Low Mg salt mix

[allendehl]

Well I feel I should knows this by now but here it goes.
I've been going crazy trying to keep my Mg as close to 1350 as possible until I realized that my IO salt mix is reading 1140.
How do you normally handle this? Should I dose BRS 2 part everytime I do WC to compensate?

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[mcgyvr]

IO is supposed to be/should be 1300-1350 or so...
If you are sure that your test is accurate then simply add mag as needed.. Just like if you needed to raise anything else..

 

[allendehl]

Than you mc. From the IO website
"When dissolved in pure water to a specific gravity of 1.026, Instant Ocean[emoji2400] should provide a solution that has 400 mg/L calcium ion and 1320 mg/L magnesium ion."

Im mixing to 1.025. Something is off, maybe a bad batch?. I got this box off brs. Should I contact then?

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[Dr. Reef]

Mag has a habit of settling on the bottom of the mix.
I would roll the st around in the bucket before pulling what you need.

 

[allendehl]

This is really interesting. And again, on me.
Just checked my logs and twice in 2018 I checked my base mix Mg with IO and both are consistent in 1140ppm. I guess back then I didn't give it the necessary importance because it was tracing overall ok in the tank. Before asking the question I made a small mix in a jug to 1.025 and measured it there. No settlement.
I'm using the seachem test.

How three well appart tests are so consistently off? Is IO screening up? The test is really full proof tho I've had my share of strange readings.

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[ryeguyy84]

Settlement in the salt container not the salt mixing. Have you rolled the bucket of salt around before adding to the water?

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[Dr. Reef]

settlement is in the salt itself. i guess my earlier comment was not clear.
When the salt sits in the bucket or container heavier elements shift to the bottom.
Mag is one of the elements.
Best thing to do whenever making new saltwater is to take the salt container and roll is around or mix it well from top to bottom to make sure all elements that have shifted to bottom can be brought up and mixed evenly.
then take whatever amount you need to mix in water.

 

[allendehl]

Thanks. I figured that is what you meant. This last test I made was in a smaller jug (about 3 cups of water)precisely to remove as many elements as possible from the equation. Just mixed it up to the desired gravity and tested Mg. I don't believe settlement was even possible..it was all real time.
Hope I am not missing a point.

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[allendehl]

Interesting, I did the same test again yesterday but this time I measured everything after reading a review in BRS that the IO salt was coming with a high concentration of ammonia. Results below.

Test Kit - API
Salinity: 1.025
78F
NO3 - 0
NH4 - 0.50
PO4 - 0
Mg- 1200
Ca - 370
Alk - 10.2

RODI compared to Fresh mix, no sediment, just made and stirred.

Is this normal??

 

[Uncle99]

I stopped using IO after several inconsistencies existed even after manual mix.
I use Red Sea Pro for more than 3 years now.
It mixes up completely in 4 hours, stays clear, and is on point each and every time.
IO was also leaving a brownish crud on the brutes.
Get what you pay for

 

[fallfork]

Keep it simple...

Keep it simple...

A couple of thoughts...

Our home test kits are not precision instruments. If you want to put your concern about ammonia and magnesium to rest, I would send a sample out for ICP testing. However, I would also suggest that accepting the results you have is a perfectly reasonable course of action.

If you accept the results (and/or verify them with ICP), you now have a new decision.... continue to use IO salt (which is what I do) or try a different salt. If you continue to use IO salt, you'll have to dose magnesium. I already dose 3-part, so I simply adjust Mg as needed - and therefore I am oblivious to any deficiency that may exist in the salt. And if there really is a little ammonia consistently in your salt (which I respectfully doubt), the ammonia is going to be quickly consumed by the bacteria population in a well-established tank.

BRS just did some pretty detailed salt mix analyses, so you may want to have a look at those videos.

Good luck!

 

[allendehl]

Thank you! Yeah I was already in the accepting part. It is what it is. I just hope they are at least consistent to make it easier to dose after wc.

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