Serious question. Mag situation

Tommy's Reef · Jan 1, 2017

So i use aquaforest its been high in mag the last 2 buckets ive used of it. So i dont test the mag (i know not a good move but i was so sure of it being high). dosed tech m before wene i use to use instant ocean Anyways had a huge precipitation event in reef 2 days ago it was like snow on everything. I dose 2 part everyday at night, woke up and was mind blown by precipitation like snow everywhere. My mag is at 1000 when its been at 1400 for 7 months i opened up new aquaforest bucket and didnt test mag. So here 3 months later ive caught that the new batch of salt is super low i should of caught on quicker because my dosing of 2 part has doubled because theres not enough mag to balance the 2 anyways So question as i raise my mag. My alk and cal needs will not be as much ( because theyve been doubled since super low mag) so trying to get the 3 balanced out right is gona be tricky. Feel me lol any advice . has anyone experienced this situation how was the end result keep in mind i have a 75 gallon with colonys of high end chalices and zoas and wellso and montis a few sticks hammers im praying for no alk swings just need sum more experienced for encouragement

Mel 2038 · Jan 2, 2017

Well it sounds like, your a lot like I am. That is, not a regular tester. lol With that said, I would say yes to your question about raising mag, but not as much as one would think. If it were me, I would reduce the 2 part slightly, and dose a little mag. I'm sure you know already, but I would say, just make small changes over time, nothing drastic. Try to test more often, at least until you see things trending in the correct direction. I've been a little out of whack before, not to the point of precip, but just made small moves in the correct direction. Good Luck!

Tommy's Reef · Jan 2, 2017

Thanks man

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 2, 2017

tommyhere said:
So i use aquaforest its been high in mag the last 2 buckets ive used of it. So i dont test the mag (i know not a good move but i was so sure of it being high). dosed tech m before wene i use to use instant ocean Anyways had a huge precipitation event in reef 2 days ago it was like snow on everything. I dose 2 part everyday at night, woke up and was mind blown by precipitation like snow everywhere. My mag is at 1000 when its been at 1400 for 7 months i opened up new aquaforest bucket and didnt test mag. So here 3 months later ive caught that the new batch of salt is super low i should of caught on quicker because my dosing of 2 part has doubled because theres not enough mag to balance the 2 anyways So question as i raise my mag. My alk and cal needs will not be as much ( because theyve been doubled since super low mag) so trying to get the 3 balanced out right is gona be tricky. Feel me lol any advice . has anyone experienced this situation how was the end result keep in mind i have a 75 gallon with colonys of high end chalices and zoas and wellso and montis a few sticks hammers im praying for no alk swings just need sum more experienced for encouragement

I don't think a precipitation even like that generally comes from low mag, but from excessive alk and/or pH. You sure there wasn't an overdose?

Tommy's Reef · Jan 2, 2017

No overdose. So i should of caught on way earlier lol. First about 2 months ago i started having issues with byropsis here and there nothing bad then a liitle hair algae which ive heard, (if im wrong ill accept it, but that byropsis and such dont like high mag) then about a month ago where i pour my alk and cal in the corner of my tank in a high flow corner it turned deadly white with precipitation, ruined my glass completely (ill show you). And i apologize for leaving out detail but most the time wene u write a bunch of words they ignore your post. But ive recently started gfo a week ago, which ive read sumwhere that it encourages precipitation ( correct me if im wrong). But just the night before i was in a hurry to sleep and poured my 150ml of cal waited 5 minutes then poured 150 ml of alk, i usally wait 30 minutes in between ( i know you should do them at opposite times of day but so far its done good for me) i dont have a doser simply because i dont trust them and there horror stories but anyways i feel the combination of gfo low mag and pouring my cal and alk to soon triggered the snow blizzard i experienced if wrong please let me me know? And since mag low ive been using excess alk and cal then usually but no overdosing i keep my alk at 8.5 cal at 450 and before i let my mag go it was 1400

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 3, 2017

I think the magnesium/bryopsis connection may be a toxic impurity in one supplier of magnesium that impacts bryopsis (since some brands seem to not work), but that hasn't been proven.

How much were you boosting alkalinity at once by pouring it in? Local and temporary precipitation of magnesium hydroxide is normal. Longer lasting cloudy precipitation is not typical.

Tommy's Reef · Jan 3, 2017

So i went from dosing 75 ml of alk and cal to 150 ml of alk and cal in a little more than a month but i test alk everday so i slowly seen it droping every day and i added about 5 extra mil a day until i got to 150 mil which keeps me at 8.5 to 9 for the last 2 weeks or so

Tommy's Reef · Jan 3, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I think the magnesium/bryopsis connection may be a toxic impurity in one supplier of magnesium that impacts bryopsis (since some brands seem to not work), but that hasn't been proven.

How much were you boosting alkalinity at once by pouring it in? Local and temporary precipitation of magnesium hydroxide is normal. Longer lasting cloudy precipitation is not typical.

for sure on the certain brands. I use tech m before i used seachum mag (the type you mix on your own) and byropsis thrived but switching to tech m completely gone