Worrying to much about mag?

[Zoarium]

Ive been spending a lot of effort to raise my Magnesium levels and maintain them at 1400 ppm. I test multiple times a week and adjust as needed. My question, Is there a broader range that I can stay between or should I keep it at 1400ppm every time. I realize stability is ideal but I do not have a doser and Im wasting test kits obsessing about that magic number. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Downbeach]

Anywhere between 1200ppm and 1400ppm is fine. You may want to check your SG. Frequently a low Mg is an indication of a low(er) salinity, many times due to a mis/non calibrated device or the use of a swing arm type hydrometer used for measuring. I would get your SG to 1.026(35ppt) in some freshly made SW and recheck your numbers. Almost all salt mixes will have a Mg around 1350ppm, if accurate.

 

[Zoarium]

Thanks for the reply! right now my SG is at 1.025 using a refractometer calibrated with RO water. Ill try mixing my salt at 1.026 and see if that helps the low mag levels I've been getting.

 

[Downbeach]

Thanks for the reply! right now my SG is at 1.025 using a refractometer calibrated with RO water. Ill try mixing my salt at 1.026 and see if that helps the low mag levels I've been getting.

You should be using a calibration solution that is close to the refractive index of the sample you will be testing. I would use a seawater standard solution like this. Here is the reason:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/index.php#13

 

[jsker]

How old is your tank? When current setup was in that 6 month stage my mag was all over the place. Once I got my Alk, Ca steady my mag evened out.

 

[Zoarium]

You should be using a calibration solution that is close to the refractive index of the sample you will be testing. I would use a seawater standard solution like this. Here is the reason:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/index.php#13

Ill pick some up at my LFS later this week. Good advice!

How old is your tank? When current setup was in that 6 month stage my mag was all over the place. Once I got my Alk, Ca steady my mag evened out.

Tank is just shy of 1 year old.

 

[Husterix]

The first three months my tank consumed a lot of magnesium. Since then it has stabilized. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you can keep it somewhere between 1200 and 1450 you're fine.

 

[jd371]

How old is your tank? When current setup was in that 6 month stage my mag was all over the place. Once I got my Alk, Ca steady my mag evened out.

This. My tank is going on 9 months now, before I got my Alk and Ca steady my Mg was like a yoyo, now it stays in the 1380-1400 range.

 

[jsker]

At a little over 11 months I started the balling method and this really steady out my parameters and my corals really started looking healthy. I am using the @Aquaforest 1+2+3+ my system is now 16 months old and my parameters only vary based on the amount of corals that I have, then I make a slight adjustment and everything falls back into place. I have a dosing pump and by switching to the Balling Method it made like so much easier.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

At a little over 11 months I started the balling method and this really steady out my parameters and my corals really started looking healthy. I am using the @Aquaforest 1+2+3+ my system is now 16 months old and my parameters only vary based on the amount of corals that I have, then I make a slight adjustment and everything falls back into place. I have a dosing pump and by switching to the Balling Method it made like so much easier.

FWIW, I cannot see how the Balling method makes anything more stable than a two part, which is essentially the same thing being added in slightly different ways. A dosing pump will work perfectly to stabilize things in both cases just the same.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How old is your tank? When current setup was in that 6 month stage my mag was all over the place. Once I got my Alk, Ca steady my mag evened out.

That was likely testing error. Magnesium does not EVER drop more than a ppm or two each day. Even a 2 ppm drop in magnesium requites a lot of demand for alk and calcium since the only demand for magnesium is incorporation into calcium carbonate in place of some of the calcium.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the reply! right now my SG is at 1.025 using a refractometer calibrated with RO water. Ill try mixing my salt at 1.026 and see if that helps the low mag levels I've been getting.

A change from sg = 1.025 to 1.026 will boost magnesium from 1250 (if that is where it starts) to about 1300 ppm.

 

[jsker]

FWIW, I cannot see how the Balling method makes anything more stable than a two part, which is essentially the same thing being added in slightly different ways. A dosing pump will work perfectly to stabilize things in both cases just the same.

Agreed, I like the product that I use, 1+ Ca-Mg, 2+ Akl, 3+ are trace elements. No mixing, no measuring, No fuss

 

[jsker]

That was likely testing error. Magnesium does not EVER drop more than a ppm or two each day. Even a 2 ppm drop in magnesium requites a lot of demand for alk and calcium since the only demand for magnesium is incorporation into calcium carbonate in place of some of the calcium.

I was just stating that I have had swing in the past, once I established my parameters I do not experience the jumps and drops.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I was just stating that I have had swing in the past, once I established my parameters I do not experience the jumps and drops.

Right, but I don't think it was a real movement of magnesium. Aside from dosing and water changes, there's nothing that can make magnesium bounce around.