fierceseaman
New member
Ok guys, I'm wondering what Mag levels you guys are seeing in your LPS tanks. Or, are you guys even testing/dosing for Mag? Have any of you guys brought low mag levels up and seen benefits to your LPS?
Let's talk about Mag levels in LPS tanks.
- Thread starter fierceseaman
- Start date
revautosports
In Memoriam
I've never tested mag before and have been keeping acans and micros for a few years now. A friend came over yesterday and tested everything for me and my mag is at 1350 so i was pretty happy with that. I don't dose anything i just do water changes every sunday.
vessxpress1
Premium Member
Once you get Mg where it's supposed to be it's pretty stable. For me anyways. I have a pretty heavily stocked tank and it's not something I add on a daily or even weekly basis. Besides whatever Mg is in 30 ml of B-ionic daily. Which probably doesnt amount to much.
I test Mg maybe once a month. It stays pretty stable around 1350. If it starts getting low like around 1260 or less, I'll dump a few capfuls of Kent Tech-M in to boost it back up.
The corals need it, but the main thing it's doing is helping keep your Ca and alkalinity in balance. If you let the Mg drop too low, Ca and alk will begin to fluctuate too much on you. Which can also lead to low pH. Mg keeps them in balance. High Mg doesn't do much but is unnecessary.
You can learn more about it from the stickies in the chemistry forum. I didnt absorb all the info but that is a summary of what I got out of it a long time ago.
I test Mg maybe once a month. It stays pretty stable around 1350. If it starts getting low like around 1260 or less, I'll dump a few capfuls of Kent Tech-M in to boost it back up.
The corals need it, but the main thing it's doing is helping keep your Ca and alkalinity in balance. If you let the Mg drop too low, Ca and alk will begin to fluctuate too much on you. Which can also lead to low pH. Mg keeps them in balance. High Mg doesn't do much but is unnecessary.
You can learn more about it from the stickies in the chemistry forum. I didnt absorb all the info but that is a summary of what I got out of it a long time ago.
fierceseaman
New member
Ok, you guys are confirming what I already thought about Mag levels and LPS coral healthy. A lower level doesn't necessarily equate to poor LPS health. I was just wondering if anyone had noticed a change in their corals after raising their mag levels the way that I've read that some SPS keepers have seen.
seapug
Premium Member
I was doing massive Tech M additions to my tank last fall to battle bryopsis. The only one I noticed any issues with was my green trachyphyllia. It lost a lot of color and didn't look happy. My Scolymia, Cynarina, and Lobo seemed largely unaffected. The trachy rebounded just fine after a couple months.
fierceseaman
New member
At what point (in PPM) did you see a decline in the health of the brain? At this point I'm wondering how lower Mag levels effect LPS. I recently tested mine and found that I was about 1140 PPM. I'm working on getting that to a more natural 1350 PPM. I haven't noticed that the lower mag has caused any harm to my LPS, although this has been the first time I've ever checked it.
