Oops! Don't let the wife dose
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Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=69462
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Topic: Oops! Don't let the wife dose
Posted By: SWells
Subject: Oops! Don't let the wife dose
Date Posted: February 04 2014 at 8:45pm
| So I messed up, and dosed magnesium based on an old test kit. I dosed enough to get it up by 60, and now the coralline looks like it's starting to bleach. I ordered a new kit, but is there someone in the Riverton area who would let me use their mag test if I bring over a water sample? |
Replies:
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: February 04 2014 at 8:53pm
| I am in Murray/ Taylorsville area if you can't find anybody |
Posted By: Nick801
Date Posted: February 04 2014 at 11:56pm
|
I can test / help in sandy if you didn't get it taken care of already...
------------- http://www.reefinsanity.com" rel="nofollow - www.ReefInsanity.com http://www.facebook.com/ReefInsanity" rel="nofollow - www.Facebook.com/ReefInsanity 801-680-4676 |
Posted By: phys
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 2:29am
| 60ppm? |
Posted By: SWells
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 8:19am
|
Yes. My first test was 980. This is a new setup, and all the test kits were super old (aka not used), so I expected it to be low. After dosing 13oz of magnesium sulfate crystals according to the calculator instructions, the level went up to 1040. Right after I dosed, our Alk and Calcium tests arrived, and tested decently (420 and 7.7/2.73), so the magnesium must be off. I admit, it was my first time dosing. Steve has always done the dosing with previous tanks. Now I'm seeing people saying to read about mag, calcium, and alk for a month until I understand it well, and then start dosing. We did a 15% water change last night, and it looks stable, but the coralline is looking sad, and one small sps frag bleached yesterday morning. I think we'll take a sample over to the Aquarium for a $2 mag test to cover until we get ours. (Steve doesn't want to put anyone out.) Any advice? |
Posted By: SWells
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 8:21am
| And thanks for the offers for help. It's much appreciated. I was starting to freak out last night when I thought I crashed our tank. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 9:18am
|
While you are at it, might as well have them test Alk and Ca to verify your results. I also would be happy to do all 3 tests for free, but I'm even further away from you than Nick and Badfinger. A reef can handle quite high Mg levels, but if you added 3 oz short of a pound of Epsom Salt all at once, it probably shocked and stressed things. Keep the SPS frag in the tank. Bleached SPS often recover. Please don't think our offers are an inconvenience. We do this for other hobbyist because it's been done for us when we had the need. You know, Pay it forward. It's also part of the friendly social nature of this group. It's the WMAS legacy. We have fun visiting each other and learn a lot from each other while we enjoy each others tanks.  Aloha, Mark  808-345-1049 call/text/visit anytime ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: BobC63
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 10:07am
|
Weird thing is, if you dosed only an amount sufficient to cause your Mg to rise 60ppm...
That alone should not bleach out your corraline.
But 13 oz of Mg SO4 crystals seems like an awful lot. When I make up a 1 gallon DIY solution, I only use about 3 cups of crystals total (Sulfate & Chloride combined) to the gallon of RO water.
And pouring 1/4 of that mixture into my sump wil raise my 90 gal reefs Mg by about 100ppm
Are you sure you didn't accidently raise your Mg by 600 ppm?
P.S. - I am in west Lehi, out by Saratoga, and 3 mils south of Camp Williams. I'd be happy to test your water ------------- - My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) - * Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 * |
Posted By: SWells
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 1:30pm
|
Maybe I'm not understanding the calculator correctly. When I use the BRS calculator, say I have 100 gallons (110 tank plus sump), and put in numbers to raise is by 100ppm, it tells me 13.1 oz of mag sulfate crystals. Is 13.1 oz for the crystals or the mixed solution? |
Posted By: BobC63
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 1:40pm
|
I believe that is the amount of solution you should add, not the raw material
I would bet your Mg is much higher than 980 - 1080ppm
------------- - My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) - * Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 * |
Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 1:54pm
|
BRS calculator gives values based off of mixed solution not dry crystals. I would bet your Mg is way high as well. Probably closer to the 1600-1800 range. That could definitely cause some shock and bleaching in corals for sure. I lost a plating monti to a Mg dosing error that increased it more than 300ppm in one day. Not fun. Hope your larger system handles it better. ------------- My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread: |
Posted By: SWells
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 4:31pm
|
Sigh... Good to know for future reference. I'm also looking up salt parameters. I'm using Oceanic, which starts at 1650 magnesium freshly mixed. Awesome. The good news is that most corals are looking super happy, and it's mainly just the coralline that is suffering. That seems to be holding stable now. Lesson learned. |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: February 05 2014 at 8:47pm
| If you dont have all test kits I would be happy to test Mg , Ca, Alk , PO4 and sg for free , you not far from me. |
Posted By: phys
Date Posted: February 06 2014 at 1:03am
| I've noticed old magnesium test kits can give low numbers for mag. Like upwards of 400ppm low. |