Dosing Mg

[Aquattro]

Ok, I was inspired. Mg is ~1170pm. lol Almost perfect!!

[lastlight]

I'm amazed you can balance the other two with mg so low. Maybe your kit sucks or it's diff for reactor folks?

I don't have to dose mg so long as I adjust my water changes to 1400. H2ocean is low. I add 160mL to 10g of new water.

Instead of dosing you could prob raise your water changes up some. What does your mix measure in at?

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

can I add that mixture (after figuring out the appropriate amount) to my Ca dosing? And what time of day is it best to dose Mg? Currently I dose Ca during the day and Alk at night.

Not a good idea to mix the Mg and Ca. The Mg will cause Ca sulphates to precipitate and ruin your Ca mix so you'll need a third doser. But many get by with hand dosing as it's not so much once balanced
You can dose the Mg anytime between your other dosing. Just pick a time dead center between your Ca and Alk timers - day or night is fine as far as I know
And if you're not needing to add much (once balanced), you could get by with a cheap daily drip setup, or just dump it in
I don't even know anyone with a dedicated Mg doser ... but I'm sure there's lots out there
I know if I had to dose it I'd have another pump

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Ok, I was inspired. Mg is ~1170pm. lol Almost perfect!!

Ok so the rest of us following normal reefing parameters, like measuring ph, keeping magnesium at suggested proper level of 1350ppm, using something other than crappy old crushed coral in a reactor and our tanks are not half as nice as yours.......LOL....

Oh ya and chucking led,s.


Do you add a magnesium additive to the crushed coral or that level is what it maintains.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Doug

Ok so the rest of us following normal reefing parameters, like measuring ph, keeping magnesium at suggested proper level of 1350ppm, using something other than crappy old crushed coral in a reactor and our tanks are not half as nice as yours.......LOL....

Oh ya and chucking led,s.


Do you add a magnesium additive to the crushed coral or that level is what it maintains.

Ya, it's a low maintenance tank Nope, no additives, that's just where it sits. That's about where it was last year when I measured it.
To be honest, pre 2008, nobody even cared about Mg. Never saw it for sale or saw test kits. It's a recent requirement for tanks. I guess I have older corals, they don't care either -lol

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Ya, it's a low maintenance tank Nope, no additives, that's just where it sits. That's about where it was last year when I measured it.
To be honest, pre 2008, nobody even cared about Mg. Never saw it for sale or saw test kits. It's a recent requirement for tanks. I guess I have older corals, they don't care either -lol

Ya I guess thats it. Im old and dont care about my magnesium either..

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Not a good idea to mix the Mg and Ca. The Mg will cause Ca sulphates to precipitate and ruin your Ca mix so you'll need a third doser. But many get by with hand dosing as it's not so much once balanced
You can dose the Mg anytime between your other dosing. Just pick a time dead center between your Ca and Alk timers - day or night is fine as far as I know
And if you're not needing to add much (once balanced), you could get by with a cheap daily drip setup, or just dump it in
I don't even know anyone with a dedicated Mg doser ... but I'm sure there's lots out there
I know if I had to dose it I'd have another pump

Well, I did just buy a 3rd doser (50ml/min high speed type), so I could do that. But that brings me back to the question of what type of Mg to buy. I could not find that East Start stuff around here. And not sure if I can trust some of the ice melters that I saw online, as they don't list ingredients.

I guess I could just buy more of that Seachem Advantage Mg from J&L, but it is not cheap for the amount I would require on an ongoing basis.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Well, I did just buy a 3rd doser (50ml/min high speed type), so I could do that. But that brings me back to the question of what type of Mg to buy. I could not find that East Start stuff around here. And not sure if I can trust some of the ice melters that I saw online, as they don't list ingredients.

I guess I could just buy more of that Seachem Advantage Mg from J&L, but it is not cheap for the amount I would require on an ongoing basis.

Thats what I used before. I now have bulk dosing from BRS. I find I dont have to add much magnesium to keep it close to 1400ppm.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Doug

Thats what I used before.

Which one, Easy Start or Seachem?

[Doug]

Seachem. I used their two part for years and always liked it. Yes agreed with you though, at more expense. I like the BRS products. The magnesium comes as a 2 part to mix in the container. Magnesium sulphate and Magnesium Chloride