Juiceman Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I set up my calcium reactor probably in July. At that time my alk was at about 7.5 and my ca was about 460. Using Hanna checkers I just tested my calcium with a Red Sea test that I recently acquired. It's says I'm at 300 ppm.!? I re tested 3 times and got the same results. My hanna checker is not working for whatever reason so I bought new reagents for the Red Sea just in case they were expired. Test came up the same, at 300 ppm. I test my alk with a Hanna checker at least once a week ever since setting up the reactor just incase I needed to tune it at all, and it has been consistently between 7.00 and 8.00 usually around 7.4-7.6 I use Arm extra coarse media. Anyone know why I could be going through more ca than alk or why the Rx may not be giving me equal parts from the effluent.? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Or possibly the hanna wasn't reading correctly when I first set up the ca rx? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I would assume that you had a bad reading with your Hanna Calcium checker in the beginning as I heard they are not the most accurate or reliable. Going off that original bad reading on calcium, you fine tuned your CaRX off that number. The CaRX kept the same ratio of Alk and Ca up to this point and its just now that you are noticing that your Ca is low once you had used the Red Sea kit to double check it. I wouldn't worry about anything and just slowly use some 2-part Ca additive to get your level up to what you want it. Leave the CaRX tuned the way it is and it will maintain your new Ca level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Calcium, pH and alkalinity are closely related but they can move independant of each other. This article by Randy Falry Holmes is pretty good for troubleshooting calcium and alkalinity problems: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Well I've added about 30 oz of calcium solution over the last day or so, and tested again. It came up 30 ppm higher than before, so I think I'm on the right track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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