Magnesium Testing?

J

J.Davis

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I primarily use Reef Crystals (RS Coral Pro if/when on sale) and test calcium & dKh regularly. 10% WC's done bi-weekly. I will be getting to a point of Doseing 2 part soon because of Calcium loss in 2 week period. Maybe Kalk. Should I be testing Mg as well? I know they all work in balance together... just don't know how depleted it gets.
 
Magnesium is slow to deplete compared to calcium, but it takes a lot more solution to raise magnesium then calcium. Mag should be 3x your calcium. I would definately test and supplement it as needed.
 
The way I figured out my depletion rates was to do an intial test on all 3, dkh, alk, and Mg. Then, i tested everyday for a week. So, for example, testing alk for a week i figured out that in 5 days my alk went from 7.8dkh to 7.0. 7.8-7.0=0.8 then i divided 0.8 by 5 (days) and that = 0.16. So i lose 0.16dkh per day. Now, I use 2 part from BRS so to stay at 7.8dkh, which is where i like it, when i use there calculator it comes up w/ 13mL of daily alk dosing. This might not be the best way to do it but it works for me and my alk always stays at 7.8dkh, hope this helps. The Mg ion is going to keep the calcium and the alk ion from running into each other, so I would say yes, you should test it. Wish you the best. -GROD
 
Thanks for the great responses. I'll be looking for a Mag test kit... any favorites? RedSea, Elos, Sailfert....?
 
ive only used Elos, but i like it. theyre all titration type test, but the thing i like about elos is the very obvious color change of the test solution. orange to green and purple to blue
Tapatalk
 
I like the Red Sea Pro over the Elos due to only having to do one titration test and no calculations. That and I can buy refill kits for a lot less than having to buy a new kit everytime I run out.
 
@matt_longview wrote:
I've got the elos pro test kit. Snag it when you're at the house thursday and give it a shot. If you don't like it said:
Was a little bit of a drawn out process..results were 1,550ppm ?

Just for reference :
API Calcium 460ppm
API dKh 8
Click to expand...
 
thats high. if your snails are still alive, then its not likely your mag is that high

Tapatalk
 
You magesium should be 1380 at the calcium level you posted. 1500+ is where you start to wreck the metabolism of snails.
 
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