All for Reef = low on Mag?

[thresher]

I guess I should give more details and the background of the tank. Its a small 30 gallon AIO. It has a mix of lps and sps. All are doing well. Salt being used is TP pro. Prior I had been dosing alk, cal, and mag separately and had it to my desired parameters. The mag being at around the 1360-1400 level. Weekly water changes of 10%. Im dosing brightwell kalk that has mag in it at night so I figured my mag would relatively stay high but it has since dropped when switching to All for reef.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Im dosing brightwell kalk that has mag in it at night so i figured my mag would relatively high but it has since dropped when switching to All for reef.

lol

You, along with others, have been grossly misled.

Here's a copy and paste from an earlier post of mine:

Unfortunately, it is a very poorly designed product that won't work. It has very little magnesium in it, but even that will precipitate out in limewater as magnesium hydroxide.

Not enough magnesium to be useful even if it worked, and it won't work. It is a marketing gimmick.

One other comment with respect to the magnesium.

IMO, it is risking being disingenuous to name the product kalk + 2, because normal calcium hydroxide has magnesium in it as an impurity. I expect all Brightwell's product is with respect to magnesium is the natural impurity of magnesium.

I show in the article linked below that bulk supplied calcium oxide and hydroxide have that amount of magnesium or more already in it. So to try to claim it as a plus is misleading, IMO.

Magnesium and Strontium in Limewater
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm

 

[bnord]

Let me join the choir... Thought it might be test error at1200, have a huge chaeto mass which might also be the source - just started supplementing for that

 

[thresher]

lol

You, along with others, have been grossly misled.

Here's a copy and paste from an earlier post of mine:

Unfortunately, it is a very poorly designed product that won't work. It has very little magnesium in it, but even that will precipitate out in limewater as magnesium hydroxide.

Not enough magnesium to be useful even if it worked, and it won't work. It is a marketing gimmick.

One other comment with respect to the magnesium.

IMO, it is risking being disingenuous to name the product kalk + 2, because normal calcium hydroxide has magnesium in it as an impurity. I expect all Brightwell's product is with respect to magnesium is the natural impurity of magnesium.

I show in the article linked below that bulk supplied calcium oxide and hydroxide have that amount of magnesium or more already in it. So to try to claim it as a plus is misleading, IMO.

Magnesium and Strontium in Limewater
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm

Good to know! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Randy. They have been taking my money for a while with it...I guess its somewhat ok since it gave me peace of mind

 

[bnord]

So what would be a good, gradual weaning off the stuff and onto a better "solution"?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Let me join the choir... Thought it might be test error at1200, have a huge chaeto mass which might also be the source - just started supplementing for that

FWIW, macroalgae is not a substantial sink for magnesium unless it is a calcifying type like halimeda.

The internal concentration of magnesium in cells is lower than in seawater (like sodium, chloride and sulfate) and organisms (aside from calcifying organisms) generally have to fight to excrete it rather than soak it up.

 

[bnord]

FWIW, macroalgae is not a substantial sink for magnesium unless it is a calcifying type like halimeda.

The internal concentration of magnesium in cells is lower than in seawater (like sodium, chloride and sulfate) and organisms (aside from calcifying organisms) generally have to fight to excrete it rather than soak it up.

Thanks
makes sense