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i use the salifert mag test kit. I discovered that the elevated levels are due to the salt that I use. However, alot of my corals have been closing up more. My mg is 1600 as i mentioned, calc is 420, ph is 8.4, ammonia nitrate and nitrate all pretty low. Any ideas? Alk is around 8 also
Really?> Mangroves will take up the magnesium? My reef tank is cycling and I tested the magnesium today and I got a 1440 ppm with the salifert test kit.Mangroves will do the trick.
I use the same salt and I get a high mg reading also.Same problem, I have NEVER once dosed magnesium...only brs kalk and have muliple 1560 readings on both red sea and salifert. I also have an issue with sand hardening where return shoots down. (Like half inch thick 3x5 area that wont budge off glass or chip) I use red sea pro salt, but thats still only 1350 if I did 100% new sw.
STUMPED
Thinking of changing to core 7 or 2 part to see if it helps.
Really?> Mangroves will take up the magnesium? My reef tank is cycling and I tested the magnesium today and I got a 1440 ppm with the salifert test kit.
This is an awesome post- Thank your the clarification and deep education! well put. Besides- what are we to do when the mangroves outgrow the sump!? They grow so large!!!Mangroves are not a particularly useful tool to reduce elevated magnesium, IMO. As shown below, it takes a large amount of plant matter to make a dent in magnesium.
This paper shows that content of seedling mangroves of a particular species grown in seawater of different concentrations. Relative to sodium and chloride, the plant material itself is not enriched in magnesium relative to sodium, and the levels are so small that the content of the plant is equivalent to about 1.3 to 3.3xin seawater. Thus, one pound of mangrove tissue contains about the same amount of sodium s as 2 pounds of seawater and the same amount of magnesium as 1.3 to 3.3 pounds of seawater. Thus, there is no great concentrating mechanism in the plant.
As the mangroves get older, magnesium in leaves can rise somewhat. This paper shows that one mL of the oldest leaves with the highest magnesium concentration contains 802 micromoles per mL of water in the leaves/
802 micromoles equals 19,500 micrograms = 19.5 mg of magneisum per mL of water in the leaf
That's hardly enriched at all relative to seawater that contains 13 mg per mL.
Let's suppose you want to remove 50 ppm of magnesium from 100 gallons (378 L) of seawater. That means you want to remove 50 mg/L x 378 L = 18,500 mg.
How much plant material does that take?
It takes more than a kilogram of plant material.
That kilogram will also be taking out sodium and chloride, thus its efficiency at selectively removing magnesium is much less than calculated.
hi all my Mag is the same 1500 never dosed it and the salt i use is AF
Hello I have mag at 1520 in 2 different 300 gallon systems tested with there own trident. I do not dose any mag at all. I do daily 3.5 gallon water changes with reef crystals. Tested fresh mixed salt and get 1550 mag
I salinity is 35 in both of my 300 gallon systems. And I have cross checked magnesium with both of My tridents Testing each other’s water and both testing freshly mixed salt water. So I know it’s not a salinity issue and then there’s the obvious is trident not accurate but I literally have two of them testing the same thingIMO, high salinity or faulty testing is more likely than magnesium actually that high at 35 ppt. But any of them may be true.
Hey @Randy Holmes-Farley
My magnesium has been slowly rising in my acropora dominated tank for the past 6 months or so. I’ve been getting readings of 1500-1600 2x daily on the trident and confirmation of those numbers via ATI ICP tests on a monthly basis. I use a calcium reactor with ARM coarse media, dose easysps, easy booster (food), use moonshiner trace elements, and have not performed a water change in over a year. Subsequently, my calcium has been constantly dropping which I have been supplementing with brightwells calcium product. I haven’t noticed any ill effects in the tank and I’m wondering if there should be any concern if magnesium levels continue to rise?
Thanks in advance,
Brandon
There are 2 ways you can do that. 1. Change the existing water and 2. Use Calcium Hydroxide.
To learn more you can read this article that may help https://aquifarm.com/how-to-lower-magnesium-in-reef-tank/