kalkwasser and magnesium DIY dosing

[GSnake]

Hello,

What is the best recipe for magnesium supplementation with Kaltwasser ATO dosing? 3a from Randy's DIY i presume? (The balanced mg recipe)

Would i be able to make an alternative recipe with sodium sulfate and magnesium chloride hexahydrate? if so, what's the recipe for 1 gallon amount at 3a equivalent strength?

thanks

 

[GSnake]

by the way, I also stained my table with sodium hydroxide, they are white colored. any idea how to get them out? i tried vinegar and CLR already.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hello,

What is the best recipe for magnesium supplementation with Kaltwasser ATO dosing? 3a from Randy's DIY i presume? (The balanced mg recipe)

Would i be able to make an alternative recipe with sodium sulfate and magnesium chloride hexahydrate? if so, what's the recipe for 1 gallon amount at 3a equivalent strength?

thanks

You can make one with sodium sulfate and magneisum chloride, but Epsom salt from a drug store is a cheap and suitable source of magnesium sulfate.

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

The best recipe is bolded below:

The easiest way to use these supplements is to first make a solution in freshwater. Any of the three different recipes may be chosen, but the second and third are most useful for most aquarists.

1. Using Epsom salts only, dissolve 8 cups Epsom salts in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined by using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is the least preferred of the three, but can be acceptable if used for small amounts of supplementation, or if combined with at least 30% water changes per month. It is also a more reasonable choice if calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) are used in large amounts to supplement calcium and alkalinity.

2. Using MAG flake only, dissolve 8 cups magnesium chloride hexahydrate in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is adequate, but not quite as balanced as #3 below. This choice is not a good way to go if calcium is supplemented by calcium chloride, because together they will force chloride excessively high.

3. Using both Epsom salts and MAG flake, dissolve 7¼ cups MAG flake and ¾ cup Epsom salts in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is preferred, but its advantage over recipe #2 is minimal in most cases.

Note that combining the two materials in solution can result in some precipitation of calcium sulfate (calcium and sulfate are impurities in the MAG flake and the Epsom salts, respectively. To assure yourself that the two materials have fully dissolved, dissolve each separately in some freshwater before combining them. Some calcium sulfate precipitation is acceptable, and it is okay to let the solids get into the aquarium, assuming you can dose in a way that prevents them from landing on delicate organisms.

Note also that this recipe (#3) is different from that given in my DIY two-part recipe, because in that case more magnesium sulfate is necessary to offset the rise in chloride that is provided by both the calcium chloride and the magnesium chloride.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

by the way, I also stained my table with sodium hydroxide, they are white colored. any idea how to get them out? i tried vinegar and CLR already.

Can you explain more what you are talking about?

Sodium hydroxide doesn't stain, but it will damage other things and colors (such as paint).

 

[GSnake]

You can make one with sodium sulfate and magneisum chloride, but Epsom salt from a drug store is a cheap and suitable source of magnesium sulfate.

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

The best recipe is bolded below:

The easiest way to use these supplements is to first make a solution in freshwater. Any of the three different recipes may be chosen, but the second and third are most useful for most aquarists.

1. Using Epsom salts only, dissolve 8 cups Epsom salts in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined by using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is the least preferred of the three, but can be acceptable if used for small amounts of supplementation, or if combined with at least 30% water changes per month. It is also a more reasonable choice if calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) are used in large amounts to supplement calcium and alkalinity.

2. Using MAG flake only, dissolve 8 cups magnesium chloride hexahydrate in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is adequate, but not quite as balanced as #3 below. This choice is not a good way to go if calcium is supplemented by calcium chloride, because together they will force chloride excessively high.

3. Using both Epsom salts and MAG flake, dissolve 7¼ cups MAG flake and ¾ cup Epsom salts in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is preferred, but its advantage over recipe #2 is minimal in most cases.

Note that combining the two materials in solution can result in some precipitation of calcium sulfate (calcium and sulfate are impurities in the MAG flake and the Epsom salts, respectively. To assure yourself that the two materials have fully dissolved, dissolve each separately in some freshwater before combining them. Some calcium sulfate precipitation is acceptable, and it is okay to let the solids get into the aquarium, assuming you can dose in a way that prevents them from landing on delicate organisms.

Note also that this recipe (#3) is different from that given in my DIY two-part recipe, because in that case more magnesium sulfate is necessary to offset the rise in chloride that is provided by both the calcium chloride and the magnesium chloride.

Epsom WAS a cheap source, I'm asking now cause prices went up in local stores quite a bit, and I already have a bag of sulfate and a large hexahydrate bag handy. I'm willing to bet this would be cheaper for me at the moment.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Epsom WAS a cheap source, I'm asking now cause prices went up in local stores quite a bit, and I already have a bag of sulfate and a large hexahydrate bag handy. I'm willing to bet this would be cheaper for me at the moment.

OK, it's hard to be cheaper than "already have it" lol

I'll work through some calculations a bit later.

The sodium sulfate is anhydrous?

 

[GSnake]

Can you explain more what you are talking about?

Sodium hydroxide doesn't stain, but it will damage other things and colors (such as paint).

Laminate counter, stone floor and stainless steel dishwasher. Soap and water worked a tiny bit but there are still streaks. You can see it's a faint white on the counter and dots on the floor. Happed after I mixed the sodium hydro and sulfate solution

 

[GSnake]

OK, it's hard to be cheaper than "already have it" lol

I'll work through some calculations a bit later.

The sodium sulfate is anhydrous?

Yes it's anhydrous

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

OK, let's start with my magnesium chloride hexahydrate only recipe:

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

2. Using MAG flake only, dissolve 8 cups magnesium chloride hexahydrate [about 64 ounces] in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is adequate, but not quite as balanced as #3 below. This choice is not a good way to go if calcium is supplemented by calcium chloride, because together they will force chloride excessively high.

Now instead of just that, we will also add sodium sulfate to balance the chloride to sulfate ratio.

64 ounces = 1814 grams.

That 1814 g ounces of magnesium chloride hexahydrate contains 632 grams of chloride.

We want a chloride to sulfate mass ratio of 19.35/2.71 = 7.1

Thus, we want to add 632/7.1 = 89 grams of sulfate.

Since sodium sulfate is 68% sulfate by weight, we add 131 grams of sodium sulfate.

if you make this up to 1 gallon total, you can use the calculator and entries for Randy's magnesium recipe:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

[GSnake]

OK, let's start with my magnesium chloride hexahydrate only recipe:

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

2. Using MAG flake only, dissolve 8 cups magnesium chloride hexahydrate [about 64 ounces] in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is adequate, but not quite as balanced as #3 below. This choice is not a good way to go if calcium is supplemented by calcium chloride, because together they will force chloride excessively high.

Now instead of just that, we will also add sodium sulfate to balance the chloride to sulfate ratio.

64 ounces = 1814 grams.

That 1814 g ounces of magnesium chloride hexahydrate contains 632 grams of chloride.

We want a chloride to sulfate mass ratio of 19.35/2.71 = 7.1

Thus, we want to add 632/7.1 = 89 grams of sulfate.

Since sodium sulfate is 68% sulfate by weight, we add 131 grams of sodium sulfate.

if you make this up to 1 gallon total, you can use the calculator and entries for Randy's magnesium recipe:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

great
ty

 

[GSnake]

by the way...how many grams are in 8 cups of mg hexahydrate ? thanks

 

[GSnake]

aqua-calc.com 370grams / us cup

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

by the way...how many grams are in 8 cups of mg hexahydrate ? thanks

I estimated it to be about 64 ounces/1814 g, as noted in my post above. Exact values will be brand specific.

 

[GSnake]

I estimated it to be about 64 ounces/1814 g, as noted in my post above. Exact values will be brand specific.

oh right 1814, got it; ill stick to that.
I wasnt sure about the cups earlier (8cups) my cup of mg is about 205g, and the info from aqua table had me thinking twice. But ounce/gram measurement of 1814 is good.

 

[Alexander1312]

You can make one with sodium sulfate and magneisum chloride, but Epsom salt from a drug store is a cheap and suitable source of magnesium sulfate.

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

The best recipe is bolded below:

The easiest way to use these supplements is to first make a solution in freshwater. Any of the three different recipes may be chosen, but the second and third are most useful for most aquarists.

1. Using Epsom salts only, dissolve 8 cups Epsom salts in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined by using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is the least preferred of the three, but can be acceptable if used for small amounts of supplementation, or if combined with at least 30% water changes per month. It is also a more reasonable choice if calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) are used in large amounts to supplement calcium and alkalinity.

2. Using MAG flake only, dissolve 8 cups magnesium chloride hexahydrate in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is adequate, but not quite as balanced as #3 below. This choice is not a good way to go if calcium is supplemented by calcium chloride, because together they will force chloride excessively high.

3. Using both Epsom salts and MAG flake, dissolve 7¼ cups MAG flake and ¾ cup Epsom salts in one gallon of water, and use that to supplement magnesium in amounts determined using this linked online calculator, with the entry "Randy's Recipes 1 and 2 Versions A and B," and ignore for this purpose what those designations mean. This recipe is preferred, but its advantage over recipe #2 is minimal in most cases.

Note that combining the two materials in solution can result in some precipitation of calcium sulfate (calcium and sulfate are impurities in the MAG flake and the Epsom salts, respectively. To assure yourself that the two materials have fully dissolved, dissolve each separately in some freshwater before combining them. Some calcium sulfate precipitation is acceptable, and it is okay to let the solids get into the aquarium, assuming you can dose in a way that prevents them from landing on delicate organisms.

Note also that this recipe (#3) is different from that given in my DIY two-part recipe, because in that case more magnesium sulfate is necessary to offset the rise in chloride that is provided by both the calcium chloride and the magnesium chloride.

This is super helpful, thank you for posting these recipes. This might be an uninformed question, but would no.3 replicate what Triton is selling in their products - https://www.tritonreef-shop.com/products/magnesium-mg-1000ml

Or would the DIY solution be more potent / less potent?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This is super helpful, thank you for posting these recipes. This might be an uninformed question, but would no.3 replicate what Triton is selling in their products - https://www.tritonreef-shop.com/products/magnesium-mg-1000ml

Or would the DIY solution be more potent / less potent?

I do not know off hand the potency if the Triton solution, but the diy has a calculator to figure dosing.