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tyler if you want some i can prune a bit off for you.

Halimeda is great macroalgae. As others have said, it needs calcium, but along with keeping calcium levels optimal, make sure magnesium levels are up as well for vigorous, healthy growth.

i have never checked my magnesium levels. what product should i use to supliment the magnesium levels in my tank, and what brand of test kit should i buy?

thanks :mrgreen:

Liquid Reactor has Magnesium & Strontium as well as Calcium. That's what I use.

Anthony

is that a kent product?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manny

is that a kent product?

Yes it is! :biggrin:

I use Kent Liquid Calcium and Kent Tech-M Magnesium. Like to dose them separately. Mg test kit is a Salifert, Ca test kit is a Hagen.

For raising alkalinity I use a combination of baking soda and homemade washing soda. To test alk I use an Aquarium Pharmaceutical KH kit.

How to Make Homemade Washing Soda:

Quote:

Spread baking soda (594 grams or about 2 ¼ cups) on a baking tray and heat in an ordinary oven at 300 °F for 1 hour to drive off water and carbon dioxide. Dissolve the residual solid in enough water to make 1 gallon total. This dissolution may require a fair amount of mixing. Warming it speeds the dissolution process. This solution will contain about 1,900 meq/L of alkalinity (5,300 dKH). I prefer to use baked baking soda rather than washing soda in this recipe as baking soda from a grocery store is always food grade, while washing soda may not have the same purity requirements. Arm & Hammer brand is a good choice.

Here are some articles on reef chemistry (no groaning in the background, please :razz: ):

Aquarium System Volume Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/volcalc.html

The Reef Chemistry Calculator:

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

Magnesium in Reef Aquaria:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

thank you beverly. i will have to put a few hours aside tonight to do some reading. :biggrin:

maybe some day my tank will be good enough for the "Tank of the Month". :mrgreen:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manny

thank you beverly. i will have to put a few hours aside tonight to do some reading. :biggrin:

maybe some day my tank will be good enough for the "Tank of the Month". :mrgreen:

You're welcome, Manny :biggrin:

It would be great if your tank was selected for FTOTM :cool: Looking forward to pics some time in the future :biggrin:

Reef complete(made by Seachem) is good stuff, its calcium addative with magnesium and strontium. Good for SPS growth....I have a birdsnest that since I got it 2 months ago....went from 4 tips to 14. I guess lighting is a factor but without adequate nutrients it wouldnt grow that well.

Chris