magnesium level really high ?

JFrar · Nov 18, 2014

So about a month or 2 ago i realized i had low alk of about 6.7 which probably was fluctuating a decent amount depending on when i did water changes, i've slowly been buying test kits for everything because of this. I've resolved my alk issue as im adding about 10ml daily on every day i DONT do a waterchange(i do waterchanges once a week, (10 gallons on 100g system). So today i bought a magnesium test to test my levels. I did do a water change today so the level should be at a higher point i guess(use red sea coral pro), i've never dosed mag. anyway, so i tested which the chart goes up to 1500, and i am at 1500+ mag, I use salifert for all my test. lately with the 10ml of alk daily dosing my levels have been
Nitrates : 0
Alk : 7.5 - 8.5
Calc : 470-480 (i dont dose at all)
Mag: tested today for first time(tested twice to double check myself) 1500+, i also went and used more of the 3rd solution to make sure i eventually hit the color change signifying my levels which i did not measure but if i had to guess it was .2 ml maybe .25.
(This is all i have test for so far im working on it)
Just wanna play it safe and ask some more knowledgable people on here. I work in a pharmacy and am used to compounding medications so i know i'm using correct measurements and doing the test properly. I guess i should note again, it was about an hour and half after my water change so maybe thats why? i plan on testing tomorrow at some point to be sure, Thanks in advance !

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 18, 2014

What salt mix are you using?

Some start very high, and 1500 ppm is not a significant problem.

JFrar · Nov 18, 2014

red sea coral pro, i was kinda wondering if that was what it is

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 18, 2014

RSCp probably has about 1400 ppm at 35 ppt. Your salinity may be higher or the kit may be off, or the salt mix may have settled a bit with more magnesium in the part you already used.

But in any case, you can get an actual reading by using a second syringe in your test to get to the color change, and adding the two values together.

FWIW, my magneisum level is currently high as well, about 1500 ppm, and the only thing I'm doing about it is not adding any while my regular water changes slowly bring it down.