All-For-Reef and Magnesium Levels

NewReefer455

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Hi all,

I have been transitioning from large weekly water changes into monthly/when-needed changes in my tank over the past 2 months. This transition came as a result of bottoming out nutrients when attempting to use only water changes to maintain alk/cal/mag levels. I decided on using all-for-reef in conjunction with a kamoer x1 pro 2 pump for this supplement as it was a relatively cheap and easy solution to get my tank dosed without too much more maintenance required.

The system in question is a 40 breeder display with a DIY 20 long sump containing a smaller skimmer and a large refugium. It is a mixed reef tank that is predominantly LPS, mushrooms, and zoas with small sps colonies. I have noticed that when using AFR I usually chase numbers and dose based on my alk needs. I currently am dosing 2.6ml per day, spread out into 6 doses every two hours from 6am-6pm. This is keeping my alk right at 9 dKH and subsequently keeping my Cal at a consistent 450. My issue is that my Mag level has been steadily dropping since starting AFR and reducing water changes. Mag and Cal are checked with salifert tests and Alk is checked with a Hanna.

I began this no water change system with AFR dosing back on January 22nd and have slowly watched my Mag levels drop from a consistent 1350-1365, to now just starting to drop into the 1280 range. As I keep a lot of euphillia, I would like to supplement in some way to slowly raise my Mag levels back into the 1350-1400 range. The time span that I have seen this drop is consistent with the 1-2 ppm per day that I have seen mentioned before, I am just confused as to why AFR has not maintained the Mag level.

I am under the impression that it would be best to slowly dose the tank back to a desirable level and hope that AFR is able to maintain, but I am fine with dosing a bit every week just to maintain levels. What would be the best to use to do this increase? I have been looking at the Tropic Marin Bio-Magnesium, as I would like to stay with the same company for all my dosing; is this a good option to get my desired effects?

If I am able to figure out a level of mag needed to maintain my levels, would it be possible to supplement my current container of AFR with the TM Mag so that I can maintain a single head dosing pump?
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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If I am able to figure out a level of mag needed to maintain my levels, would it be possible to supplement my current container of AFR with the TM Mag so that I can maintain a single head dosing pump?

No product can tell exactly what level of magnesium consumption any given tank has since it depends on which organisms are consuming calcium and alk. Coralline algae, for example, consumes relatively more magnesium, per unit of alk and calcium, than many corals.

Dosing additional magnesium, if needed, is easy to do, and there's no benefit to dosing a product from the same company. Almost any brand or a DIY is perfectly fine for this purpose.
 

MrGisonni

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Sounds like my 30 mixed reef exactly. Dkh around 9 calcium 412 to 420 magnesium levels hover around 1200 using AFR and manually dosing 12 ml of brightwell magnesion every other day. I know the parameters are ok, but why so much mg consumption? And are there advantages to getting mg levels up into the 1300's? I have heard that higher levels of mg tend to inhibit nuisance algae growth. Fact or fiction?
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Sounds like my 30 mixed reef exactly. Dkh around 9 calcium 412 to 420 magnesium levels hover around 1200 using AFR and manually dosing 12 ml of brightwell magnesion every other day. I know the parameters are ok, but why so much mg consumption? And are there advantages to getting mg levels up into the 1300's? I have heard that higher levels of mg tend to inhibit nuisance algae growth. Fact or fiction?

getting to natural or slightly higher levels of magnesium (around 1300 ppm) has merits relating to precipitation of calcium carbonate and potentially helping coralline algae that uses a lot of magnesium.

the algae inhibition part is fiction, imo, based on the old idea that dosing a specific brand (Kent) inhibited a specific algae (bryopsis). That effect was likely due to an impurity, IMO.
 

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