how to raise magnesium

[untamed]

You need to understand and control Calcium and Alkalinity before you start being concerned with Magnesium. If you are going to need to supplement anything, it will be Ca and Alk to begin with.

[wickedfrags]

+1.

Originally Posted by untamed

you need to understand and control calcium and alkalinity before you start being concerned with magnesium. If you are going to need to supplement anything, it will be ca and alk to begin with.

[parkinsn]

Originally Posted by untamed

You need to understand and control Calcium and Alkalinity before you start being concerned with Magnesium. If you are going to need to supplement anything, it will be Ca and Alk to begin with.

Correct me if im wrong but if your Mg is low your Ca will also be low or hard to keep up. If all 3 (KH, Ca, Mg) are at the proper level it will be much easier to maintain the levels.

[untamed]

Originally Posted by parkinsn

Correct me if im wrong but if your Mg is low your Ca will also be low or hard to keep up. If all 3 (KH, Ca, Mg) are at the proper level it will be much easier to maintain the levels.

Yes, that is very true. However, the question as posed suggests to me that he/she is not yet measuring and supplementing Ca/Alk and that really should be handled before addressing Mg.

[parkinsn]

Originally Posted by untamed

Yes, that is very true. However, the question as posed suggests to me that he/she is not yet measuring and supplementing Ca/Alk and that really should be handled before addressing Mg.

Ahhh ok well if thats the case, i would get yourself a few boxes of baking soda and do an order from the chem master and follow the link that xtreme put up and that should help solve all your problems . That is the same system that i use and have good success with thus far.

[Werbo]

The mentioned Randy Holmes-Farley 2 part reciepe is the best reading on this and you'll save a ton of money. All his chemistry writings are excellant and an essential for someone just starting.

I'd get your Alk inline first. Alk is a buffer (everyday baking soda). IMO it is the most important, easiest and fastest to get to optimal levels. It also has the greatest and fastest fluctuations. If your alk (buffer) is low raising calcium will make your alk even lower making it even harder to raise your calcium. There is an inverse relationship between alkalinity and calcium. This means that raising calcium causes alkalinity to drop.

It was only in the last 2-3 years that people even measured Mag. Before this it was largely ignored unless you just could not raise your calcium levels. It is important (test Mg to see what level your Mag level is) but it does not have the rapid fluctuations that alkalinity and to a lesser degree calcium have. The reason for this is Mg has the highest concentation in Natural Seawater (1350 ppm). In comparison, calcium is only 420 ppm. And alkalinity at 7/8 dKH, if converted to ppm Alk is only about 200 ppm. This is why Alk tends to have the greatest swings in our aquariums. I measure alkalinity bi-weekly, calcium weekly, and magnesium monthly.

For a beginner I'd aim for an slightly elevated alkalinity of 10-11 dKH. Once there begin raising calcium till you reach 400-450 ppm. You need to check both Ca and Alk on a daily basis to get to optimal levels and remember raising calcium causes alkalinity to drop. Once at optimal levels consumption of Alk & Ca should be balanced.

Add you buffer - Alk (aka Arm n Hammer baking soda) in the morning before the lights come on or an hour after lights out when ph is low). Wait a minimum hour between adding your Calcium supplement and your buffer (Alk). Add Alk in morning and Ca at night and you can't go wrong.

Read the Holmes-Farley Ca, Alk and Magnesium articles!!!!

[parkinsn]

Here is a helpful calculator for getting your levels where you want them that happens to have the RHF in it.

http://jdieck1.home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

Edit; just saw that Mark posted this link

[arnald]

thanks to everyone I guess I just need to raise the calcium cause it is at 150 and the hard corals are almost dead. i will try the suggestion from everone thanks again.

[arnald]

so i get some baking soda and just add it to the aquarium straight up. baking soda? the cooking kind. and that should raise the calcium level

[xtreme]

Baking soda will raise your alkalinity. You need a calcium supplement of some sort to raise it.