Should i add Mag, or wait??

[Mooch18]

Hey guys,

I had a thread a week ago, stating my calcium was around 550 ppm (salifert test kit). My Alk at the time was around 10 dKH.

I was told that my calcium would probably drive down my Alk a bit, as well as magnesium and strotium. Well, it has. My levels as of a few days ago read.....

8 dKH (AP test kit)
1130 Magnesium, which was normally around 1300-1400 (salifert test kit)
??? Strotium (no test kit)

I started adding C-balance (Alk part) to lower my calcium levels and compensate for my loss of Alk. so far it's working well at dosing 30-35 ml per day. My calcium has come down to around 500, and alk has gone up to 9 dKH.

My question is, should i raise mag at the same time and slowly increase, or should i wait till calcium and alk get in balance?? Im dosing the Alk every morning, so was thinking i could dose Mag mid afternoon or nightime. Or would dosing mag right now just screw things up in terms of chemistry??

Thanks a ton.

PS: I have held of dosing Kalk till things get back to normal.....

[Mooch18]

No one???

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Bumping the thread moves it back in my first in, first out queue.

I recommend 1250-1350 ppm for magnesium, and would boost it now with supplements from Kent, ESV, or a DIY (below). You can boost it by 50-100 ppm per day, so a few days will do it.

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-07/rhf/index.php

This calculator shows how much to use:

Reef Chemicals Calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

I would not bother measuring strontium:


Strontium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/chem.htm

[Mooch18]

Thanks Kent.

Ive got Seachem magnesium. Should i dose it all at once if im doing 50-100 ppm per day or drip, and im guessing not to dose same time im dosing Alk??

Thanks a ton Randy, and everyone else too!!

[Big Amish]

Based on advice I've heard Randy give in other threads, you can dose the 50-100ppm all at once. Happy reefing!

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, I'm not a fan of Seachem magnesium. It is not an ionically balanced additive. It is not appreciably different than using Epsom salt.

With any of these magnesium supplements, all at once dosing is OK for the 50-100 ppm rise.

[Mooch18]

Hey Randy,

what do you mean by it's not ionically balanced???

Anyways, i dripped it last night over a matter of 2-3 hours at half the required dose according to your calculator. I just tested it an hour ago, and got a perfect reading of 1350 ppm.

My calcium is still high at 500 ppm, but alk has gone up too 10 dKH now. I added more alk today, so hopefully over the next week, i'll have 450 calcium, 1350 mag, and 10-11 dkh Alk, where i can then continue adding Kalk, but at lower doses like 1 or 1/2 a teaspon per gallon.

Thanks a ton Randy, this site is just awsome!!

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

what do you mean by it's not ionically balanced???

I mean that it does not have a seawater ratio of sulfate to chloride. Over time it raises sulfate relative to chloride. That's why Epsom salt alone is not a good additive for large additions. Seachem is very concerned about ammonia in magnesium chloride, and without using it, there is no suitable way to make an ionically balanced magnesium additive. I discuss such issues here:


Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-07/rhf/index.php