LOW LOW MAG

youngblood421 · Apr 3, 2020

Im using a salifert mag test kit and ive been staying around 1110! I know that's way too low. I got magnesium from quantom to start supplementing. I will need roughly 200ml to get it where it needs to be im scared to make it change that much that fast so yesterday I started with 20ml and im going to test tonight and add another 20ml. Is that the right approach? Or can I add more than that to get my numbers where they need to be. my salt brand is quantom as well I use the mixed reef salt

lapin · Apr 3, 2020

Just go slow and you will be fine. No need to rush things. If 20 doesnt move the number a bit then try 30 or 40.

Reefer1978 · Apr 3, 2020

Going slow is a good advice, but, magnesium is safe to add in larger doses. Even BRS 2 part - they recommend dosing magnesium all in one shot. If you do add higher doses add to the sump to let it mix before it enters the tank.

Magnesium at 1100 is not horribly low.

Reefer1978 · Apr 3, 2020

Per BRS: It is important to keep changes limited to under 100ppm or less per day to not shock your corals.

Larry L · Apr 3, 2020

Agree 100 ppm per day should be safe. So figure out how many ml you need to go from 1110 ppm to whatever your target number is, then divide that up as needed into daily doses.

EMeyer · Apr 3, 2020

Isn't nsw about 1200? Only corals I've found that don't like low to normal mg are montis.

Larry L · Apr 3, 2020

Also, keep an eye on your calcium and alkalinity after you bring your magnesium back up. If the low magnesium was causing excess Ca/Alk precipitation, and that precipitation stops when the magnesium is higher, you might need to add less Ca/Alk than usual.

madweazl · Apr 3, 2020

EMeyer said:
Isn't nsw about 1200? Only corals I've found that don't like low to normal mg are montis.

Montis live just fine in NSW though. NSW is around 1270 I believe.

youngblood421 · Apr 3, 2020

larry as of now me calcium and alk I have no need to dose they stay fairly high but ill for sure keep an eye on everything.
I also need to add that I don't have a sump this is for a biocube 29.

EMeyer · Apr 3, 2020

madweazl said:
Montis live just fine in NSW though. NSW is around 1270 I believe.

In nature of course yes. But IME they benefit from unnaturally high mg (1400 or higher) in aquaria. Which may be more an issue with accuracy of the kits than biology, I have not tested mg kits against a true standard.

youngblood421 · Apr 3, 2020

Reefer1978 said:
Going slow is a good advice, but, magnesium is safe to add in larger doses. Even BRS 2 part - they recommend dosing magnesium all in one shot. If you do add higher doses add to the sump to let it mix before it enters the tank.

Magnesium at 1100 is not horribly low.

good! I was told it could cause browning?

youngblood421 · Apr 3, 2020

whats nsw mean? sorry for the dumb quuestion

madweazl · Apr 3, 2020

youngblood421 said:
whats nsw mean? sorry for the dumb quuestion

Natural sea water

fish farmer · Apr 3, 2020

youngblood421 said:
whats nsw mean? sorry for the dumb quuestion

Natural Sea Water

madweazl · Apr 3, 2020

EMeyer said:
In nature of course yes. But IME they benefit from unnaturally high mg (1400 or higher) in aquaria. Which may be more an issue with accuracy of the kits than biology, I have not tested mg kits against a true standard.

The Aqua Forest kit comes with a standard. There is a 100ppm delta between the Salifert and Aqua Forest kits that I have. Aqua Forest was within 9ppm of the Triton results I recently got. I typically keep magnesium around 1300-1350 (where my salt mixes up).

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 3, 2020

It is not normal for magnesium to get that low (unless you dosed calcium and alk only for a very long time), which suggests you should investigate before boosting it.

Either the salinity is much lower than you think, the test kit is off, or the salt mix is off. None of those are normal occurances, but test kit issues for magnesium are very common.

Try the kit on some new salt water before doing anything else, IMO.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 3, 2020

Reefer1978 said:
Going slow is a good advice, but, magnesium is safe to add in larger doses. Even BRS 2 part - they recommend dosing magnesium all in one shot. If you do add higher doses add to the sump to let it mix before it enters the tank.

Magnesium at 1100 is not horribly low.

Yes, that is/was my initial advice when I designed the two part that BRS uses.

But we need to understand the "why" and other aspects of the context.

Magnesium supplements can contain ammonia. It is not the magnesium rise that is the issue, but other impurities that may be there, including ammonia.

We (at least I) know nothing about the purity of the product he is using, so going slow is better advice than 100 ppm at once.

This is the exact recommendation from the publication of the original recipe:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

"It can be added all at once or over time as you choose, depending on the aquarium's size and set up. Add it to a high flow area, preferably a sump. In a very small aquarium, or one without a sump, I suggest adding it slowly.

The first time it's added, I recommend adding just a small portion and making sure there isn't any problem (such as corals closing up due to stress) before adding the remainder. Make sure corals and other organisms don't get blasted with locally high concentrations of the main ingredients or impurities, or else they may become stressed.

"

youngblood421 · Apr 3, 2020

So from yesterday after adding the 20ml and 5ml this morning now I’m reading 1200
I mixed new salt I’m reading 1400 so I believe my test kit is accurate. I added another 20ml but will be away from my house until Sunday I’m hoping it brings it up to 1300. Also made my biocube topless last night I doubt it’ll change much but I figured I’d see what it does.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 3, 2020

IMO, your magnesium tests are showing tremendous test error variability. Magnesium does not EVER drop 100 ppm in 1 day unless there a huge salinity drop.

youngblood421 · Apr 3, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
IMO, your magnesium tests are showing tremendous test error variability. Magnesium does not EVER drop 100 ppm in 1 day unless there a huge salinity drop.

It never dropped 100 in one day.
But it went up 100 when I dosed.
What mag test kit do you recommend I would like to find out if it is accurate or not