Seeking Help & Advise

[nyxnhh]

Hi, running 2 nano SW tanks since Nov 17.

1. my PH is always at the lowest end of 7.8 and even if i add in the buffer to raise it to 8.3, by the next day it would drop back to 7.8

2. Mg is always between 960 to 990 despite adding Mg every other day

3. PO4 is always between 0.25 to 0.5 despite adding PO4 remover every other day (together with Mg)

4. on alternate days i would also add Brightwell Aquatic Reef Building supplement

Currently in tank:

1 purple tip malu anemone

1 RBTA

3 clownfishes

1 sea cucumber

1 dragonett

1 carnation coral

a couple of LPS/SPS

1 starfish

1 flaming scallop

On the average, my water parameters would be:

PH - 7.8

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 5 to 10

KH - 10 to 11dKH

Ca - 440 to 460

Mg - 960 to 990

PO4 - 0.25 to 0.5

Am I doing something wrong here? I had a basic dymax protein skimmer and do water change weekly with NSW bought from Pinnacle Aquatics

 

[nyxnhh]

how to get my PH, Mg, Ca up and keep my PO4 down?

[soggycookies]

Hey bro, hope you aren’t panicking about your pH, 7.8 is not bad by any means- and stability is actually more important. Higher pH accelerates calcification leading to faster coral growth so if that’s what you’re aiming for then a Low pH could be a concern. Have you tried bubble-scrubbing method with a limewood air stone pump close to your return chamber? That has helped me raise my pH from 8.0 to 8.1~8.2ish consistently when I run it 3-8 hours a day at regular intervals. Just a PSA: a pH range of anywhere between 7.8 and 8.4 is acceptable, but of course most of us in this hobby see 8.3 as the ideal haha


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[nyxnhh]

actually other than pH, my Mg is also very low. i can't seems to get it above 990. do u know why?

[soggycookies]

actually other than pH, my Mg is also very low. i can't seems to get it above 990. do u know why?

Magnesium as an element doesn’t stay at stable levels if it’s bonding quickly with other ions like calcium in the water. If your magnesium is depleted very quickly it could be because of your constantly high calcium levels


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[Harlequinmania]

actually other than pH, my Mg is also very low. i can't seems to get it above 990. do u know why?

What brand of magnesium are you using ? If you are using those food grade magnesium, you need to dose alot more to rise up the mg level

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[Full Hedge]

2 hours ago, soggycookies said:

Magnesium as an element doesn’t stay at stable levels if it’s bonding quickly with other ions like calcium in the water. If your magnesium is depleted very quickly it could be because of your constantly high calcium levels


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Magnesium n calcium bonding? How? Magnesium n calcium ions are both positively charged... only way i can think of is with some chelating agent.

Magnesium actually stays pretty stable because it is a major element. In terms of relative weight magnesium is only about 3x more but there are about 5 times as much magnesium ions as calcium ions.

 

As for dosing magnesium theres only two common means. Magnesium sulfate n magnesium chloride. You need to dose alot, over time to push up magnesium levels. If you have a 100L tank. To raise Mg levels from 1000 PPM to 1400PPM u need to add 160g of MgCl2. About 40g of magnesium ions.

 

[Full Hedge]

If you have been adding Mg supplements at such levels. I suspect is the test kit.

To remedy your situation in short n long term

I recommend

Do 3x 30% water change with a salt mix preferably one with elevated kh n mag levels like red sea coral pro.

Your phosphate level is high. You need a nutrient export method, consider gfo.

Your calcium depletion should be low, can just get something like red sea foundation elements liquid. Easy to use.

Find out why your magensium levels are low, either your test kit is giving you a false low reading or you havent been adding enough magnesium supplement.

[soggycookies]

Magnesium n calcium bonding? How? Magnesium n calcium ions are both positively charged... only way i can think of is with some chelating agent.
Magnesium actually stays pretty stable because it is a major element. In terms of relative weight magnesium is only about 3x more but there are about 5 times as much magnesium ions as calcium ions.
 
As for dosing magnesium theres only two common means. Magnesium sulfate n magnesium chloride. You need to dose alot, over time to push up magnesium levels. If you have a 100L tank. To raise Mg levels from 1000 PPM to 1400PPM u need to add 160g of MgCl2. About 40g of magnesium ions.
 

Pardon me for my poor attempt to explain and simplify at the same time hahahah. I’m no chemistry expert but what I meant by “other ions like calcium” are exactly the other elements magnesium bonds with(sulfate, chloride ions) that are generally more abundant in NSW than calcium, particularly in the confines of a reef aquarium stacked with corals and other creatures that rely on calcium to grow.

What I meant by magnesium being unstable in his system is that that particular magnesium additive might not be at high enough quantities like you mentioned.


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[Full Hedge]

 

7 minutes ago, soggycookies said:

Pardon me for my poor attempt to explain and simplify at the same time hahahah. I’m no chemistry expert but what I meant by “other ions like calcium” are exactly the other elements magnesium bonds with(sulfate, chloride ions) that are generally more abundant in NSW than calcium, particularly in the confines of a reef aquarium stacked with corals and other creatures that rely on calcium to grow.

What I meant by magnesium being unstable in his system is that that particular magnesium additive might not be at high enough quantities like you mentioned.


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So like calcium being precipitated out as calcium carbonate?

With Magnesium you should not be seeing any ‘practical’ depletion due to precipitation as carbonate ion.

Magnesium wont precpitate out as magnesium sulfate or chloride in a reef tank. 

Solubility product of magnesium chloride is very much higher than that of magnesium carbonate. Thats also why we dose Mg chloride not Mg carbonate.

[nyxnhh]

10 hours ago, he said:

What brand of magnesium are you using ? If you are using those food grade magnesium, you need to dose alot more to rise up the mg level

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seachem reef advantage magnesium. I am dosing as per recommended amount on the label.

[nyxnhh]

11 hours ago, soggycookies said:

Magnesium as an element doesn’t stay at stable levels if it’s bonding quickly with other ions like calcium in the water. If your magnesium is depleted very quickly it could be because of your constantly high calcium levels


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my Ca is within the normal range at 440 to 460. this shouldnt be considered high, right? should i test my Mg immediately after adding? i dont usually test it immediately but i test my water every alternate days. so if i added Mg today, i would test my water tomorrow and the reading would usually be at 960 to 990. it could be considered stable less the fact that it is kinda low in comparison to the ideal level of 1250ppm. No?

[nyxnhh]

9 hours ago, Full Hedge said:

If you have been adding Mg supplements at such levels. I suspect is the test kit.

To remedy your situation in short n long term

I recommend

Do 3x 30% water change with a salt mix preferably one with elevated kh n mag levels like red sea coral pro.

Your phosphate level is high. You need a nutrient export method, consider gfo.

Your calcium depletion should be low, can just get something like red sea foundation elements liquid. Easy to use.

Find out why your magensium levels are low, either your test kit is giving you a false low reading or you havent been adding enough magnesium supplement.

whats the ideal test kit for Mg? I am using Salifert

[Full Hedge]

I using salifert too.

You should be adding more magnesium

like a few times what you are adding now.

go with my water change recommendation, test again the add respectively.

easier to just do water change than to add alot of magnesium every day n test.