Magnesium Dosing

Spartanman22

Spartanman22

Well-known member
How many of you dose magnesium regularly? I rarely dose or test for magnesium. I dose calcium and alk regularly through my RKE and have manually added mag as needed. It seems I'm always on the lower end at about 1200 and am starting to wonder if that's why I never have much coraline.

The BRS instructions state to add the whole gallon of mag after running through the gallons of alk and cal, but I've always avoided doing this because large parameter swings never seem like a good idea.

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I dose Mag whenever I remember. haha I don't remember the last time I actually tested. Plenty of coralline though.
 
I dose but not very often at all. I only check it once every 2 months. It typically doesn't swing too much unlike calc and alk which I also dose throughout the day using my apex.


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I've never been able to get any coraline growth on my rock. I get it on the vortechs, overflow, and return nozzle but none on the rocks. It's all over the acrylic frag rack in my frag tank too.

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Did you seed your tank with any live rock that may have had coralline algae growth before? I had the same problem till I added a bit of live rock that was covered in it and I also had really high ca at the time of the growth to
 
I dose 10ml every day to balance the CAL and ALK from Calcium Reactor. Always stay at 1250 - 1350...Cal betweeen 420-450 and ALK between 8-9.
 
Damn i should test that today :( i rely on the red sea coral pro salt its high on mag, i always get about 1400 or so mag when i test .. but may be with all these sps it may not be enough ..
 
xj_matt said:
Did you seed your tank with any live rock that may have had coralline algae growth before? I had the same problem till I added a bit of live rock that was covered in it and I also had really high ca at the time of the growth to
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Yes I had one piece that was covered, but it never spread. I have since removed that rock since I've gone more minimalistic.

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I have pretty consistent alk and calcium. Alk stays between 7.1-7.3 and calcium right around 425. The only time it might fluctuate is if coral go through a growth spurt. But I never dose the magnesium and if I remember correctly it's intended to balance out the ionic rations between calcium and alkalinity.

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tinman said:
Damn i should test that today :( i rely on the red sea coral pro salt its high on mag, i always get about 1400 or so mag when i test .. but may be with all these sps it may not be enough ..
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How do u like the red sea salt? I have been thinking about going with it and what type do you use?
 
xj_matt said:
How do u like the red sea salt? I have been thinking about going with it and what type do you use?
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red sea pro .. i have always come back to this salt after trying multiple ones .. it does mix a little cloudy and leaves residue in the bucket .. mixes at very high alk so i cant make big water changes ..

but i always see good coral behaviour with this salt .. and i believe its the trace elements thats in there thats doing it ..
 
tinman said:
red sea pro .. i have always come back to this salt after trying multiple ones .. it does mix a little cloudy and leaves residue in the bucket .. mixes at very high alk so i cant make big water changes ..

but i always see good coral behaviour with this salt .. and i believe its the trace elements thats in there thats doing it ..
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When u say high alk how high? And how big is your tank? Sorry for 21 questions just looking for a better salt and your corals seem so nice
 
I don't test too often, but I do now and then. Mine is always a bit low around 1200. I dose it from time to time to try to keep it up. It takes massive amounts to move the needle.
 
tinman said:
Alk is around 12 or so dkh

Mine is a 50 gallon cube :)


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Wow that is high I like to keep mine between 8 and 9 if I can right now I have a 37 gallon and I'm working on getting my hundred and five gallon going thanks for the info I think I'm going to try that's all next I need a new bucket
 
xj_matt said:
Wow that is high I like to keep mine between 8 and 9 if I can right now I have a 37 gallon and I'm working on getting my hundred and five gallon going thanks for the info I think I'm going to try that's all next I need a new bucket
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I keep my alk at 8.5, alk jumps a tad bit when i do a water change of 5 gallons

But my doser is set a little less than whats needed to keep it at 8.5 on the spot ..


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tinman said:
I keep my alk at 8.5, alk jumps a tad bit when i do a water change of 5 gallons

But my doser is set a little less than whats needed to keep it at 8.5 on the spot ..


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Ok good to know thank you for your information I do 5 gallon water changes as well but I do mine weekly
 
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