Raising Mg - Epsom salt or?

[Kairus]

Got a Salifert Mg test today, took a measurement and I'm at 1170ppm. Using the Reef Chemistry Calculator on my sized tank I will need 558.2 grams of epsom salt to raise my Mg to 1400ppm. I have Aquavitro Ions I can use as a maintenance dose to keep Mg in check but I need something more powerful than that to make the jump to 1400ppm.

Is putting 1.25lb of epsom salt in my tank really safe? Of course I would dilute it in RODI and dose it over a week or two. I'm worried about there being a big imbalance with all that sulfate. I've read people mix Mg Chloride and Mg Sulfate and dose that. Can I find Mg Chloride locally?

Are there any reef orientated products that are potent enough to increase my Mg that much safely? I did a 10g water change a few days ago, so I would need a lot of water changes to bring my Mg up to ideal levels, so that's not a good option imo.

 

[FishBo]

I use Mag Flake & Epson Salt. BRS sell's Magnesium Chloride & Magnesium Sulfate which works great as well. Just use there calculator on how much you need to add & I spread mine out over a 3 day period. I raised mine from 1250 to 1400 in 3 days without any issue's. Randy's Recipe is below as well. Good luck!

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquarium-additives/brs-aquarium-additives.html

 

[disc1]

You probably want to mix that with mag chloride. You can get it from BRS or there are a few ice-melters out there that are relatively pure mag chloride. If you can find them this time of year.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That's a pretty big boost for Epsom salt alone. I'd try to get some magnesium chloride, but it might be OK to use Epsom alone for this one correction (then switch to magnesium chloride for a while).

I'd probably limit the rise to 50 ppm per day, spread over 2 additions each day.