pegasus
Well-Known Member
I have a tip for anyone manually dosing Magnesium and then decide to use a new measuring device. I've been dosing for 140 gallons, and using a 10 mL syringe. I was at the hardware store the other day, and saw an OXO measuring cup that had mL measurements on one side. I thought to myself, wow... it sure would be a lot easier to pour it out of a cup rather than fill a 10 mL syringe 14 times! Yay!!! So I bought it and took it home. It goes up to 250 mL... 10 mL increments until it gets to 100 mL, then changes to 50 mL increments. The second to the top mark is 200, and the top mark is 50, which when read correctly, means the top mark is 250 mL. Can anyone see where this is going?
The first time I used it (last week) I prepared to dose 140 mL, so I filled it to the 100 mark, poured it in, and filled it again to the 40 mL mark. Perfect... 140 mL go in without a hitch!
Fast forward to today. I did a water change, and a couple of hours later, I check my Mag, Alk, and Cal. All were just a tad low, so I grab my brand new measuring cup by OXO and my Magnesium jug. I glance at the cup, and notice 50 at the top scale. I know I have to add 1 mL for each gallon of water, so I pour it to the 50 mark (top mark) and dump it in my sump in front of the return pumps. I fill it again to the 50 mark, and dump it in the sump as well. I'm starting to fill the cup again, when I happened to look below the 50 mark, and notice a big, red 200. OOPS! At that moment, I think my butt hole came through my throat and almost choked me. I had just dosed enough Magnesium for 500 gallons... in a 140 gallon system. I freaked. I had performed a water change only hours before, so I had no water to do an emergency water change. I immediately start filling my 30 gallon mixing vat with RO/DI water, but it will take a few hours to fill. Oh... and I'm in my basement where the refugium is locate when all of this is happening. You can only imagine my dilemma. I go upstairs, feeling about an inch tall, to survey the damage in my tanks. I casually tell my wife what I had done, and she doesn't seem to realize the severity of my screw up. She wants to remain calm and act like there's nothing to worry about. I don't get it. I ease over to the first tank, and everything looks normal. I slink over to the other tank, and it's looking normal as well. I have never done anything like this to my glass boxes, so I didn't know what to expect after overdosing Magnesium by 3 1/2 times. I thought I'd find everything flipped upside down, and all the corals would be withered and dead. It's been a couple of hours since the "accident", and nothing is showing any signs of stress. I just fed the tanks, and the fish are gobbling up the food in their normal fashion. None of the corals have shriveled, and all still have polyps extended like nothing ever happened. I hope to see the same thing in the morning.
Now for my tip: If you buy a new measuring device... make sure you read it correctly!!!
The end.
The first time I used it (last week) I prepared to dose 140 mL, so I filled it to the 100 mark, poured it in, and filled it again to the 40 mL mark. Perfect... 140 mL go in without a hitch!
Fast forward to today. I did a water change, and a couple of hours later, I check my Mag, Alk, and Cal. All were just a tad low, so I grab my brand new measuring cup by OXO and my Magnesium jug. I glance at the cup, and notice 50 at the top scale. I know I have to add 1 mL for each gallon of water, so I pour it to the 50 mark (top mark) and dump it in my sump in front of the return pumps. I fill it again to the 50 mark, and dump it in the sump as well. I'm starting to fill the cup again, when I happened to look below the 50 mark, and notice a big, red 200. OOPS! At that moment, I think my butt hole came through my throat and almost choked me. I had just dosed enough Magnesium for 500 gallons... in a 140 gallon system. I freaked. I had performed a water change only hours before, so I had no water to do an emergency water change. I immediately start filling my 30 gallon mixing vat with RO/DI water, but it will take a few hours to fill. Oh... and I'm in my basement where the refugium is locate when all of this is happening. You can only imagine my dilemma. I go upstairs, feeling about an inch tall, to survey the damage in my tanks. I casually tell my wife what I had done, and she doesn't seem to realize the severity of my screw up. She wants to remain calm and act like there's nothing to worry about. I don't get it. I ease over to the first tank, and everything looks normal. I slink over to the other tank, and it's looking normal as well. I have never done anything like this to my glass boxes, so I didn't know what to expect after overdosing Magnesium by 3 1/2 times. I thought I'd find everything flipped upside down, and all the corals would be withered and dead. It's been a couple of hours since the "accident", and nothing is showing any signs of stress. I just fed the tanks, and the fish are gobbling up the food in their normal fashion. None of the corals have shriveled, and all still have polyps extended like nothing ever happened. I hope to see the same thing in the morning.
Now for my tip: If you buy a new measuring device... make sure you read it correctly!!!
The end.
