So been away for a few days, got back last night and tested my water today.

ALK - 6.1
Cal - 340
Mag - 1110

Before I left on Friday my params we're

ALK - 6.4
Cal - 340
Mag - 1170

No matter how much magnesium supplement I add I can't seem to get the magnesium up.

Also found a good reef tank log app for Android. Gives you graphs and all sorts of stuff. It's called aquarium note.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Your numbers are very low. I'd do a large water change. Magnesium is one of the hardest to increase independantly. Understand that Alk, Ca and Mag are all tied together, it's hard to increase one without increasing the others. Gregzz4 is one of the most knowledgeable members here in regards to reef chemistry (that I know). Pick his brain. Lol.

Hey Llorgon..how are my frags🙂
I just started dosing this March. I also tried using the same Brightwell products at first & found it didn’t work well for me. First of all, I needed fairly large doses initially to bring the low numbers up and the bottles were quickly depleted before the numbers were even where I wanted them to be.

After looking at various options I decided the BRS stuff was the simplest for me. I used their calculator and watched the instructional videos to walk me through. Those initial doses were quite hefty but necessary to get the parameters up there. I’m happy with their product, both for cost and ease of use. Not sure if you buy a lot from U.S. online though.

I have been reading up on the water chemistry and how they all work together. Also been talking to Greg. I really need a bigger bucket. I only have two 5 gallon buckets for water changes so it's lots of small water changes.



Hey Dash, Frags are all still alive! So that's good right?

The zoas are doing well, same with the green mushroom type coral, can't remember the name of it. Forest fire digi has some new growth. The pink birdsnest is about the same maybe lost some colour, but I'm guessing that is from my water params being out of whack.


Thanks for the advice on the dosing. I will look into the BRS. I bought the Brightwell stuff because the lady at J&L said it was the best and easiest to start with. But hasn't moved the needle on params much at all.

Same here...I used up my two bottles and it didn't do anything. The BRS stuff did exactly what it was supposed to do. And I think cost-wise, it's not very far off. I bought the "starter package" and followed that up with larger size bags when it went on sale. I guess experienced reefers have more cost-effective methods but for a newbie like myself, it was easy to use.

I'll be talking with Llorgon tonight to help him out.

Dash, I have bulk Calcium for sale, and can help you out with turning baking soda into soda ash.
For Mag I use J&L's Reefcrest Chloride and Sulphate stuff. Crystals, not flake. It mixes well and stays mixed compared to others I've used in the past, including epsom salts.
If you want to know more, PM me your cell

Take the math and experimenting with dfferent products out of the process and get a calcium reactor
It raises all three elements evenly and steady once dialed in

Calcium reactors aren't for everyone, nor can everyone afford reliable equipment for said units.
If you're as anal as I am, how do you adjust your newly mixed water that's out of whack before you do a waterchange?
pH probes and CO2 regulators can fail and if ignored things go out of whack.
And they can be a bit complex for newbies.
Dialing in and keeping Mag levels with a Ca reactor isn't that easy either. What happens if you add too much Mag media? Shut down the reactor until tank Mag drops? Remove all media and remix new stuff? Or keep taking it apart to add more media until it's adding enough to your tank?
I thought years ago about getting a setup and decided against it.
They work great for many people, but aren't for me.
Liquid dosing is a great way for newbs to start understanding their tank's chemistry.

You've been reefing a long time ...
Ever thought about writing a tutorial for Calcium Reactors?
I'd be interested to read it, as I'm sure many others would too

Thanks Greg - might take you up on that some day

The BRS “2-part” dosing should really be called 3-part as there’s a Mag component. My parameters are now stable & it’s easy to maintain despite my not owning an auto doser yet.