Question with dosing Magnesium

Jbr2389 · Jan 4, 2018

I haven't kept up dosing my tank due to work for the past year or so. Got a chance to test mg and it was around 900. It's a red sea test kit though it's old and may be expired.. I don't have the box to see the date. I do 20% water changes every 2 weeks so I figured it would keep the mg up though it doesn't appear to be the case. I want to get it up to 1350 at least but the ESV mg I have says with the dosing provided it will increase 100mg a week. I was hoping to get it up quicker. If I dose more than the directions say can I hurt the fish and coral in my tank?

dbl · Jan 4, 2018

If you've been doing water changes every two weeks, I have serious reservations that your mag is actually at 900. I would highly recommend getting a new test kit, or take a sample to your LFS, before doing anything. Just my $.02.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 4, 2018

I agree, it is unlikely to be that low and many folks have issues with that kit.

Jbr2389 · Jan 4, 2018

I have some Salifert test kits on the way so I will hopefully not for sure when it arrives. It was just an assumption because I read corals colors can fade or they can die with low mg levels. I have a blasto head peeling off the skeleton and had a full colony do the same a few weeks ago. Had them both for a few years without any issues until now. Same with a golden torch... 2 of the heads on it seem to be dying. I have hallucinations that are no longer recognizable because the red colors in the center have faded. Any idea what else the issue could be?

mtraylor · Jan 4, 2018

Anything done quickly with parameters is usually a no no.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 4, 2018

Magnesium cannot really drop more than about 1/10th if the calcium drop. To drop magnesium by hundreds of ppm, you’d need to have dosed thousands of ppm if calcium and not added any by water change or other way. It doesn’t come about easily.

Color can be off for many reasons, including too little nutrients, too much, poor lighting, etc.