High Mag tests and...

[Taxman20]

So I bought a running 75g with a 30g sump about a month ago and have it up and running. About 60 to 70 lbs live rock. I kept the sand bed and of course the Nitrates went sky high. Over 160ppm with a Red Sea kit. The kit is new BTW. Ive been doing weekly or shorter 10g water changes to help get the nitrates down, which they have been at 50ppm for the last 2 weeks. So getting better. I have added some Chaeto to the small fuge section and also an H80 light for it. It had some hair algae killing a birdsnest and its slowly been dieing off now. And the Coraline growth has been looking good. Along with the brown algae getting better.

For the Mag and other parameters, some has been rising, some are dropping.
At first the Mag was around 1350. Its gone up each water change and today and last weeks test was at 1600+, maxed out on the test kit.
Calc is now at 470.
PH was 8.1 and today is 8.01
KH was 11.2 last week and today is 10.5

Inhabitants.
1 yellow tang, 1 clown, 1 flame angel, 2 blue damsels and assorted crabs and snails for cleanup.
1 small birdsnest colony, a couple motni caps and a digi frag, a few small soft corals and zoa frags.
So not a big user of minerals in the system yet. They arent being consumed. Well calc and others.

So. Is the high Mag an issue? Should I let it do its thing or try dosing to get it down somehow? Ive though about running some carbon to get the nitrates down more. Ive been out of this for 10 years so its like learning over again with some of this stuff.

Also I installed a new reefbreeders Photon V2 yesterday. running it at 30% for now and the corals have never looked happier. So they dont seem to be distressed at all and the fish are doing great.

TIA for advice and info.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The high mag is not an issue. It’s not going up if you are not dosing it.
Red Sea test kit?

Do the wayer chanhe And then adress the no3 levels.

Carbon does not effect no3 , save that I may bind some organics that will decompose and become no3.

I would put the system online and let it run. Then be patient.

 

[Taxman20]

Its been running for about 3 weeks now. Ive done about 4 water changes to get Nitrates down. I just wanted to be sure that the high Mag level wasnt going to cause issues. Thanks for the info.

 

[AdamNC]

Red Sea Mag test kit is very finicky. I’ve used it for about 4 years now and found out your vial MUST be cleaned before every test you take. Before every test I pour in white distilled vinegar, shake the vial a bit with the cap on and then take a Q-tip and scrub it out. After that I rinse it very well in RO/DI water. Then use a small 3ml syringe to get my 2ml worth of sample as a standard 10ml syringe can be a little off on accuracy to the eye.

I do this once a week for 2 separate tanks with 2 separate levels and I get consistent results. It’s a lot of work for one test but when my SPS tank runs at 1280ppm and my mixed LPS/Softy tank runs at 1350ppm it’s worth the hassle than having a head scratcher on why the levels are all over the place.

 

[Jason mack]

High mag wont be a problem , I had my mag as high as 1700 to combat gha ...without any issues too the tank .....what salt are you using too mix your water?
And what is your po4 ..you never mentioned that ..?

 

[Taxman20]

No test kit for PO4, still getting everything I need in the testing area. I am using Instant Ocean. Its what came with it, its what I used 10 years ago. I would like to change to a better salt though if there is one.

And thanks for the test kit info. Ive just been rinsing it after use, then rinsing with tank water before use. I will try your way to see what it does.

As for the High mag not being an issue, it may be a good thing to be high right now due to me trying to kill some hair algae as well and it seems to be working.

Also, I didnt mention this before and I should have. I also found that my RO/DI water was at about 60 and not 0. So now its 0 as it should be but the water for the last few changes plus the topoff has been dirty. That may have a little to do with my algae and maybe other stuff.

 

[ianryd]

I just tested my Mag on a fresh batch of IO reef crystals mixed with RO at 1.025 salinity. It was over 3000 ppm! I tested with both red sea and salifert kits to confirm. I might start cutting it with regular IO salt to stretch it out now with the cost of IO going up.

 

[Bob Weigant]

I run a high mag and it’s never been an issue