
Jeff

i usually use that method too! the bali tri is finally starting to show a little purple again!

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #50 on: April 27, 2017, 22:50:15 »
glad to hear things are working for the better.
jeff

Offline thepipbull

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #51 on: April 28, 2017, 09:23:53 »
Glad to hear lets see some pics

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #52 on: April 28, 2017, 15:28:39 »
A few of my acros and misc frogspawn






Offline thepipbull

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #53 on: April 28, 2017, 16:17:47 »
looking good Erky

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #54 on: April 28, 2017, 19:21:34 »
thanks that ANacropora has really taken off in the past 6 weeks its growing so fast, would love to find some other colors and thinking about fragging some here soon.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #55 on: April 30, 2017, 12:49:22 »
so now that this mess is getting better do you have any feelings on adding the t5 to your lighting?  I am thinking on taking off the added led strips I installed on my system and putting on the 2 t5 bulbs that I have.  I am thinking I have too much spotlighting with my current lights and alot of shadowing.   I have a nice piece of pinky the bear that is growing like a weed on half of it and not growing at all on the other half.  That is why I am thinking I am getting some spotlighting with my leds. 
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #56 on: April 30, 2017, 13:25:02 »
so now that this mess is getting better do you have any feelings on adding the t5 to your lighting?  I am thinking on taking off the added led strips I installed on my system and putting on the 2 t5 bulbs that I have.  I am thinking I have too much spotlighting with my current lights and alot of shadowing.   I have a nice piece of pinky the bear that is growing like a weed on half of it and not growing at all on the other half.  That is why I am thinking I am getting some spotlighting with my leds. 
Jeff

Ive had t5's running since october on the tank. I did it because the lights are only 16 inch and there seemed to be a bare spot on the back row of my tank, and i had the light laying around anyways.  I think your your setup it would only benefit your goals. LEDs are great but so are T5's id say they compliment each other very well!

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #57 on: May 04, 2017, 12:56:42 »
been tracking my phosphates for the past few months, seems strange to me that they jump around so much, they go from .03 - .16 when I test every few days, anyone know a reason for this or is this common? Id like to keep them steady is possible.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #58 on: May 04, 2017, 16:09:55 »
What if anything are you using for phos reduction now? Testing with a Hanna checker?  If so run the test several times with the same test viles. I usually CK my several times till I get the same reading.
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #59 on: May 04, 2017, 17:06:21 »
Hanna ulr tester

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #60 on: May 04, 2017, 19:49:58 »
Test your sample multiple times and see if you get different readings.  I notice my first test is usually higher then the follow up tests.
Jeff

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #61 on: May 05, 2017, 09:16:13 »
Test your sample multiple times and see if you get different readings.  I notice my first test is usually higher then the follow up tests.
Jeff

will do

Offline erky

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #62 on: May 18, 2017, 08:43:26 »
for anyone following this thread, my tank has been bouncing back, so much that I started dosing nitrates again to keep them at 3-5ppm.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Calcium up take at a low!
« Reply #63 on: May 18, 2017, 11:51:31 »
That's is great news.

 

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