Magnesium

[GillMeister]

Does anyone even bother testing Mg? My Red Sea Pro kit always shows my Mg is off the charts high and I don't believe it one bit. Everything in the tank looks very healthy.

 

[Spare time]

I test it since I don't do water changes. I haven't had an issue with red sea magnesium. Out of curiosity, do you shake for 15 seconds after every drop for one of the steps (can't remember which but I think its part A)? Not saying that would necessarily makle the difference but I am curious.

 

[GillMeister]

I test it since I don't do water changes. I haven't had an issue with red sea magnesium. Out of curiosity, do you shake for 15 seconds after every drop for one of the steps (can't remember which but I think its part A)? Not saying that would necessarily makle the difference but I am curious.

Yeah, I follow the instructions to the letter. I also shake while adding each drop of reagent.

 

[William Morris]

I am using the Aqua Forest test kit and like it a lot. Slowly elevating my Mag to 1450 or so for my hammers.

 

[Nano sapiens]

I am using the Aqua Forest test kit and like it a lot. Slowly elevating my Mag to 1450 or so for my hammers.

I've used a few Mg kits (Salifert, RedSea, Seachem) over the many years with mixed results. IME, the AquaForest Mg kit, while perhaps not the fastest since it has a additional step compared to most, has been reliable and and probably as accurate as a hobby grade Mg kit can be.

 

[SPR1968]

You need to monitor magnesium as it’s vital because of the interaction with the other elements in the system. It’s often depleted slower but you need to keep an eye on it, if it gets to low you often see poor coral health etc.

But I threw the Red Sea kit away years ago, it was always showing high magnesium at around 1500 and a Triton test said it was low at around 1240. I changed to NYOS which is just so simple to do, and it matched Triton within 5 Points. I personally keep it around 1350

 

[William Morris]

I've used a few Mg kits (Salifert, RedSea, Seachem) over the many years with mixed results. IME, the AquaForest Mg kit, while perhaps not the fastest since it has a additional step compared to most, has been reliable and and probably as accurate as a hobby grade Mg kit can be.

BRS did a nice video on various test kits. Their choice for Mag was the Aqua Forest kit.

 

[EagleEric]

I started dosing 2 part Thanksgiving Week.
Never checked.magnesoum because I was doing 10% water changes. Sure.enough my magnesium dropped from 1350.
Fell to 1100.
Once.i got it back up. Everything looked better.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Does anyone even bother testing Mg? My Red Sea Pro kit always shows my Mg is off the charts high and I don't believe it one bit. Everything in the tank looks very healthy.

As mentioned, testing is important, but doesn't have to be done as frequently as the other typical tests (I do mine about once a month). With an SPS dominant tank, I'd be more inclined to do it 2x/month.

Personally, would suggest trying a different brand of kit (AquaForest, Nyos have good reviews). Mg is a very touchy test, so take time and follow the directions exactly. Make sure there is no chance of cross contamination of the Mg kit's contents with the tank's water, other test kits, etc. (I do my Mg kit last after I first put all my other kits away and away from my aquarium...just to be sure).

 

[X-37B]

Try salifert, simple and easy to use.
That said I test mag and ca every 2 months.
I run a carx so ca never varies.
I dose trace which has kept my mag at 1350 for 21 months now since startup.
I also do no scheduled water changes. I have done 3-10 gallons in 21 months.
45 frag tank is 14 months old with no water changes. I will do a 4-5 gallon soon to remove any unwanted things that we cant test for.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Does anyone even bother testing Mg? My Red Sea Pro kit always shows my Mg is off the charts high and I don't believe it one bit. Everything in the tank looks very healthy.

I’ve been using instant Ocean reef crystals for the past couple months and my magnesium has been 1500+ just from the salt alone I had to stop dosing magnesium because of this

 

[GillMeister]

You need to monitor magnesium as it’s vital because of the interaction with the other elements in the system. It’s often depleted slower but you need to keep an eye on it, if it gets to low you often see poor coral health etc.

But I threw the Red Sea kit away years ago, it was always showing high magnesium at around 1500 and a Triton test said it was low at around 1240. I changed to NYOS which is just so simple to do, and it matched Triton within 5 Points. I personally keep it around 1350

Excellent advice. I'll pick up a NYOS kit and ditch the Red Sea. Too bad it's not as reliable as the other Red Sea kits.