ICP test results --> very low sulfur

[JimWelsh]

I plan to add a small amount of Sodium Sulphate to my makeup water.
Can it be added to Kalkwasser?

Calcium sulfate would precipitate, so I would not recommend that.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

as Jim said...

 

[David S]

Calcium sulfate would precipitate, so I would not recommend that.

Thanks Jim (and Randy)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’m not sure how sulfate can get low unless you use a lot of unbalanced calcium chloride. If you haven’t, it might be the salt mix and that might mean continual corrections.

 

[David S]

I’m not sure how sulfate can get low unless you use a lot of unbalanced calcium chloride. If you haven’t, it might be the salt mix and that might mean continual corrections.

Hmmm...
So here is my dosing regimen:
My primary dosing is with Kalk and that is done as part of my top off.
It is done at 15 minute intervals over a 20 hour period.
From 1 - 5 PM I refrain from dosing kalk and during this time I dose other stuff:
2 - 3 PM a mix of soda ash and Sodium Bicarbonate.
3 - 4 PM Magnesium
4 - 5 PM about 20 ml of BRS Pharma Calcium Chloride.

As far as you can ascertain, is there anything problematic?
If not, I can send in a sample of freshly made saltwater.

 

[David S]

Hmmm...
So here is my dosing regimen:
My primary dosing is with Kalk and that is done as part of my top off.
It is done at 15 minute intervals over a 20 hour period.
From 1 - 5 PM I refrain from dosing kalk and during this time I dose other stuff:
2 - 3 PM a mix of soda ash and Sodium Bicarbonate.
3 - 4 PM Magnesium
4 - 5 PM about 20 ml of BRS Pharma Calcium Chloride.

As far as you can ascertain, is there anything problematic?
If not, I can send in a sample of freshly made saltwater.

I just thought of something that makes analysis of Sulphur concentration tricky.
I recently purchased a new bucket of Fritz salt which I just started using. There is a possibility, therefore , that a deficiency of Sulphur existed in the old salt but not in this one.
Of course, if the salt is inherently deficient in S....

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How much of what magnesium and how long have you been using this routine? If not enough or wrong magnesium design, sulfate will decline.

 

[David S]

How much of what magnesium and how long have you been using this routine? If not enough or wrong magnesium design, sulfate will decline.

Interesting you should mention Magnesium:
First off, I'm using Fritz RPM elements Liquid Magnesium for almost a year.
Ingredients include a mix of MG chloride and sulfate.
In the past, I used ESV and Kent's respective versions of liquid Mag with no issues.
I tried the Fritz Mag based on a great price and it's apparent reputation in the industry. Also having good stability using their salt, factored into my decision.
Under normal conditions, I would dose about 10 ml/week of it. (My tank is about 38 gallon of water).
Here's the interesting thing:
I like to keep my MG between 1300 - 1400 PPM.
Recently, I noticed my MG was reading near 1500 PPM as per Salifert.
I stopped dosing, but after a few days the Mag had barely fallen. Unusual, because, normally, after a few days of no dosing the Mag concentration would drop considerably. That hasn't been the case.
In fact, the Mag concentration as per the recent ICP results indicated a whopping 1560 PPM of Magnesium. (BTW Mag results from ICP has ALWAYS been higher than hobby test kits).
So I cleaned out my dosing containers to make sure I was not inadvertently adding Mag to my tank.
I'll see what happens over the next week.
Ostensibly, the high MG has affected my crabs and snails:
I saw one of my crabs, yesterday - first time in a week.
As for my snails; there has always been one who liked to hang out on the return ramp of my HOB Skimmer. Over the last few weeks he's had a lot of company.
A reaction to the high Mag?
No apparent adverse reaction by the fish or corals...yet.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Magnesium wouldn’t usually drop more than 2 or so ppm per day in most tanks. A bigger change is test error or a water change or salinity change.

With the two part, you should use the magnesium recipe intended with it, which has much higher sulfate in it than in recipes for stand alone use.

 

[MnFish1]

Many of the tests look like errors (for example - the negative numbers for a start. Second - your sulfur increased a lot - but your MG did not - it does not make sense. Agree with others - that perhaps a different company

 

[David S]

Magnesium wouldn’t usually drop more than 2 or so ppm per day in most tanks. A bigger change is test error or a water change or salinity change.

With the two part, you should use the magnesium recipe intended with it, which has much higher sulfate in it than in recipes for stand alone use.

So let me see if I have this straight:
Since I am dosing BRS Alkalinity and Calcium, I would be better served by using their magnesium supplement.
In the interim; since I can expect an extended period of not dosing Magnesium, I'll be dosing a modest amount of Sodium Sulphate.