Why is it hard to keep Mag levels 'high'?

[dragoneggs]

I have been doing this for awhile and I am still mystified why I struggle with Mag levels. I have migrated from IO salt to Reef Crystals, dosed with Kent Mag, etc. but it always seems I can't get the mag level to where I want.

I have used Calcium Reactor, Dosed Calcium, and really no troubles there... I can keep my Ca above 400 no problem. My Alk always requires a fair amount of boost mainly because my RO/DI water from well is quite low in hardness to begin with... but getting it to 8 or 9dkH isn't too bad a struggle. Side point... I have to add Calcium to my hot tub to get the sanitizers to perform too.

But! When it comes to Mag I can't seem to get it to stay above 1100.

Anyways, what are other people using? I am really interested on how to inexpensively boost Mag levels safely. What non Aquarium product, such as Epsom Salt is okay to use and how? Are there issue with using Epsom Salt? I look forward to your solutions!

 

[NC2WA]

Mark,

I dont believe you are alone. I use Kent Tech M and have to use a boat load of it..Once you get it to the desired level 1300-1350, it should be easier to maintain.

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay nice to hear an empthasier I guess. I would really like to find a commercial alternative to Tech M and other reef products (not to single them out) just because I think mag supplement is over priced. I might be missing that there is a price to pay for a level of purification/quality of the chemical but jeez!

 

[fulkerl]

Do a search on DIY mag supplement, there is alot out there on it. Like this: Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[NWDiver]

+1 to NC2WA I found that when I got the mag in check, it strayed much less. One other note, once you are in balance with mag, your Ca and alk will settle down and stay more constant.
Yep, as fulkerl says, that is a good article for alternatives.
I like bulk reef supply for supplements, price is good and the service is excellent.

-Todd

 

[dragoneggs]

Do a search on DIY mag supplement, there is alot out there on it. Like this: Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Thanks for the link. I remember now reading this long ago and went away at that time and bought a big bag a de-ing flakes. It wasn't 'Mag or Dow Flakes' so I chickened out on the recipe with Epson Salt. I think I still have both hanging around in the garage but I remember looking at the blue green color of the flakes and wondering how pure it was (contaminents?). Is it suppose to be that color? and will it be clear in the tank? I thought about toilet bowler cleaner and got scared that I would be poisoning my tank. So, I guess I need to make another run at this concoction and see if I can find the real Mag Flakes and see if they look like what I bought.

 

[2Sunny]

Hi Mark,

I have the opposite problem. My magnesium tends towards 1400 and I like to keep it around 1250. After many years of dealing with the same problem, I have found that Coralife salt is consistently high in magnesium so my 7% weekly water changes are generally enough to keep my magnesium up. When I do dose I use ESV B-Ionic and test using Salifert kits that I only keep for six months, and if the reading is not "normal" I even go so far as to test the magnesium 3 times, twice with a Salifert kit and once with an Elos kit. That may be a little OCD, but point is I check everything more than once. Not that any of this is "the" answer but just more food for thought!

I hope you'll repost in a couple months and let us know how it's going.

Come on over to my website to check out my tank so you know I'm not just making this stuff up :yo:


Joe

TheCoralGardner.com

 

[SaltyDog2]

I've been dosing Randy's two part for almost two years now and as you know the 3rd part of Randys two part is epson salt. I get great results. Right now my 72 gal bow front is so full of corals that I'm having trouble finding any room for new ones. I add 1/2 cup epson salt to one gal water and pour that into my sump every two weeks. I was also nervous about adding deicer to my tank but now i figure the $25 bag that I bought from les Schwabs (they put it in tractor tires) will last me about 25 years. I buy the baking soda and epson salt at Walmart cheap!

 

[07FocusST]

I double dose with Brightwell. Their Magnesion says that anything below 1140ppm is ok to use 2x as much normally recommended till you get close to 1300ppm

 

[Krish]

Mark, I moved your thread to Boomer's forum to see if he can give you a hand here.

 

[rayjay]

For those of you using just epsom salts for the DIY additions, Randy revised the formulae for the magnesium part to include magnesium chloride hexahydrate, using 3 parts epsom to 5 parts mag chlor.

Using magnesium chloride improves the recipe and eliminates a primary concern with the previous recipe: the potential buildup of sulfate over time.

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
However, his mix is meant to be used in conjunction with the rest of his formulae, using the magnesium and alk parts as well.
I believe it is recommended that if you are dosing magnesium as a stand alone, then its best to use Craig Bingman's formulae of

10 volumes of magnesium chloride hexahydrate and one volume of Epsom salts. Use of this supplement will not appreciably disrupt the ionic ratios of the major two anions in seawater.

as published in Aquarium Frontiers Biochemistry of Aquaria.

Because there is so little magnesium in each of the epsom and mag chlor, it takes an inordinate quantity of either or both to make much difference in mag level of the tank but once you reach the desired level you won't use anywhere near as much.

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay, hunted the world over today... well, just Kitsap County and could not find 'pure' Magnesium Chloride. Found it as part of various De Icing crystals but always containing a mix of Calcium Choride and sometimes Potassium Chloride, and in some cases, who knows else. So I guess it is Bulk Reef Supply for that. I want to make up the Mag dose part of Recipe #2 and see if I can boost the Mag level and dose as necessary. I am hoping that once I get the Mag to levels I have never seen before, it will only need to be dosed along with my 40gal W/C.

 

[fulkerl]

I use Roadrunner Ice Melt (Pet Freindly) found all over here in Wenatchee. See Sub for Magflake? - Reef Central Online Community

 

[NC2WA]

fulkeri,

Does this affect your pH?

 

[fulkerl]

fulkeri,

Does this affect your pH?

No it's stable. Its also made by Scotwood Industries and you use just a little less then the flakes.

 

[jrgilles]

IHave you tried dosing mg with your Ca Rx? I mixed in maybe 20% dolomite into the reactor, and it is doing a great job of holding my Mg level. I was dosing all the time, but now with the dolomite, it is staying around 1250. Next time I might put in a bit more dolomite to get it a little higher (I'm probably at 12-15% dolomite right now.) I didn't want to overdo it on my first attempt, so started a little light.

 

[dragoneggs]

No it's stable. Its also made by Scotwood Industries and you use just a little less then the flakes.

Interesting... I believe Scotwood was the manufacturer of a different brand of ice melt found locally at a few stores but I could not positively ID the ingredients, portions, and concentrations so I passed. I might try to contact them for info.

 

[mojoreef]

SO mark what are your levels?? as in cal/alk/mag and what temp and salinity do you run your tank at??


Mojo

 

[Boomer]

Dragon






One of the reasons it takes so much Mg++ sup is it has allot of water in it, i.e. hexahydrate means 6 water. One can get anhydrous, which has no water but is pricier and very exothermic. SeaChem Labs now makes it as Reef Advantage Magnesium. Another issue is allot of Mg++ chloride sups often contain high ammonia.


Others:

As FULKERL pointed out, Randy does have a DIY stand alone Mg++ sup that goes into great detail here:

Do-It-Yourself Magnesium Supplements for the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-07/rhf/index.php

Dolomite works well in reactors once the Mg++ is up to snuff. Something I brought into the hobby some 12 years ago. As pointed out, by JRGILLES, it is around 10% or so for starts, which may or may not have to be upped to a slightly higher % by total vol of reactor media. How much to use is a function of what grade of Dolomite it is. All Mg++ sup’s should have very little if any in pact on pH as they have nothing to impact pH. However, using to much Dolomite can be an issuse, as Dolomite gives 2 Alk units and not 1 Alk unit like Aragonite or Calcite.

 

[dragoneggs]

SO mark what are your levels?? as in cal/alk/mag and what temp and salinity do you run your tank at??


Mojo

Ca = 420
Alk = 9dkH
Mag = 1100
SG = 1.025
Temp 76 deg F

This has been pretty consistent. My Alk tends to easily drop when I am not looking, I do waterchanges about once a month. Switched to Reef Crystals a few months ago from the standard IO in hopes that would boost the Mag as advertised but I haven't seen any indication.