mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Ive been testing and im at 960ppm. If i add my mg will it effect my ph? Im using instant ocean and by far am under a "stocked" reef tank. I am concerned what would be depleating it?
mg
- Thread starter mariobrothersleeve
- Start date
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Thanks for all the help.
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
do you have stony corals in your tank?
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Yep, i wanna go to a sps tank
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
well you mag is used to combine the calcium and alkalinity to form calcium carbonate witch stony corals use to build the skeletons
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
here is a big write up on it. Aquarium Chemistry: Magnesium In Reef Aquaria — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Ive added 1/4 gallon of mag. and im finally at 1350. My coralline algae has done better in the last month than before. Im not overstocked and cant figure out whats taking it
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
your coralline and sps need the calcium-carbonate to grow and mag is used to combine them so if you are seeing a major growth in your coralline and sps then that is where it is going
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
I am aware of this, i just dont understand the volumn. A quarter gallon in a month is crazy. What else is dropping if my mag was that out? Cal. Has never left 400.
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
did you look threw that write up it has some charts and stuff to show what uses it
2XAl
Salt Addict
Thanks for sharing Emmett great site and article
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
What do you mean "a quarter gallon in a month"? I know you needed to add that much of whatever mg additive you picked up, but mg is usually slowly depleted over time, nothing like the depletion of Cal or Alk.
But magnesium will help regulate Cal and Alk. If your alk is low and you are having trouble raising it, most likely your Mg is low.
If you are serious about moving to lps/sps, you will need to think about dosing to keep all three in check. This means you will need to be really diligent with manual dosing, or you will need to set up some kind of auto dosing. Either a stand alone doser or some dosing pumps hooked up to a tank controller using timers.
But magnesium will help regulate Cal and Alk. If your alk is low and you are having trouble raising it, most likely your Mg is low.
If you are serious about moving to lps/sps, you will need to think about dosing to keep all three in check. This means you will need to be really diligent with manual dosing, or you will need to set up some kind of auto dosing. Either a stand alone doser or some dosing pumps hooked up to a tank controller using timers.
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
I never tested for mag until a month ago. I thought that getting good salt mix and frequent w/c's would make everything in check. Not the case! My mag was in 960, but everything esle was great. Cal is still a 400 and im in the process of trying to figure out what is depleating it. With the volumn of water im running, i just never thought i would be that far out.
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
What is your alk?
And no, once you are adding any kind of stony coral and your coralline algae takes off, it's hard to keep up trace elements with water changes.
And no, once you are adding any kind of stony coral and your coralline algae takes off, it's hard to keep up trace elements with water changes.
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Im at 179ppm or 10dkh
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
That is definitely unusual that your alk and calc are that high with such a low mag level. For instance, my alk recently dropped and would no go above 6.4dkh no matter how much kalk i used. Checked my mag and it was under 1200. Pumped it back up and now alk is on the rise and quickly.
Are you sure your test kit is accurate? Might be worth borrowing one from somebody to compare or see if your LFS can test it.
Are you sure your test kit is accurate? Might be worth borrowing one from somebody to compare or see if your LFS can test it.
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Yes im sure. Friday i ran my water over to a friends place. He doesnt understand at all either. My mag test is off alot, so im going off of his. By all means, ive seen vast improvement in coraline algae and in the corals. I tend to buy not well kept corals and grow them that way. Saves alot of money, but i dont understand my problem or why nothing else is off. Should i just leave well enough alone if everythings going good or am i looking for some sign?
