Magnesium question.....

[devilboy]

i guess this maybe more of a a chemistry question that i hope some one could help me understand. as of right now, i do not have a mag test. what does magnesium do to your Ca,dKH, and pH if it is low? This is the problem i am having, i can raise my CA, and dKH to 430ppm and 9 dKH but the following day when i test it, my CA will be down to 370ppm, and my dKH around 7.8 - 8 dKH, it is very shifty, and i can not keep it up, and stay.
any suggestions?

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by DevilBoy
what does magnesium do to your Ca,dKH, and pH if it is low?
Magnesium prevents Calcium and Carbonate (dKH) from combining and forming Calcium carbonate. If Magnesium is low then there's nothing to prevent the supersaturates Calcium from precipitating. This will lower Calcium, Alkalinity, and temporarily lower PH.

 

[devilboy]

Hey bang good too see ya again...
but could you please explain that in english for me? :notsure:
like i said i have a hard time keeping dKH up and CA up. but my pH is around 8.1 to 8.2, does this sound like a mag problem, Bang? i can dose to get it up, can test 2 hrs or so after dosing dKH 9 - 10, CA 420ppm test 24-36 hrs, levels drop. very weird, i dont understand, w/c's weekly, i would think would keep em up. if you think it is something else Bang please let me know

 

[devilboy]

also if you need to know what i dose, this is what i use:
Kent Marine superbuffer dKH (to raise dKH)
Kent Marine liquid calcium (to raise CA)
Salifert All in One (Once a week to keep CA, and dKH up which isnt working)

 

[bang guy]

Yes, it could be a Magnesium problem. You need to test the Magnesium level before adding any though. Often a couple good sized water changes will fix that.

 

[devilboy]

Thanks Bang. what would cause the magnesium to diminish like that?

 

[bang guy]

Magnesium will naturally be consumed by corals and calcareous algae but very slowly.
Overdosing Calcium or using too much buffer will deplete Mg quickly as will adding dry aragonite sand, dry base rocks, or dry oyster shells to an established tank.

 

[devilboy]

ok thanks bang. thats probably why my mag is low then, cuz i was dosing to keep my dKH and CA up in balance, but now i checked my mag and it is at 950. so i take it thats low. what do you recommend liquid or powder supplement? i can get the Kent Marine Tech M, or i can get the Sea Chem Reef Advantage Magnesium.

 

[bang guy]

I'd suggest water changes because Mg may not be all that has been depleted. Adding a supplement will help you Ca and ALK though. I'd use Magnesium chloride with a spoonful of Magnesium sulfate. The commercial products are probably similar.

 

[devilboy]

i do my water changes of 5 gallons once a week, maybe it is the natures ocean water that i am using, maybe it isnt as good as think it is. so maybe it is time to go back to oceanic salt.
ok the chloride is the liquid, and the sulfate is the powder?
so then i should go ahead and get the sea chem, and the Tech M ?

 

[bang guy]

Either will work fine.
If you want to know about the Nature's Ocean water, just test it for Magnesium
1250 - 1350 is good. Don't raise it overnight. There's no hurry whatsoever. A month is a good goal.

 

[reelknotty]

When I had low magnesium my yellow tankg would act very freeky, swimming iradically. I bought a magnesium tester and once my levels were up to 1350, he was totally relaxed and it helped a lot. It also stabilized my alk and calcium.
What additives are you adding to your tank? Kalkwaiser tends to lower your magnesium, at least it did to my tank. I'm now using b-ionics 2 part buffer and it works better for me. I rarely have to add magnesium.

 

[mikegray]

Bang guy.. so my calcium and dkh is low.. and magnium is low as well... if i just dose for mag right now will it allow me to bring calcium and dkh up or will it automaticly bring the calcium and dkh just from me putting more mag in to the water??

 

[sarwiz100]

Just started using Reef Complete yesterday and today our corals look much better and have seen the first signs of coralline algae in the tank today. This stuff has magnesium in it and I have been trying to slowly bring up my Ca level so I can start up my Ca reactor to maintain it. You might want to try it. I am dosing 15 ml twice a day in a 135 gallon system.

 

[sarwiz100]

P.s. Bang_guy, got a pair of clarkii's the other day, can't wait for them to grow up!!! They are so cool. Really enjoy seeing what you write on clowns.

 

[mikegray]

well i dont wanna add something with calcium too cause in 1 week ima be dosing kalk.. thats enough
hheheh
but need my magnesium up so just a mg additive i guess

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by MikeGray
Bang guy.. so my calcium and dkh is low.. and magnium is low as well... if i just dose for mag right now will it allow me to bring calcium and dkh up or will it automaticly bring the calcium and dkh just from me putting more mag in to the water??
If Magnesium is low then adding Magnesium will allow higher Calcium and ALK levels. Don't overdose though, more than normals is not a good thing.
Raising Mg will not automatically raise Calcium and Alkalinity, it will just allow them to remain in solution at higher levels.