Calcium Magnesium Alkalinity Relationship

[jamesonwhiskey]

So I finally got a magnesium kit after everyone on here talks about it so much... the kit isn't the easiest to use. I think my mag is at 1200, my calcium is at 400 and my KH is at 8.5.

If I supplement mag should I raise the calc too? I thought they're supposed to be at about a 3:1 ratio. Will raising one and not the other cause any issues? How will raising either of them affect my KH or PH?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[jamesonwhiskey]

anyone?

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

So I finally got a magnesium kit after everyone on here talks about it so much... the kit isn't the easiest to use. I think my mag is at 1200, my calcium is at 400 and my KH is at 8.5.

If I supplement mag should I raise the calc too? I thought they're supposed to be at about a 3:1 ratio. Will raising one and not the other cause any issues? How will raising either of them affect my KH or PH?

Thanks for all the help!

The Salifert Mag test kit kit is just like the Ca++. You think.... is not a good enough answer, you'll need to know for certain your range before you dose ANYTHING
Increase Mag levels during the course of a 2 week period untill you are with-in your desired range. When my mag level was at 1100 I dosed at 60ml every other day untill i reached 1425 then stoped.
Mag is the BALANCE between Alk & CA++
When you have reached the desired range, your alk and Ca++ will follow, usually increasing or dropping.. So you need to test for Alk and Ca++ aswell to determine where it is on the chart. Reef Central has a very good calulator on there forum to determine what dosing regime you will need to find your sweet spot for your tank. It will ask you what level it is at and where do you want your level to be.

Naturally if you raise one the others will be affected unless the others are too high and dosing should be stopped. Now regular RODI top offs will suffice to offset the rise.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

Here is the LINK

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

 

[jamesonwhiskey]

Ok, the calculator is really good. I have the Red Sea kit which uses the syringe... I'm going to try to double everything on my test tonight so I can get better accuracy.

Instead of 2ml of water and 5 drops of A & B, I'm going to use 4ml of water and 10 drops of A&B... this should make it easy to tell how much of solution C it needs to change from red to blue (which I will half at the end).

I'm going to the levels up slowly over the next couple of weeks aiming for Mag of 1350, Calc of 450 and a dKH of 10.

From what you're saying raising my mag the others will follow... does that mean I should dose only mag tonight and see how calc and alk goes up as well?

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

end).

I'm going to the levels up slowly over the next couple of weeks aiming for Mag of 1350, Calc of 450 and a dKH of 10.

From what you're saying raising my mag the others will follow... does that mean I should dose only mag tonight and see how calc and alk goes up as well?

Bingo.... my friend, Mag is the key to balancing everything out. Test often during this time and what i find usefull is keeping a written log of things so i can keep track. Once your there at 1350 you'll notice your Calcium and Alk balance out and start to remain steady. Then you'll be able to determine also if your Ph is normally on the high or low side of things while your Alk is at 10....your desired range. Yes i said PH not alk. It gets a little tricky... but go through the chemistry forum and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Your off to a good start!!

Heres another link .....

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605