instant ocean question

kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
I have posted before about this and can't seem to solve my problem. No matter how many times I dose with buffers and additives I can't seem to get my KH to stay above 8 DKH and I can't get my calcium to stay above about 340 ppm. I recently switched from a pH buffer to a KH booster hoping that that would solve my KH problem but it did nothing and I still have to dose daily.
My question is this: The back of the bottle of the DKH booster says that if you have trouble maintaining a high calcium and KH level to check if the salt mix that your using contains magnesium because this is neccesary for maintaining these levels. Does anyone know if instant ocean contains magnesium and could a lack of magnesium really be causing my problem?
 
kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
I don't have anything to test magnesium levels so I haven't tested the salt mix and my pH is usually between 8.0-8.2 but that's only because I buffer daily. If I don't buffer it goes bown to 7.8 or lower
 
ibew41

ibew41

Active Member
have you tested cal level in a bucket before you add to your tank if it is that low right after mixing then take some to an lfs and have them check it.you might have a bad batch
 
kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
oh, yeah I did that. it's at about 400 ppm and the ph is about 8.2ish. I haven't checked the KH of the salt mix yet.
 
kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
I've heard that some people use epson salt to raise magnesium levels in their tanks. Is this a good idea and if so how much should I use for a 20 gal tank?
 
kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
I looked into it a little more. I found that maintaining good levels of magnesium will "allow easier maintenance of alkilinity and calcium levels". I feel that I may have a shortage of magnesium which may be causing my problem. I don't know of anywhere that sells a magnesium test kit. I guess I also don't know of anywhere that sells a magnesium suppliment other than online. Has anyone out there tried epson salt?
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
I wouldn't add any before getting that test kit. Problem with mg is you need to add a TON to raise it significantly so adding by guestimation (or even known dosage ratio) wont cut it. following most product directions wont put a dent in the mg level. if you have to raise mg a 100ppm or more be prepared to be scared at the amount required to dump in (though it still unlikely to hurt anything as I've raised mine 400ppm at 100ppm a day to kill bryopsis). and be prepared to test afterwards to make sure you put a dent in it. mg is utilized at a MUCH slower rate than calcium and especially carbonates/alk so if the salt has adequate amounts it takes a while to become a noticable problem. for the record I've tested several batches of IO with the ELOS mg test kit and it always test 1300-1350ppm for me. some people use epson salt but I wont (the below calculator will help with dosage if you choose to).
the calculator will give you an idea of how much various product is required to raise mg. http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html if your mg is over 1100ppm its likely not the problem (though 1200-1500ppm is optimal)
what kind of stock do you have, what size tank, how long has it been up and what and how much calcium and alkalinity have you been dosing? may just be demand vs amount of dosing keeping it low. have you verified the test are accurate with another test kit or taking samples to the pet store?
 
ryancw01

ryancw01

Member
Seachem has a calcium buffer that maintains your magnesium level also. Works great. Been using it for about a year.
 
kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/3223160
I wouldn't add any before getting that test kit. Problem with mg is you need to add a TON to raise it significantly so adding by guestimation (or even known dosage ratio) wont cut it. following most product directions wont put a dent in the mg level. if you have to raise mg a 100ppm or more be prepared to be scared at the amount required to dump in (though it still unlikely to hurt anything as I've raised mine 400ppm at 100ppm a day to kill bryopsis). and be prepared to test afterwards to make sure you put a dent in it. mg is utilized at a MUCH slower rate than calcium and especially carbonates/alk so if the salt has adequate amounts it takes a while to become a noticable problem. for the record I've tested several batches of IO with the ELOS mg test kit and it always test 1300-1350ppm for me. some people use epson salt but I wont (the below calculator will help with dosage if you choose to).
the calculator will give you an idea of how much various product is required to raise mg. http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html if your mg is over 1100ppm its likely not the problem (though 1200-1500ppm is optimal)
what kind of stock do you have, what size tank, how long has it been up and what and how much calcium and alkalinity have you been dosing? may just be demand vs amount of dosing keeping it low. have you verified the test are accurate with another test kit or taking samples to the pet store?
I do have a LOT of coral in that tank so it could be that they're using it up faster than I can dose it. It's a 20 long with the fallowing:
-medium clownfish
-firefish
-flametail blenny
-large candy coral that I recently made into 6 frags
-tons of zoos
-medium fox coral
-duncan coral (1 head)
-frogspawn (2 heads)
-hairy mushrooms
-ricordia muchrooms (between 8-10)
-small pulsing xenia
-2 differant kinds of birdsnest
-montipora
-blastos
-hermit crabs (about 10)
-nassarius snails (6-8)
-tongan conch (small)
-mexican turbo snail (small)
-hawaiian strawberry crab
I think that's everything
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Magnesium tests are expensive, almost double what other tests cost.
I dose my RO water with alk. Booster, which stabilized everything. I have a mag. test kit and with regular water changes I have not needed to dose for it. I got the test for the exact same reasons you posted about. Turns out that was not my problem. Instant ocean is a good salt mix.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
I would google dr holes-farley diy two part. Look for the improved version and study the article.
What you do is get magnesium to 1350ppm calcium around 400ppm and alk around 10dkh. them mix up 1 gallons of calcium, alk, and magnesium suppliments. when alk drops down you dose equal amount of calcium and alk. When 1g of the calcium and alk suppliments are used up you dose magnesium.
All with calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, epsom salts and baking soda.
my .02
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by kevine6678
http:///forum/post/3222843
I have posted before about this and can't seem to solve my problem. No matter how many times I dose with buffers and additives I can't seem to get my KH to stay above 8 DKH and I can't get my calcium to stay above about 340 ppm.
I can probably help if you provide all of the details. You have a good coral load so can you list how much of each and how often you are dosing?
Please do not add Mg before you test for it.
 
kevine6678

kevine6678

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/3223405
I can probably help if you provide all of the details. You have a good coral load so can you list how much of each and how often you are dosing?
Please do not add Mg before you test for it.
Well I use the DKH booster every day as directed (5ml per 20 gal) and I add either purple up or kent calium, iodine, and stronium daily also as directed. I think you had a typo there so I'm not sure what you mean when you ask how much of each I lost. If you mean have I lost any corals, the answer is no, my corals are alive but they aren't growing as fast as they used to
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by kevine6678
http:///forum/post/3223521
Well I use the DKH booster every day as directed (5ml per 20 gal) and I add either purple up or kent calium, iodine, and stronium daily also as directed. I think you had a typo there so I'm not sure what you mean when you ask how much of each I lost. If you mean have I lost any corals, the answer is no, my corals are alive but they aren't growing as fast as they used to
I corrected the unfortunate typo, I meant 'list'.
My first suggestion is to begin keeping a log of what you add, how much you add, and what the levels were before you added it. Beaslbob has a good link to a very useful DIY additive. Until then, double the dosages you are currently adding. Monitor and see if things improve. Also get that Mg test kit. Mg Ca, ALK ,and PH are just required tests for reef aquariums.
Also, try to keep your salinity between 35ppt and 37ppt. That will help maintain trace element levels.
 
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