magnesium? in what form do you use

[spike]

What do you use and how do you add to your tank? Do you put in top off water? If so how do you figure the amount to put in top off water?

 

[kzoo]

ramone;40770 wrote: What do you use and how do you add to your tank? Do you put in top off water? If so how do you figure the amount to put in top off water?

I would not dose any if you dont have a test kit, read this

 

[washowi]

My pool Calcium - has Magnesium in it.....so I do nothing....

also, never had to do anything with magnesium......the LFS kept selling me the Kent magnesium...never tested...so I did not know any better...it was 1500.....that was over a year ago, have never had to add since....


Water changes and most likely what ever you are using for calcium has it in there already...also if you use Seachem buffer up? it has it in there as well.

 

[tdwyatt]

just a note with regard to Washowi's comment" if your Mg gets high enough, it can cause bivalves to lose the ability to move water through their shells and hold the shells together, both of which may cause death in bivalve mollusks. Mg is added to seawater in processing plants for clams as a shucking aid to make it easioer to remove the animal from the shell for food. It acts as a muscle relaxant at the concentrations used for processing (~8000PPM), and is capable of eliciting this type of response at much lower concentrations, something to think about when adding magnesium to seawater without testing for levels. Ideally, shoot for around 1300 PPM Mg++ in seawater at 35 PPT salinity.

See Randy's Mg article for mor in-depth info at http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm</a>


HTH

 

[washowi]

So Tom.....am I right? You never really need to test for it if you do regular water changes......because you could drive it too high...

People always told me "add ALOT of Magnesium to get your coraline growing"

I say "Bull"

Realistically. I don't test for anything anymore..

 

[victor626nj]

well glenn if you choose to dose it you can use my test kit so you know everything is fine

 

[tdwyatt]

washowi;40920 wrote: So Tom.....am I right? You never really need to test for it if you do regular water changes......because you could drive it too high...

People always told me "add ALOT of Magnesium to get your coraline growing"

I say "Bull"

Realistically. I don't test for anything anymore..

Yes, Todd, you're on target

You do not need to add Mg++ to get Corallinaceae</em> to grow, rather good alkalinity and calcium with the presence of nitrate and some available phosphate source with appropriate lighting (remember, it is still an algae). There is only one specie that actively incorporates magnesium into the crustose structure, and it is thought to do so merely by the presence of Mg++ in seawater (strange, but the level this particuar specie does</em> incorporate Mg++ varies with the concentration of Mg in the seawater... )


BTW, how are your filter feeder clams from the market doing?

 

[washowi]

Also...magnesium should be around 3 times your calcium level..there abouts!


They all have become part of the "Deadliest Catch"... Clam version

but most of them lasted over a year!! so it was fun experimenting..

 

[cameron]

Food safe Epsom salt is a favorite, but I get Seachem Mag since it is cheap enough and I am guaranteed a quality product. As for raising it, just go slow and test often when starting out. Here are the directions from Seachem and I haven't gone wrong following them yet:

<span style="font-family: Arial;">DIRECTIONS: BEGINNER: Use 1 level teaspoon per 80 L (20 gallons*) twice a week. Dissolve in at least one cup of freshwater. ADVANCED: Check magnesium level, then follow dosing regimen above until magnesium is adjusted to 1200&#8211;1350 mg/L. Each dose will raise magnesium by about 5 mg/L. Size or frequency of dose can be adjusted, but do not exceed 25 mg/L per day. Thereafter, use as required to maintain magnesium. EXPERT: After determining the magnesium depletion rate, set up a continuous drip system. Use the following formula to determine how much to add to your top-off water: t=0.01vm (t=teaspoons to add to top off water, v=volume of tank in gallons*, m=amount to raise magnesium in mg/L). For example, if you want to raise magnesium by 10 mg/L in a 50 gallon* tank, then you would add 0.01x50x10=5 teaspoons into the top-off water. HINTS: Use the Reef Status:&#8482; Magnesium, Carbonate & Borate to check magnesium levels.

</span>

 

[cameron]

washowi;40920 wrote: So Tom.....am I right? You never really need to test for it if you do regular water changes......because you could drive it too high...

People always told me "add ALOT of Magnesium to get your coraline growing"

I say "Bull"

Realistically. I don't test for anything anymore..

Mag deficient tanks can't keep calcium up as it doesn't bond properly without it. Its not that your corals need mag it is just that getting a 350 or higher calcium level without it is extremely difficult.

 

[washowi]

I agree but with me the swimming pool calcium for the last 9 months or so, my Ca is rarely below 500 now... that maybe be high but the corals so far love it.

It also has Mag in it so I pretty much cover the nutritional needs with a handful of that stuff every 2 or 3 days...

 

[darren24]

Cameron is correct. I could not get my calcium to stay above 340. Randy on Reef Central told me to test for Mag and I did. It was 1100. Now I test and dose Kent Tech M when needed and my Calcium now stays around 400. I keep my Mag around 1300.

 

[cameron]

washowi;40949 wrote: I agree but with me the swimming pool calcium for the last 9 months or so, my Ca is rarely below 500 now... that maybe be high but the corals so far love it.

It also has Mag in it so I pretty much cover the nutritional needs with a handful of that stuff every 2 or 3 days...

Whoa.... do you have calcium percipitation in the tank? As soon as I near 450 my tank starts getting clowdy from the extra calcium. Getting any calcification in the substrate?

 

[washowi]

It has never precipitated in the least bit..I kid you not..used 3 different test kits and took water to LFS to verify what I was getting...

Love for you to visit the tank some time....take a look for yourself.....no calcification anywhere.....

Simon Kruger also uses the stuff....he turned me on to it...amazing stuff..

No more LFS Ca for me!!

 

[cameron]

Hmmm... I will have to read about calcium storms. I always understood it to be an inability to dissolve calcium in a tank beyond a certain point. What is your pH and alk?

 

[siege]

I am currently using the SeaChem product to overdose my tank in the hopes of eliminating a nasty Bryopsis and Sarcogassum algae problem. We'll see if it works or not, but this stuff is getting bad with a quickness.

Anyway the SeaChem product in crystalline form came highly recommend from the LFS I picked it up from.

 

[cameron]

I have become a huge Seachem fan. It is expensive compared to DIY methods, but the easy factor and high quality keeps me coming back. Just make sure you pick the right product, test params, follow directions and the rest is pretty easy.

 

[siege]

Eh, I'm not testing crap as far as mag goes. The tests are too expensive, and magnesium super-saturation suits my purposes at the moment, though it does seem to be having an adverse effect on one of (as yet unidentified) macro-algaes, though the chaeto, agar algae, caulerpa, and maiden's hair don't show any effect.

 

[washowi]

Cameron;41291 wrote: Hmmm... I will have to read about calcium storms. I always understood it to be an inability to dissolve calcium in a tank beyond a certain point. What is your pH and alk?

Ph of course varies....range from 7.8 to 8.1....always has...never can get it to 8.3 for very long, I even buffer up to try to get it up..Kh or Dkh...get them confused......8.0 range.

 

[rgzfly]

Try using Seachem reef builder for alkalinity and Seachem Reef Advantage calcium for calcium, magnesium, and strontium. I have about 150 corals in my 300 and have shown good growth, amazing coralline coverage and all levels are right on. Alternate adding these on different days and you won't have a problem with magnesium. I have a magnesium supplement, but have never had to use it, since its included with the reef advantage calcium. I do run a calcium reactor at 6.4 ph, but add both products on a regular basis. In my experiences adding too much of one thing causes an imbalance. I've used these two products and never had a problem. I've never added iron, iodine, or magnesium and my corals are doing great. The key is balance. Find what works for you, but my money is on these two products used as directed. When I get lazy, and don't do a water change for a month or so, I'll add trace elements, but have yet to notice a difference from them. But like I said, find something that works for you and keep a balance. Once you get the parameters out of balance, its alot harder to get them back.
My two cents,
Richard