Can't get Mg up

Capsle · 08/19/2016, 05:49 PM

Hey Reefers,

So I've been trying to get Mg up now for a week. My Mg was at 1140 ppm. Salinity was low at 1.022-023 so I've been ATO with 1.030 water for the last week and salinity is only at 1.024.

I've also been dosing Brightwell Aquatics Mg supplement for the last 3 days (2 tsp in 8oz of RODI) and Mg is only up to 1200.

Everything else checks out and just wondering if this is normally this slow.

My current parameters
Salinity 1.024
PH 7.9
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5-10
Cal 450
Also 10.5
Mg 1200.
PO4

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Entacmaea · 08/19/2016, 08:51 PM

Slow is good ; )

NeilFox · 08/19/2016, 11:37 PM

You can go faster than that. Around 1300 is pretty good. Keep in mind it takes a lot of magnesium to raise it 100 ppm. A 100g tank has over a pound of Mg disolved in it. Magnesium is pretty forgiving. Try dosing a tsp (5ml) in 6oz of RO. Wait about an hour and test it again. I would bring my Mg up to around 1300 to 1350 like this or maybe over the weekend. Raising that much won't hurt anything. BRS has a video about dosing 2 and 3 part. He basically overshoots it and lets it come down on it's own over time. My understanding is too high of Mg (over 1800ppm) causes problems with snails and other inverts.

Alk is a different story all together. You want to go slow with alk changes. SPS in particular don't like alk swings.

Capsle · 08/20/2016, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilFox

You can go faster than that. Around 1300 is pretty good. Keep in mind it takes a lot of magnesium to raise it 100 ppm. A 100g tank has over a pound of Mg disolved in it. Magnesium is pretty forgiving. Try dosing a tsp (5ml) in 6oz of RO. Wait about an hour and test it again. I would bring my Mg up to around 1300 to 1350 like this or maybe over the weekend. Raising that much won't hurt anything. BRS has a video about dosing 2 and 3 part. He basically overshoots it and lets it come down on it's own over time. My understanding is too high of Mg (over 1800ppm) causes problems with snails and other inverts.

Alk is a different story all together. You want to go slow with alk changes. SPS in particular don't like alk swings.

Thanks for the info. I've been dosing 2 tsp (10 ml) in 8 oz of ro water every day. I just don't understand what is using up the mg if anything. Alk and cal are always stable 10.2-10.5 and cal 420-450.

08/19/2016, 05:49 PM	#1
Capsle Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posts: 385	Can't get Mg up Hey Reefers, So I've been trying to get Mg up now for a week. My Mg was at 1140 ppm. Salinity was low at 1.022-023 so I've been ATO with 1.030 water for the last week and salinity is only at 1.024. I've also been dosing Brightwell Aquatics Mg supplement for the last 3 days (2 tsp in 8oz of RODI) and Mg is only up to 1200. Everything else checks out and just wondering if this is normally this slow. My current parameters Salinity 1.024 PH 7.9 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5-10 Cal 450 Also 10.5 Mg 1200. PO4 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Caps Current Tank Info: 65G DT with custom overflow, 35G custom sump, maxspect R420r 180w 15K, reef octopus classic 150 skimmer.

08/19/2016, 08:51 PM	#2
Entacmaea Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Truckee, CA Posts: 96	Slow is good ; ) __________________ DIY Junkie and Aquaculture Advocate

08/19/2016, 11:37 PM	#3
NeilFox Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: DuPont, WA Posts: 947	You can go faster than that. Around 1300 is pretty good. Keep in mind it takes a lot of magnesium to raise it 100 ppm. A 100g tank has over a pound of Mg disolved in it. Magnesium is pretty forgiving. Try dosing a tsp (5ml) in 6oz of RO. Wait about an hour and test it again. I would bring my Mg up to around 1300 to 1350 like this or maybe over the weekend. Raising that much won't hurt anything. BRS has a video about dosing 2 and 3 part. He basically overshoots it and lets it come down on it's own over time. My understanding is too high of Mg (over 1800ppm) causes problems with snails and other inverts. Alk is a different story all together. You want to go slow with alk changes. SPS in particular don't like alk swings. __________________ Even a Blind Squirrel finds a Nut now and then. Current Tank Info: 6.25 gal Nano, 40 gal SPS