Do I have the Mg problem?

L

lastduke

New member
Still not totally understand the relationship among CA, alk and Mg. Ca has been droped from 440-360 in less than a week, even my tank only has three frag zoa, xenxia and frogswap. The total water volumn is around 40 gallon. There is no obvious coralline growth. Where did Ca go? The ALK is pretty stable, it dropped from 11 to 10.

Do I have the mg problem? I dont' have a mg test kit to measure it:(
 
do you have any precipitation on heaters or pumps?

mag poisons the surface of calcium deposits and makes it more difficult for additional calcium to precipitate onto the layer. In the absence of sufficient mg, cal is free to continue to build up onto surfaces. (at least thats how I understand it)
 
sounds like a faulty test kit reading for that kind of fall with no participation or heavy consumers.

BTW
you should measure and keep magnesium at a level of 1300 ppm.
It supports calcium levels that are higher than 400ppm
 
capn, because of the lack of Mg test kit, I didn't boost Mg when I mixed IO salt, will that be a problem to make the CA lower than 400ppm?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12254094#post12254094 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastduke
capn, because of the lack of Mg test kit, I didn't boost Mg when I mixed IO salt, will that be a problem to make the CA lower than 400ppm?
Click to expand...

not at all----it would take much higher levels then that--and you would see precipitation(white powder) in the water and all over the place.
IMO it was either a wrong reading last week or this week.

If I get a strange reading I always repeat the test a couple of more times.
What test kit are you using?
 
I would recommend testing magnesium if you are concerned, but calcium cannot drop due to any in tank process without alkalinity dropping a lot more, assuming you are not dosing alkalinity supplements. An 80 ppm drop in calcium will necessarily take a drop of 4 meq/L (11 dKH) of alkalinity to drop too.

OTOH, a water change with a low calcium mix like IO can drop calcium.

I suspect the problem is not due to low magnesium (although it may certainly coincidentally be low, and using IO I'd expect it to be low. :)
 
Anyone can share the picture of the CA participation picture? I googled but didn't find it.
I did find a lot of white,circular/spiral spots stick on the surface of LR. They are getting more and more in my 8 month tank, are they the CA participation ?
 
btw, I dont' think I had a wrong test yesterday, after I tested it , I dose about 10 ml Randy part2 to boost CA in my total 45 gallon volumn, and today, I got 380ppm today.
 
I am pretty sure that snails/inverts also use Ca. for their shells. Not sure of their consumption rate tho, probably not that high unless you have a lot of them.
 
thanks, Billybeau1. I am still reading it. from the article, I am pretty sure i have the CA precipitation, I was wondering what's the "rusty dust" on my heater and powerheads.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12262787#post12262787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastduke
thanks, Billybeau1. I am still reading it. from the article, I am pretty sure i have the CA precipitation, I was wondering what's the "rusty dust" on my heater and powerheads.
Click to expand...

that is probably cyano and or a mixture of it and corraline algae.
Take you powerheads out once a month and soak them in vinegar for a half hour and scrub it off (vinegar makes it easy to do)
I also run the power head in the vinegar for 20 min , rinse and run it in ro or tap water for another 10 min.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12262787#post12262787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastduke
thanks, Billybeau1. I am still reading it. from the article, I am pretty sure i have the CA precipitation, I was wondering what's the "rusty dust" on my heater and powerheads.
Click to expand...

Lastduke---I just looked at your signature for flow---you have listed one K#2 which gives you a flow of 600gph
In a 30 gal tank of mostly lps corals you should aim for a flow rate of 600-1200 gph.
I suggest you add another koralia#2 to your system. The increased flow helps with filtration but it also helps keep a uniform water chemistry esp with nitrates and phosphates.
 
Thank for your suggestion, capn. I think my flow is okay, coz I have a return pump eheim 1250 from sump.
The "rusty dust" is not coralline, I even can wipe them off by my finger. I am struggling to keep my CA stable, the coralline grows very slowly.
 
The "rusty dust" is not coralline,

Rusty dust that you can wipe with your finger is also not calcium carbonate. :)

Let's focus on more likely causes.

Instant Ocean is low in calcium. Water changes with it will drop calcium.

Exactly how much of what additives are you adding?
 
Thank you for jumping in Randy.
I used your Part1 to boost up the CA after mixed. I use Hardness Plus for swimming pool to make part 1.

I have a total 40 gallon volumn , dose kent tech CB 5ml for each every time, if the CA drops. Yesterday, I dose 10 ml randy's part 1 to boost the CA. I will measure it again tonight
 
Aside from water changes, calcium should not drop in a way that is not also balanced by an alkalinity loss. So with balanced dosing with a two part system, if alkalinity is maintained then so will calcium.

You might use your calcium supplement to boost the IO to tank levels before use so it doesn't drag it down with each water change.
 
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