Omg!!!!!

[kingfish83]

I just picked up a mag test for the first since i got my corals a few months ago. I tested it and found out that its 150ppm. I freaked and went back to AZSeabottom to get some mag buffer. I'm slowly going to raise it up over the next couple of weeks to 1300ppm.

[30reef]

I don't know if that would have been a valid test result. Did you retest with the same result? I've never heard of mag to go that low. Could biological processes occur within an aquarium devoid of mag??? I guess it's possible though. Regular WC would almost keep mag in check. (Those that know me a little would think it's funny for me to talk about regular WC)

What kind of fishing do you do?

[kingfish83]

Yeah i did it twice.

[kingfish83]

I did it twice and got the same answer. I never tested for mag before today. I dose everything and tested everything but mag for the last few months.

I'll retest tomorrow to what it is.

[oct2274]

i don't believe that result either, take your water into az seabottom or another store and have them test with a different test kit. I'm not even sure if it is possible to have magnesium that low. Maybe if you didn't change your water for like 3 years haha. Something is wrong with the test or something is happening during the test. The only other way it could be that low is if something else is way off in the tank and making the magnesium precipitate out.

[oct2274]

btw, if that was your mag level you would have a massive snow storm in your tank because your calcium would be precipitating out. that is unless you have no calcium either.........

[kingfish83]

no everything els is checking out. I just got the test AZSeabottom. Its a salifert mag test.

[kingfish83]

oh crap i read part 6 wrong!!!!!

[kingfish83]

my mag is 1430 ish.. I know it a little high but is it ok to leave untill i do a water change next week?

[kingfish83]

note to self dont do new things on the tank after a bad night of sleep. So i tested one more time it was around 1410 or a little higher. Thats ok till i change my water next week right ?

[30reef]

Gosh, I'm glad you caught that. You would have needed a 1/2 gallon of mag to raise it that much. And then the salinity would have been sky high too. (probably over 1.030)

Mag levels from 1200-1500 are ok. A little higher and a little lower won't hurt anything either, short term. I think 1350 is the target.

[oct2274]

your are perfectly fine with your mag that high. i personally keep mine at 1350, but there are people here on reefcentral using high mag levels = above 1600 to kill off a certain type of algae. you are good to go!

[kingfish83]

What the high level sps can take of mag? I'm still waiting on my book called Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman but i got home and the office close so i could not pick it up today.

[30reef]

I wouldn't raise it beyond where you are now without first reading up on the effects of high mag from a reliable source. There is no benefit in doing this unless you are trying to rid your tank of Bryopsis. And it didn't look as though you had any growing. It takes a tremendous amount of mag supplement to raise it, and in doing so, also raises the salinity.
I had to raise the mag in my tank from 1000 to 1300 about 6 months ago because of the salt I had been using, this raised my salinity from 1.026 to 1.029. I think it is from the chloride. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

[kingfish83]

man you know your chem. becuase i'm a civil/enviromental engineer. I think its the chloride

[30reef]

I really don't know much about chems. Just the ones that I have to add to my tank. And sometimes I don't know enough about that. I find myself burried in the chem forum frequently.

[kingfish83]

i'm bad at chem.