Quote:
Originally Posted by michika
Do any of you concentrate your suppliments, e.g. mix them stronger then the recommended instructions? If so, why, how, and what products are you using?
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I use the Fauna Marin line for "the big three". I mix according to the "Balling Light" method which makes the concentrations saturated which are then added to my tank via economically-priced Drew's Dosers from BRS. One exception is that I don't add magnesium with a doser. I add the magnesium needed to the fresh saltwater I mix up for waterchanges. In my 90-gallon display (about 85-95 gallons net) this amounts to adding 300 mL of the FM Mg chloride and 35 mL Epsom salt to 15 gallons of saltwater made with H2Ocean salt. Doing bi-weekly waterchanges in this fashion this keeps magnesium around 1400 ppm just after waterchange and 1375 ppm before waterchange. I also add 60 mL Brigthwell Aquatics Potassion-P potassium to the mix as well to keep potassium in the 400 ppm range. This makes a
very noticeable difference in blues and purples in my SPS tank.
Now, if I have to bump up the magnesium in the tank it takes A LOT of product to do so. The reason is because you're adding more chloride than magnesium ions when using magnesium chloride. In the hobby this is still our best option. If you're trying to save from adding a bunch of RO, figure out how much dry product you need to add, put that in a small jug, add a bit of RO and mix it up as much as you can, pour off the concentrate, add a bit more RO, and repeat until you get it all dissolved. This will give you the highest concentration with the lowest amount of RO. The good thing about powdered Mg chloride is that it mixes up quite concentrated (like calcium, unlike sodium bicarbonate).
You aren't using Epsom salt (Mg sulfate) to raise Mg are you? Epsom salt is difficult to mix up, and because of the sulfate, it shouldn't be used as a primary, long-term source of Mg. Reef tanks will use up some sulfate, but not as much as is contained in Epsom salt. The "official" recipe is 8.5 parts Mg chloride to 1 part Mg Sulfate. This is the recipe I use even though I don't actually visually
see a difference by including the Epsom.
However, if you are dosing a lot you will find that specific gravity will
creep up rather than go down if you are concentrating your supplements to saturation. The reason is because you will be adding so much chloride which reads as specific gravity on your refractometer. If I don't monitor SG in my tank I will end up having to remove saltwater and replace with RO in order to lower the SG within reason. Now I adjust salinity the day before a waterchange and use proper SG with the new saltwater. My salinity will creep up one point every waterchange (2 weeks) simply because of the amount of chloride that is coming in with dosing.
On that note, I've started doing quarterly 60% waterchanges to help flush chloride ions from the system. My tank LOVES these big waterchanges, and really thrives afterwards.
Here is my issue in a nut shell I have a lot of water volume, it takes a lot of product and RO/DI water to move the proverbial needle on things like Mg. and Alkalinity.