magnesium media in calcium reactor advice needed

[salty joe]

I'm getting ready to set up my calcium reactor and wondered if adding NeoMag or another brand of quality dolomite works well to maintain mag.

Does it to turn to mush, are there any problems associated with its use? If it matters, I'll be using Two Little Fishes calcium reactor media.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I haven't personally used a calcium reactor, but I know that adding a magnesium media is something that people do quite frequently without issue. It takes some experimenting to figure out how much magnesium media to add to the calcium carbonate media, but after you have it dialed in, you simply mix the magnesium media with the calcium carbonate and you're good to go.

You also can use a magnesium additive from a two-part system to supplement magnesium. There will likely be less experimentation necessary to dose magnesium in this way, as calculators are readily available to tell you exactly how much to dose. Plus, adjusting the dose simply involves dosing more or less liquid, not completely changing the ratio of magnesium to calcium carbonate media.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks, I have the Brightwell powder mixture of mag sulphide and mag chloride to get mag right before firing up the calcium reactor.

Also, I'm considering putting the dolomite in a mesh bag in case I need to adjust.

 

[ca1ore]

Frankly, I think it is unnecessary. I use reborn media, which contains all the minerals living corals need. Unless you have some need to artificially boost Mg, I see no reason for it.

 

[salty joe]

So, your mag remains around 1300 using only Reborn?

I went through a lot of mag from coralline algae growth. I made the mistake of using MagFlake and various brands of Epsom salt-I feel certain it raised lithium sky high. I'm lucky I made that mistake before adding fish and coral. On the plus side, it wiped out a boatload of aiptasia.