Calcium off the charts

So i set up a new tank, with all new water using coralife salt, as of today my am nitrate and nitrite are all 0, so while i was testing im like, what the hay lets test cal and alk. So my alk is around 8.4 (I hate seachem's alk test, so broad) and i lost count of cal when it was around 600 so it probably is higher, nothing to worry about right? 

could the high levels in everything have anything to do with the fact that its filled with all freshly mixed water?

I don't remember Coralife salt being high in Calcium, but maybe it is. Like Burt, I wouldn't worry too much about it. But now that you know, be sure not to add Calcium but only Alkalinity when the time comes. Since you are doing this testing and it seems that you are interested to get our help, feel free to post pics and ask for our suggestions along the way. Did you use the four live components to start up this tank?

well if you mean like water from my display, no i didnt, i had my reasons of doing so, but the nano cube does not have a fuge, i need to buy a hob fuge that does not break the bank.

the reason i didnt add any water from my display is while i was breaking down my 60g display and i found a casualty, a marron clown, poor guy tried to hide in some rock and got suck and killed himself, i tested the water and there was some ammonia probably due to his death, 4 days before that when i tested there was none.

Edited by solastsummer - January 23 2011 at 9:59am

A canister filter accomplishes just a tiny bit of filtration. If I used it at all it would just be for running AC 2 wks/mo.

It's a great idea to use the back chamber as a place to grow algae and if it can be lighted at night and not be too bright in the room that's even better. Use as much of that chamber as possible, removing all other stuff, just leaving some sponge or something to keep algae from clogging the pumps.

Instant Ocean or any other salt is good. I'm not saying that Oceanic and Oceanlife aren't good. Later, when there is good coral growth, Alkalinity has to be added anyway, because the coral eat it up, no matter what salt mix is used.

Most snails do not eat macro algae, and good macro will grow too fast for anything to eat it down to nothing. 

Edited by CapnMorgan - May 04 2011 at 9:12pm

CapnMorgan wrote:   solastsummer- I agree with Mark. Canister filters are just big nitrate generators. I would skip the canister filter and just use a mesh bag of AC (Activated Carbon) for a couple weeks every month.

Steve unfortunately solastsummer passed away in a car accident a few months ago.