magnesium dosing help!

rickross23

rickross23

Active Member
I have seachem reef advantage magnesium. I have bryopsis and i want to raise the magnesium to kill it. Can i use the magnesium builder I have to kill the bryopsis or do i need to spend 30$ on tech m ? Won't it do the same or is tech M made different.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
For some odd reason or another, magnesium dosing only works with kent tech m. We don't know why. There might be something extra in it, who knows. Any other brand will not work. At least, that is the last research that I have done on it. I haven't found any other brands to have the same results you are looking for.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
By the way, you should never dose what you do not test for. So, buy and use a magnesium test kit before you dose.
Mg level should stay around 1600ppm for two weeks. You have to test your water every single day to make sure mg hasn't fallen below 1600. If it does, repeat the process.
Anyways, I'm sure you have done the research. Have fun.
 
rickross23

rickross23

Active Member
I have a test kit.....its a mg salifert.....what happens on the test kit when the mag is above 1500ppm? The test kit stops at 1500...
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
You should buy a test kit that can read higher. Or figure out how to read your current test kit off the chart.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
What I do is use a reef calculator to raise it 100ppm per day and as I do I try to calculate how much additive will do it. Then I cross check this with the salifert test kit. Then I extend the salifert scale, each drop is 0.01ml and equals 15ppm Magnesium. So when the 1ml syringe reads 0.00ml's I refill the Mg-3 reagent and keep count till the end point. By using the reef calculator you know how much you need to add total to get to 1600ppm and by using the test kit you confirm that each daily addition moves the magnesium the right amount so that when you start to extend the salifert scale you are confident there will not be an overdose.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///t/391709/magnesium-dosing-help#post_3475459
What I do is use a reef calculator to raise it 100ppm per day and as I do I try to calculate how much additive will do it. Then I cross check this with the salifert test kit. Then I extend the salifert scale, each drop is 0.01ml and equals 15ppm Magnesium. So when the 1ml syringe reads 0.00ml's I refill the Mg-3 reagent and keep count till the end point. By using the reef calculator you know how much you need to add total to get to 1600ppm and by using the test kit you confirm that each daily addition moves the magnesium the right amount so that when you start to extend the salifert scale you are confident there will not be an overdose.
Thank you so much for explaining it GeoJ!
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
No problem, in my tank at about 70 gallons it takes me one cup or 235ml of BRS mag mix to move about 100ppm. So it can take a lot of additive to move the number from 1250ppm to 1600ppm.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
If I mix 64oz of epsom salt in one gallon of water, it takes 4oz to move my tank up 150ppm.... about 25 to 27g of volume...
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Yep, that is the same method I use only I am trying to keep the chloride and sulfate in balance at natural seawater levels. So I use 5 cups mag chloride to 3 cups mag sulfate = 64oz
 
kiefers

kiefers

Active Member
I believe there was a thread on this very topic and I agree, however, for those of us terrible at math English is appreciated. Lol
I use Aqua Vitro and it works amazingly.
I like the idea of the epsom salt but as stated above I'm shacky on the math.
I panic when it says 1:1. Lol
 
rickross23

rickross23

Active Member
I tested mag at 1470 today and algae is thriving....what range should I shoot for with the tech m when I get it?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Dosing magnesium will be a temporary fix. I hope you know that.
The dead and decaying matter within the rock work is slowly leaching phosphate out and that is what the algae is feeding off of. It just takes time. Perhaps - if it is just patches, it would be easier to use an algae scrubber and take the affected rock out and use a new toothbrush that has been dipped in hydrogen peroxide to scrub some off. The peroxide will kill the algae.
Build yourself an algae scrubber for your sump. It really works - and does a great job of removing algae out of a tank.
Even when you kill the algae that is growing on the rocks - it will continue to grow algae until all the decaying matter within the live rock has leached its phosphate - which could take up to a couple of years.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Go to my snakes methods thread. Scroll down to "snakes methods for building an algae scrubber" and "algae scrubber basics"
They cost anywhere from $50 to $75 if you don't have any parts at all to start with.
They can work as efficiently as a high dollar skimmer though.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I've went the rounds with bryopsis. Tech M is the only one that will work. For me, I needed to keep the level above 1600ppm for a month, two weeks was not enough time. I also pulled out as much as I could. You have to stay on top of dosing and keep the level consistently high or it will not be successful.
It takes time, but it will work.
Good luck!
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
There's no quantitative answer for that since tanks consume Mg at different rates. You need to dose to get to the level you want and then dose at the same rate it is consumed.
 
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