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Mag test readings


Jimbo662

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Ok...I'm at a complete loss here. My mag has been very consistent and averaging around 1320 since I set the tank up at the beginning of the year. A couple of weeks ago it shot up with a reading one day of 1380 and two days later 1410. I thought it may have coincided with a new test kit. I took a sample and had Ty test it and his reading showed 1290 which seemed about right as I'd turned off the dosing pump a couple of days before. I ordered a new test kit thinking the original one was bad. Got the new kit today and did two tests...both read 1410. Any ideas what my be affecting it?????

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3 minutes ago, Dogfish said:

Manufacturing / expiration date on new test kits the same?

yep, that's the first thing I checked. 08/21

I've not changed anything in my process. After testing I always wash everything in warm soapy water then rinse well in RODI water and let dry.

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19 minutes ago, Gig 'em @ NDstructible said:

Do you and Ty use different brands of test kits?

Same brand...Salifert. Was going to try to get some of his water and test it to see how it compares to his also.

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8 hours ago, FarmerTy said:
22 hours ago, Jimbo662 said:
Same brand...Salifert. Was going to try to get some of his water and test it to see how it compares to his also.

No way, first sample is free. Second one is gonna cost you.

dude...I was gonna test your water for FREE and tell you your mag was too high! 😋

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4 minutes ago, FarmerTy said:
49 minutes ago, Jimbo662 said:
dude...I was gonna test your water for FREE and tell you your mag was too high! emoji39.png

That's what all the scammers offer... Free candy... Then boom! They steal your bike right out from under you!

Oh man...I just noticed your new avatar!  that is so cool!!!!

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You said you turned off your dosing pump, I'm assuming it was dosing magnesium?   Did you change your alkalinity and/or calcium dosing?  Did you make a big change to your lights or lighting schedule?  Endoliths are dissolving the sand and rock in your system but not all organisms that use bicarbonate are also going to use magnesium like corals.  If something disrupted your corals calcification process you might still see bicarbonate being used but magnesium might not be.

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I rarely test more than monthly but I'm curious if you tested at the same time each day.  Have you tried testing in the morning and evening to see if there's a change?

In this thread I had the magnesium climp over 2000 without adding anything and after 2 years it's still staying fairly high, ~1800 last time I checked.  It also was not the source RO as I did not have this problem with other system using the same water.  Aproxamately two months prior to posting the thread I had a timer fail in the on position and the lights were on for several days before it was noticed.   Most of the corals did not  "appear" to have any ill effect except for the bubble coral in the middle which kept declining over several more months before I gave up and removed it.  

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I usually test between noon and 1pm. The last test I did with 2nd kit I got was at around 5pm as soon as it was delivered and that was at 1410. With Ty's test showing 1290 a couple of days after turning the pump off it's got to be bad test kits. I'm going to take a sample to RCA tomorrow as well as test myself from the same sample.

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Well...RCA doesn't do Mag tests. I bought a Red Sea kit while I was there. Just did two tests and they showed around 1600.  I also tested the 45g that's had no dosing for about a month. Using both the Salifert and Red Sea both showed readings between 1260 and 1280 which I would expect. As Tim mentions above it couldn't be the RO water as both tanks use the same water filter.

One thing I have thought of was when I refilled my dosing containers I wonder if I could have mixed them up. It seems unlikely because alk and cal are always consistent.

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1 hour ago, jolt said:

If you are running magnesium supplement off a doser, is it possible the doser is pumping at a faster rate than you expect?

That was one of the first things I thought too. I checked the container and it's still almost full. I have it set to dose 2ml per day.

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I just ran another set of tests:

Salifert #1: 1350

Salifert #2: 1365

Red Sea: 1460

I also ordered an ICP test so we'll see what those results show. I'll run my tests again the day I take a sample for the ICP so I can compare with what it shows.

Is there a way to test the solution that I'm dosing? Now wondering if maybe I mixed it wrong. I'm going to mix a fresh batch just in case.

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