So wasn’t paying attention the last time I bought salt and bought reef salt for a tank currently with no corals. I’ve done three water changes with it and fish, inverts, etc are all fine but my magnesium is pretty high, between 1600-1650. I was actually planning on buying 1-2 corals very soon since I have a decent amount of fish in the tank now, my question is, should I do another water change with regular salt to lower my magnesium before buying corals or will corals be ok with levels this high starting off.
Magnesium level for corals
- Thread starter tmscott89
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Sarah24!
2500 Club Member
Hello,
Usually the ideal mag for sps is 1390 and softies and lps probably around 1340. Personally I would not add corals till that is closer to 1400 or under. Mag testing is not easy, and my lfs has messed up several times. I would have someone else test it and see if they get the same results. Just personal experience lfs said my mag was close 1,000 and I needed to dose a lot. Yet all my fish and corals (sps even did great and colors amazing). I had my other lfs test (which I trust more and two people tested with two different kits and they came up with 1350 and 1370 roughly. I’m glad I didn’t dose mag even in small amounts. If your low or high it’s like cal and alk change them slowly or you will have even more problems .
Usually the ideal mag for sps is 1390 and softies and lps probably around 1340. Personally I would not add corals till that is closer to 1400 or under. Mag testing is not easy, and my lfs has messed up several times. I would have someone else test it and see if they get the same results. Just personal experience lfs said my mag was close 1,000 and I needed to dose a lot. Yet all my fish and corals (sps even did great and colors amazing). I had my other lfs test (which I trust more and two people tested with two different kits and they came up with 1350 and 1370 roughly. I’m glad I didn’t dose mag even in small amounts. If your low or high it’s like cal and alk change them slowly or you will have even more problems .
As others have said, Magnesium is usually around 1350-1400ppm in reef systems, but 1600ppm shouldn't cause any issues. I've had it as high as 2100ppm on many occasions in many systems while fighting Bryopsis. Just avoid large swings while you're correcting it and you shouldn't see any ill effects.
