Do You Test for Mag?

[ilovetank]

I guess I've always been under the school of thought that if your calcium levels are good then your magnesium levels are good. I read some article probably from Farley that correlated these two. My question is, how many SPS and LPS keepers test for magnesium.

 

[aaron23]

test after 1 gal of 2part is done and need to dose mg to keep it to nsw

 

[ilovetank]

How often do you do water changes? Don't they keep your mag at acceptable levels?

 

[Ds04384]

I guess I've always been under the school of thought that if your calcium levels are good then your magnesium levels are good. I read some article probably from Farley that correlated these two. My question is, how many SPS and LPS keepers test for magnesium.

If your calcium is good and your snails aren't lethargic/dying then you're good. Still a good thing to check periodically but does not need to be checked as regularly as the others

 

[ilovetank]

If your calcium is good and your snails aren't lethargic/dying then you're good. Still a good thing to check periodically but does not need to be checked as regularly as the others

Does lethargic/dying snails mean too much Mag or not enough?

 

[Elementalj]

I always test magnesium because magnesium at minimum once a month at maximum twice a month

 

[Ds04384]

Does lethargic/dying snails mean too much Mag or not enough?

Too much. If you ever overdose mag you'll notice your snails stop moving or moving very slow and eventually it will kill them

 

[aaron23]

i do around 5 gal water changes every 2 weeks it doesnt replenish Mg enough so i need to dose after the dosed 2 part

 

[hawkinsrgk]

Test mine every week

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i do around 5 gal water changes every 2 weeks it doesnt replenish Mg enough so i need to dose after the dosed 2 part

I'd suggest dosing the specific amount with the two part, rather than trying to measure it.

 

[happyhourhero]

Once a week after WC. I test Cal alk and Mg then. Have things fairly dialed in.

 

[ilovetank]

Hmmm?? So I tested my Mag and it's at 1600 PPM. I use IO salt changed once every 2 weeks. I don't dose any mag. Do mag swings have a proven effect on the health of coral?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hmmm?? So I tested my Mag and it's at 1600 PPM. I use IO salt changed once every 2 weeks. I don't dose any mag. Do mag swings have a proven effect on the health of coral?

I suspect that result is not accurate unless the salinity is very high. Inaccuracy is a clear problem that many have from magnesium testing and responding to the result (even if yours is accurate).

Did you use the Red Sea kit? many folks seem to get high readings with it.

 

[ilovetank]

I suspect that result is not accurate unless the salinity is very high. Inaccuracy is a clear problem that many have from magnesium testing and responding to the result (even if yours is accurate).

Did you use the Red Sea kit? many folks seem to get high readings with it.

As a matter of fact I did use the Red Sea Pro kit.

 

[Tori]

I suspect that result is not accurate unless the salinity is very high. Inaccuracy is a clear problem that many have from magnesium testing and responding to the result (even if yours is accurate).

Did you use the Red Sea kit? many folks seem to get high readings with it.

That's bad news. My mag usually on the low side.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That's bad news. My mag usually on the low side.

Some folks seem to get it to work.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

One mans test result:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...os-elos-salifert-api-hanna-triton-awt.234660/

Magnesium:
Red Sea: 2080
Elos: 1350
Nyos: 1440
Salifert: 1470
AWT: TBD
Triton: TBD

 

[ilovetank]

Great!! Which one do I believe!? I guess I'll post on my local club and see if anyone has a mag test I can borrow.

 

[Tori]

Some folks seem to get it to work.

One mans test result:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...os-elos-salifert-api-hanna-triton-awt.234660/

Magnesium:
Red Sea: 2080
Elos: 1350
Nyos: 1440
Salifert: 1470
AWT: TBD
Triton: TBD

Yikes! I hope I'm one of the people that got it to work. I consistently get between 1250 and 1300 with my calcium at 425. I would hate to think my mag is a lot lower than that.

 

[ilovetank]

Randy,

Don't you also use IO? I have read that it is known for high mag so 1600 could be believable couldn't it? My calcium consistently reads 450. If it were too low I couldn't keep that type of calcium level could I?