Mag Calculations

ksed · Oct 4, 2014

Need to raise Magnesium from 1210 to 1310 ppm approx. using Mag Chloride and Mag Sulfate in a balance ratio. Adding 97.6 teaspoons or 2 cups of Mag chloride and 9.76 teaspoons of Mag Sulfate. Using 10-1 ratio, this volume should give me slightly more, as 2 cups of Chloride alone should give me 1310 ppm. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 4, 2014

I can't confirm the boost it will give because that is tank size dependent, but the ratio looks good.

If you dissolve that in 1/8 gallon, you can use the calculator below to determine amounts as it matches my recipe:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

This is my recipe:

Using both Epsom salts and MAG flake, dissolve 7Â¼ cups MAG flake and Â¾ 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.

ksed · Oct 4, 2014

Thanks Randy!
Should have included that it was for 130 gallons of water.

I use that link provided religiously. It's a great tool to have. I didn't know the ratio of Mag per given amount of water for the Randy's recipes, know it all makes sense.

A little off topic but when dosing KI Potassium Iodide it is primarily used to boost your Iodide levels but will it affect your Potassium levels as well?

Thanks

Kevin

ksed · Oct 4, 2014

i might be a bit confused, the 71/4 cups should that not be grams?
10 cups - 1 cup is by volume or ion bases and the 7.1 - 1 is by weight, as in 71/4 grams of Magnesium Chloride to 1 gram of Magnesium Sulfate.

Thanks

Kevin

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 5, 2014

ksed said:
Thanks Randy!
Should have included that it was for 130 gallons of water.

I use that link provided religiously. It's a great tool to have. I didn't know the ratio of Mag per given amount of water for the Randy's recipes, know it all makes sense.

A little off topic but when dosing KI Potassium Iodide it is primarily used to boost your Iodide levels but will it affect your Potassium levels as well?

Thanks

Kevin

Not enough to be important. It is more iodide than potassium, and each time you boost iodide from zero to NSW levels (say, 0.06 ppm), the potassium might move from 400.00 ppm to 400.02 ppm

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 5, 2014

ksed said:
i might be a bit confused, the 71/4 cups should that not be grams?
10 cups - 1 cup is by volume or ion bases and the 7.1 - 1 is by weight, as in 71/4 grams of Magnesium Chloride to 1 gram of Magnesium Sulfate.

Thanks

Kevin

The 10:1 ratio in my recipe is by volume of the specific ingredients. Specifically it is for the hydrates, but if they are both anhydrous that is close enough in ratio but will be about twice as potent as my recipe.