Mag is way low!

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2537520
I'm talking about a change of 50 - 80%.
Magnesium depletes very slowly unless there's a severe imbalance between Calcium and Alkalinity. to restore the balance it's often best just to replace most of the water in the system with fresh saltwater.
Hey Bang Guy,
I have a question for you.Do you think its a good idea to do a large water change annually or bi-annually as a sort of preventive maintenance?And if so would this apply to a SPS dominate tank?Or would it cause a rift in the stability of the water parameters.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
http:///forum/post/2537609
Hey Bang Guy,
I have a question for you.Do you think its a good idea to do a large water change annually or bi-annually as a sort of preventive maintenance?And if so would this apply to a SPS dominate tank?Or would it cause a rift in the stability of the water parameters.
If water parameters stay in balance then I believe regularly scheduled water changes are fine. When there's an imbalance or an unexplained water quality problem I believe in doing a very large change. It's does not cause any stability rift or anything like that. Think of it like being in your car with a load of people on a long trip. The air will slowly swap with outside air and everyone will be just fine. But when you stop and get out of the car there's a 100% air exchange. Doesn't it feel great when that happens? Don't you feel refreshed?
As far as doing it "just because" once or twice a year, I believe it can only do good things if you can swing it.
 

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2537836
If water parameters stay in balance then I believe regularly scheduled water changes are fine. When there's an imbalance or an unexplained water quality problem I believe in doing a very large change. It's does not cause any stability rift or anything like that. Think of it like being in your car with a load of people on a long trip. The air will slowly swap with outside air and everyone will be just fine. But when you stop and get out of the car there's a 100% air exchange. Doesn't it feel great when that happens? Don't you feel refreshed?
As far as doing it "just because" once or twice a year, I believe it can only do good things if you can swing it.
Thank you for the reply.I cant rely on experience because that i dont have yet,only limited knowledge gained from reading.
 

azfishgal

Active Member
Dennis, thanks so much for the info. I really appreciate it. I might start doing the Kalk drip to keep things in balance. For now I just ordered 1 gallon of Kent Tech-M (don't worry, I won't dose all at once) just to get the Mag back up because it's way to low IMO.
Bang Guy, thanks to for your help. I will be doing a large water change but before I do I'm currently mixing a small batch of saltwater using my current bucket of salt (Reef Crystals) and then I'll mix a batch with my new bucket of Salt (Reef Crystals) and see if I have some discrepancies.
Veni, thanks to you as well. I appreciate everyone's help. I'll get this tank back up to par eventually.
 

nietzsche

Active Member
form what i understand, even if you got magnesium up to 1400 or higher it wouldnt kill anything. i think in order to get briopsis they raise magnesium above 1400.
but if youre going to dose magnesium i heard to only raise it 90-100ppm a day
 

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
http:///forum/post/2538214
Let us know what the test results are , I'm curious.
Do It Now!Now! Now!

Ok, so it took me a little while, but here are the results of my tests.
The old bucket of salt and new bucket of salt (Reef Crystals) was pretty much the same, except for the Mag. Both buckets tested as follows:
Salinity 1.025
pH 8.1
Alk 1.6
Calcium 350
Mag 1200 (old bucket)
Mag 1240 (new bucket)
So, I added some superbuffer dkh to my 20 gallons of new saltwater and raised my Alk to 3.6. I added some calcium this morning (will test later and get it up to about 500). I'm hoping to get my 1 gallon of Tech M in today and if so I'll add some to the new saltwater mix and get the Mag up to 1400. After all that is done I'll do my water change and hopefully raise the numbers in my tank.
I know I will probably have to do a few water changes to get my DT back up to where it needs to be, and that's ok. I just know now I have to make sure my newly mixed saltwater is reading correctly BEFORE I do the water change.
 

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by nietzsche
http:///forum/post/2538222
form what i understand, even if you got magnesium up to 1400 or higher it wouldnt kill anything. i think in order to get briopsis they raise magnesium above 1400.
but if youre going to dose magnesium i heard to only raise it 90-100ppm a day
 
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