High Magnesium

[AllanPritchard]

As an update
I mixed a new batch of salt - all parameters test as per the MyBatch report from RedSea except Mag should have been 1400 and was 1650. This could be a test error and was repeated 4 times with +/- of 30. I have ordered a Hanna Magnesium checker as I want to see if I can either confirm the high mag or the test error of the Nyos mag test kit.

I divided it into 4 x 1 lt jugs and added 5ml of A B C D and got no change in Mag, then added another 5ml and still no change, all measured 1600-1700.

The salt mix is standing and I will test them all again on Saturday to see if there is any change. Hopefully my Hanna Checker will arrive by then.

I will still do the same experiment using the Cal, Alk, Nopox and Vibrant and I will try 3 other salt brands once I can confirm the test results of the first experiment. Red Sea does say that one of the supplements contains magnesium other than the straight magnesium additive.

 

[CMMorgan]

As an update
I mixed a new batch of salt - all parameters test as per the MyBatch report from RedSea except Mag should have been 1400 and was 1650. This could be a test error and was repeated 4 times with +/- of 30. I have ordered a Hanna Magnesium checker as I want to see if I can either confirm the high mag or the test error of the Nyos mag test kit.

I divided it into 4 x 1 lt jugs and added 5ml of A B C D and got no change in Mag, then added another 5ml and still no change, all measured 1600-1700.

The salt mix is standing and I will test them all again on Saturday to see if there is any change. Hopefully my Hanna Checker will arrive by then.

I will still do the same experiment using the Cal, Alk, Nopox and Vibrant and I will try 3 other salt brands once I can confirm the test results of the first experiment. Red Sea does say that one of the supplements contains magnesium other than the straight magnesium additive.

Following along! Looking forward to your findings. I am using the NYOS kit also.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As an update
I mixed a new batch of salt - all parameters test as per the MyBatch report from RedSea except Mag should have been 1400 and was 1650. This could be a test error and was repeated 4 times with +/- of 30. I have ordered a Hanna Magnesium checker as I want to see if I can either confirm the high mag or the test error of the Nyos mag test kit.

I divided it into 4 x 1 lt jugs and added 5ml of A B C D and got no change in Mag, then added another 5ml and still no change, all measured 1600-1700.

The salt mix is standing and I will test them all again on Saturday to see if there is any change. Hopefully my Hanna Checker will arrive by then.

I will still do the same experiment using the Cal, Alk, Nopox and Vibrant and I will try 3 other salt brands once I can confirm the test results of the first experiment. Red Sea does say that one of the supplements contains magnesium other than the straight magnesium additive.

My expectation is test error. It is quite common for magnesium.

Excessive salinity is also a possibility.

What Hanna checker? I do not recall seeing one for seawater magnesium.

 

[jason7570]

Bringing this thread back to life. My Magnesium is 1800+ and can’t seem to bring it down. I’m running 4 frag tanks on one system and 3 on another and are both the same. Corals are growing like weeds ( sticks, chalices, favias etc) except my shrooms. I’ve lost 4 OG bounces, 4 Sunkist, 2 blue balls, a frank 3 jawbreakers and about a dozen misc shrooms. They all melt from the bottom; some make it but most do not.
mall my perimeters are in range except for the below pic. Has anyone ever experienced this with shrooms?

 

[AllanPritchard]

My expectation is test error. It is quite common for magnesium.

Excessive salinity is also a possibility.

What Hanna checker? I do not recall seeing one for seawater magnesium.

Sorry I didn't see this Randy. I ordered the Hanna Checker here in New Zealand from a reef shop only to find it was fresh water only. I tested my RODI anyway and it was 3-4 PPM from memory. Nothing to add to my problem.

My Salinity varies between 34.5 to 35.5 but all of the batches I mixed were within .1 ppm (mixed to 35 ppm)

I will say that Coral Pro salt recommends 34 ppm so I was testing at a full 1 ppm more, I don't know how much that effects magnesium readings. Temperature seemed to have the biggest effect on measurements 2-3 degress made big differences in readings.

All of the test kits tested high at 1500 + which I find frustrating because I take your point that they are inaccurate but none tested low. I would have expected a distribution of error between high and low but all tested high with 4 brands all testing at 1400+.

The Red Sea elements did not make a marked difference. I tried high calcium, alk and high doses of trace elements, these made no diffence in readings.

The issue that led me to this was all snails (25 adults and 100+ juvenile) all died within 3 months, there are no snails alive in my tank since. Research suggests high magnesium or toxic algae as the issue for snail death. They all became sluggish and fell off the glass, at which point I believe the bristle worms would get them as they would not defend themselves and close themselves up.

I am running a small nano tank with Red Sea Coral Pro salt with no dosing and the snails are doing well (fishless tank)

My conclusion is that Red Sea Coral pro salt has a high magnesium content in the base salt. Running it at 35 ppt and a temp 25.5 produced a slightly higher Magnesium content and the temperature probably lead to test errors showing even higher.

I would love to know if green hair algae (or other photosynthetic organisms such cyno) can lock up magnesium as part of their Chlorophyll A demand and then release it with the use of vibrant and subsequent algae die off and thereby increasing Magnesium ?

 

[AllanPritchard]

Bringing this thread back to life. My Magnesium is 1800+ and can’t seem to bring it down. I’m running 4 frag tanks on one system and 3 on another and are both the same. Corals are growing like weeds ( sticks, chalices, favias etc) except my shrooms. I’ve lost 4 OG bounces, 4 Sunkist, 2 blue balls, a frank 3 jawbreakers and about a dozen misc shrooms. They all melt from the bottom; some make it but most do not.
mall my perimeters are in range except for the below pic. Has anyone ever experienced this with shrooms?

Are you dealing with any algae or cyano issues and are you dosing anything?

 

[jason7570]

Are you dealing with any algae or cyano issues and are you dosing anything?

No, i use a calcium reactor. Very little algae, no cyano and no swings.
temp 78.1-78.7
Alk 8.3-8.6
Cal. 450
Mag 1800
Nitrate .4
Phosphate .03-.05
1.026
Reefroids and coral amino twice per week.
Salt- Red Sea blue bucket. I do use B-ionic to raise the alk in my mixing tank as it mixes around 6.8-7.2

 

[PeterC99]

No, i use a calcium reactor. Very little algae, no cyano and no swings.
temp 78.1-78.7
Alk 8.3-8.6
Cal. 450
Mag 1800
Nitrate .4
Phosphate .03-.05
1.026
Reefroids and coral amino twice per week.
Salt- Red Sea blue bucket. I do use B-ionic to raise the alk in my mixing tank as it mixes around 6.8-7.2

Sorry if you have already answered this in this thread but are you using this or something similar in your calcium reactor? If so how much?

ReMag - Magnesium Media for Calcium Reactors​

 

[jason7570]

No magnesium media. Although after going through my notes i had written down, my Milwaukee refractometer was -2 off. That puts my salinity at 1.024. I calibrated my handheld refractometer and it was in the 1.023-1.024 range. So maybe that’s it? I put some fresh mixed saltwater (50/50) in my ATO tank so hopefully that will bring it slowly back up a little..
Seems like my Magnesium would be lower with lower salinity?

 

[AllanPritchard]

As Randy has said in this and many other threads the Magnesium test kits are notoriously inaccurate and most magnesium issue are in fact testing errors.
The first thing I would do is prove your test kit by getting exactly 10 lt of RO water and 382 g of salt and mix for 1 hr. Check the PH is between 8.2 and 8.5 and temp is 25 deg c. Then test the magnesium and it should be around 1250-1350. If it is reading 1700-1800 then you know your test kit is reading high.

 

[jason7570]

Thanks, sounds like a good plan; Hopefully it’s just the test kit....
Appreciate it.