Help on balancing CA, KH, and Mg.

[APch1ll3n]

Currently:
Magnesium 1600
Calcium 400
Alk 6.7


My mag is high, rest is low. Planning to add Kalk. Any suggestions to stabilize aquarium would be appreciated. Tank been running 8 months now. Planning to (2 part) dose but currently only got kalk And heard lots of story about it. Thanks for any help

Resently did a 30 gallon water change. Salinity is 1.023. I have a 150 gallon tank.

 

[trido]

Do you use any chemistry calculators to find out how much to add to your system? Here is one 'Reef Chemistry Calculator FV' I use to find answers to questions like yours.

After looking at it, I see that other than your Mg being high your Ca and alk are balanced. They might be lower than you like but they are balanced. I would only add one part if you have the other to keep them balanced while raising them. If your corals are happy I would not mess with a good thing.

 

[extremecoral]

you dose Mag right? because Alk is always 8-9, calcium is always -> 400 depending on the salinity you mix the salt this applies for fresh-mixed saltwater. Mag is never that high in even though in your tank or fresh mixed saltwater. btw your tank is way to low on Alk, Cal is ok. I guess since alk is low, ph is out too.

 

[APch1ll3n]

Thank you Trido and extremecoral for helping.

Currently I am not dosing anything.

If I raise my alk would my ph drop?

 

[trido]

you dose Mag right? because Alk is always 8-9, calcium is always -> 400 depending on the salinity you mix the salt this applies for fresh-mixed saltwater. Mag is never that high in even though in your tank or fresh mixed saltwater. btw your tank is way to low on Alk, Cal is ok. I guess since alk is low, ph is out too.

Where do you get these numbers? My IO was mixing up at 11 DKH and 350 Ca the last time I tested it. Also plenty of reefers run their tanks at around a dkh of 7 which natural sea water happens to be. A dkh of 6.7 IS BALANCED with calcium of 408. These numbers are very close.

Do you use any of the chemistry calculators or just assume the salt you use is the best balance for a reef tank?

Here is another version of the same thing Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

[extremecoral]

I use Red Sea Salt. No I run Calcium Reactor. Rarely tested if test the # is CA: 420-460. Mag 1310-1350. Alk 8-9. PH 8.4. Salinity 1.025. always like that.

And Alk of 6.7 IMHO is way to low.

 

[APch1ll3n]

Thank you for every1's comments I do appreciate it. Will try to use kalk to raise the alk and CA. Once everything is were it should I will start dosing. Wish me luck.

 

[DonW]

7-11 on alk is a good range. 6.7 will not hurt anything either. Your Mg is high. Find the source of your high mg. Its in your best interest to find the source because with levels above normal you are going to get precip and crap up your equipment. Do not dose Kalk to raise your ca and alk. Kalk is good for maintaining but you want to add it slowly to avoid precip and a ph spike. Try a diy two part and raise it where you would like it to be and use kalk to keep it there.

You should be keeping a log so that you know what your day to day consumption is. You dont want to just test and dose willy nilly. Once you know your consumption you can dose the same amount every day and not test as often. But again go back and find the source of the high Mg.

Don

 

[APch1ll3n]

What could cause high Mg?

 

[APch1ll3n]

I will just do a 50% water change and see if i can bring it down. Thank you for all the input

 

[DonW]

I will just do a 50% water change and see if i can bring it down. Thank you for all the input

Test your fresh mix that is most likely the cause if your not dosing.

 

[APch1ll3n]

Found this article in the internet of instant ocean salt. Something to be aware of.

High Mag in Instant Ocean salt mix - Reef Central Online Community

 

[trido]

Found this article in the internet of instant ocean salt. Something to be aware of.

High Mag in Instant Ocean salt mix - Reef Central Online Community

Hmmmm. I use IO and my Mg in the tank consitantly tests at 1180. Im always supplementing Mg and Ca. to my IO.

 

[APch1ll3n]

I just tested my new batch of salt water from IO and the MG is over 1600+. Bad batch of salt. Found the cause. Thanks every1 for the help.

 

[extremecoral]

Good to hear man!

 

[DonW]

I just tested my new batch of salt water from IO and the MG is over 1600+. Bad batch of salt. Found the cause. Thanks every1 for the help.

Just dont throw it out, mix it with a new bucket. Its still good salt.

Don

 

[APch1ll3n]

Just dont throw it out, mix it with a new bucket. Its still good salt.

Don

Not sure what you mean by that? I tested my RO and it was good. This was a freshly made batch of salt water and the test was bad; what you mean by mix it in a new bucket? The bucket is bad? Wouldn't the test say the salt is bad?

 

[DonW]

Not sure what you mean by that? I tested my RO and it was good. This was a freshly made batch of salt water and the test was bad; what you mean by mix it in a new bucket? The bucket is bad? Wouldn't the test say the salt is bad?

You said the mg was over 1600. That does not make the salt worthless it just means it has high mg. Buy some new salt and mix the stuff with high mg to the new bucket with lower mg. No sense in throwing it (the salt) out.

Don

 

[APch1ll3n]

You said the mg was over 1600. That does not make the salt worthless it just means it has high mg. Buy some new salt and mix the stuff with high mg to the new bucket with lower mg. No sense in throwing it (the salt) out.

Don

Thank you for the clarification. I just ordered some red sea and planning to completely switch over. Again thank you

 

[pinkfloydfan]

APch1ll3n



FYI, many of us run our Mag in the 1500-1800 range, for various reasons. The correct ratio is 3:1 Mag to Cal. Your other option on the salt mix is to simply raise the Cal to 500 to get the ratio close. I have my cal at 450-500 all the time as I run mag at 1350-1500.