Mhucasey's SPS obsession

slavetonet said:
I dont think having mag at 1500 ppm would have any ill effect.
Mines been always at 1450 ppm to 1500 ppm..
Strontium is 28 ppm... Way high... Lol
No problem so far.
Click to expand...

It's fine as long as the calcium and alkalinity are balanced. My calcium was 470 with Alkalinity of 6.7- way out of balance.
 
slavetonet said:
My alk is at 7.8 dkh and cal is at 440 ppm last week.
Not sure if that is balance or not... Its should be.
Click to expand...

Balanced Calcium is 416 at that Dkh, but 440 is not that far off.

I tested tonight and I'm getting closer:
Mg:1455
Ca: 450
Alk:7.15(raised to 7.6 after test with sodium bicarbonate)
K: 414
 
I think you're on the right track Matt. I'm also surprised to see those bubbled tips with Mg only at 1500 ppm. I've had mine up around 1800 ppm and didn't see those bubbled tips, but I think when that happened I was keeping alk around 8 dKH.
 
Myka said:
I think you're on the right track Matt. I'm also surprised to see those bubbled tips with Mg only at 1500 ppm. I've had mine up around 1800 ppm and didn't see those bubbled tips, but I think when that happened I was keeping alk around 8 dKH.
Click to expand...

Balanced calcium at 8 Dkh would be 417, so if your Calcium was around 420 or so it shouldn't be a problem.

The theory goes that When Calcium is very high compared to where it's supposed to be balanced, and in the presence of large amount of Magnesium, calcite forms instead of aragonite. The calcite crystals cause the tips to be fragile and do not allow growth to proceed normally.
 
Despite the bubbling tips, the tank looks amazing, your water clarity and the pop of the corals is sweet. I know we all want perfection, but the minor issues you are having will soon be corrected, and like for all of us, we will then move on to another issue :) I love your tank Matt, kudos, I think its a gem!!!
Cheers,
 
Guys the funny growth doesn't always happen when someone has these unbalanced parameters. It's something that's still trying to be completely figured out.

Looks like stuff is starting to heal up, I think you did the right thing. In a few weeks you should be back to normal.
 
mhucasey said:
Balanced calcium at 8 Dkh would be 417, so if your Calcium was around 420 or so it shouldn't be a problem.

The theory goes that When Calcium is very high compared to where it's supposed to be balanced, and in the presence of large amount of Magnesium, calcite forms instead of aragonite. The calcite crystals cause the tips to be fragile and do not allow growth to proceed normally.
Click to expand...


Do you have the calculation for balancing of the big three? Or a calculator online that does it?
 
Pife said:
Do you have the calculation for balancing of the big three? Or a calculator online that does it?
Click to expand...

There are a lot out there that calculate calcium and alkalinity balance, here is the quick table though:

dKH- Alkalinity mEq/l- Balanced Ca

4.50 1.61 393
4.75 1.70 395
5.00 1.79 397
5.25 1.88 398
5.50 1.96 400
5.75 2.05 402
6.00 2.14 404
6.25 2.23 405
6.50 2.32 407
6.75 2.41 409
7.00 2.50 411
7.25 2.59 413
7.50 2.68 414
8.00 2.86 418
8.25 2.95 420
8.50 3.04 422
8.75 3.13 423
9.00 3.21 425
9.25 3.30 427
9.50 3.39 429
9.75 3.48 431
10.00 3.57 432
10.25 3.66 434
10.50 3.75 436
10.75 3.84 438
11.00 3.93 439

Magnesium in reef water should be targeted to 1280 ppm. Higher is fine as long as the other two are in balance. If they aren't in balance, the higher the magnesium level goes, and in the presence of growth accelerators like carbon and amino acids, the more likely the calcite crystals will form. Calcite is clear and when mixed with aragonite creates coral skeleton without the strength of aragonite alone.
 
mhucasey said:
There are a lot out there that calculate calcium and alkalinity balance, here is the quick table though:

dKH- Alkalinity mEq/l- Balanced Ca

4.50 1.61 393
4.75 1.70 395
5.00 1.79 397
5.25 1.88 398
5.50 1.96 400
5.75 2.05 402
6.00 2.14 404
6.25 2.23 405
6.50 2.32 407
6.75 2.41 409
7.00 2.50 411
7.25 2.59 413
7.50 2.68 414
8.00 2.86 418
8.25 2.95 420
8.50 3.04 422
8.75 3.13 423
9.00 3.21 425
9.25 3.30 427
9.50 3.39 429
9.75 3.48 431
10.00 3.57 432
10.25 3.66 434
10.50 3.75 436
10.75 3.84 438
11.00 3.93 439

Magnesium in reef water should be targeted to 1280 ppm. Higher is fine as long as the other two are in balance. If they aren't in balance, the higher the magnesium level goes, and in the presence of growth accelerators like carbon and amino acids, the more likely the calcite crystals will form. Calcite is clear and when mixed with aragonite creates coral skeleton without the strength of aragonite alone.
Click to expand...

Nice!
Another pure gold nugget to add to the treasure trove of information on your thread, Matt!
 
Thanks Matt for posting that table! That helps me with our new tank since my wife (the microbiologist ) said I'm on my own since having kids.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
mhucasey said:
There are a lot out there that calculate calcium and alkalinity balance, here is the quick table though:

dKH- Alkalinity mEq/l- Balanced Ca

4.50 1.61 393
4.75 1.70 395
5.00 1.79 397
5.25 1.88 398
5.50 1.96 400
5.75 2.05 402
6.00 2.14 404
6.25 2.23 405
6.50 2.32 407
6.75 2.41 409
7.00 2.50 411
7.25 2.59 413
7.50 2.68 414
8.00 2.86 418
8.25 2.95 420
8.50 3.04 422
8.75 3.13 423
9.00 3.21 425
9.25 3.30 427
9.50 3.39 429
9.75 3.48 431
10.00 3.57 432
10.25 3.66 434
10.50 3.75 436
10.75 3.84 438
11.00 3.93 439

Magnesium in reef water should be targeted to 1280 ppm. Higher is fine as long as the other two are in balance. If they aren't in balance, the higher the magnesium level goes, and in the presence of growth accelerators like carbon and amino acids, the more likely the calcite crystals will form. Calcite is clear and when mixed with aragonite creates coral skeleton without the strength of aragonite alone.
Click to expand...


Thank you for posting the table. After reading your references about balance I was trying find the proper balance for my tank.

What is the significance of calcite crystals forming? I googled this and did not get much useful information pertaining to effects in a reef tank

Again thank you for sharing your knowledge as well as the photos. I learn some new things and get to see what it is suppose to look like.


Kevin
 
Things are doing well considering having a 4 hour power failure, tank temp dropping, accidentally leaving all the lights in manual - on for 10 hours+, and cleaning out the Calcium reactor in the last three days....

IMG_3211_zpsz7ug8shh.jpg


IMG_3207_zps2f9go65k.jpg


IMG_3202_zpshx337mhv.jpg


IMG_3190_zpsfysjb2w3.jpg


IMG_3183_zpsf7fwvv3y.jpg


IMG_3181_zps3m4gxgbl.jpg


IMG_3174_zps7r51wb2n.jpg


IMG_3162_zpsvmpqf7p6.jpg
 
Phew, you are very fortunate not to have experienced any issues particularly with your fish. I am glad that there are no casultaties. Your corals look stunning as always.
 
When it rains it pours, as they say..
Well, the corals still look fantastic!
Which media did you use in the reactor?
 
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