muddybluewater Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Why spend $8 every 2 days? If you buy it in bulk you are going to save a ton of money. Enough magnesium to make a full gallon is $10 at BRS. After you raise your Mag to the correct levels a gallon should last you about 2 months. If you need to dose strontium buy a bottle of that You should not need to add it very often. Once or twice between water changes. I use Reef Crystals( by Instant Ocean) I know their a lot of people who use the Red Sea Pro. There are some higher end salts available but I am happy with RC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 I agree, I will be buying bulk next time, much less expensive. Until you mentioned it I didn't realzie that was an option at any of our LFS. My Mg sarted at 1110 ppm, I changed 60 gallons of water yesterday and added one dose of the Mg supplement, now my Mg has dropped to 1060 ppm. This doesn't make sense...I used a Salifert test kit so I assume that my readings are accurate. I'm going to stick with the plan and keep adding the supplement daily, just thought that was odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 You will have to get the bulk product from Bulk Reef Supply online. There seems to be someone ordering from them every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I've got a half gallon of MG from BRS that I can split up with you if you'd like it. In your reply you stated that "My water paramters are in my original post which are 0 nitrates, 0 phosphates, 420 Ca, 1,100 Mg, 10.2 KH, and PH between 7.9-8.0." Notice that I said "TANK" and not "water". I did that specifically because you have not told us anything about the tank itself. No pictures of the tank, only of the fuge. No list of fish, inverts, corals, etc.... We can only guess as to what is in the tank and why you want to keep the PH up. As to your question about my RO, I am unsure how to answer that as my RO has nothing to do with the reply. I stated in my reply that I dose KALK heavily. The answer to your question is that the Kalk keeps my PH way up around 12 before being auto-top offed into my system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 I really appreciate the offer, I think that I will try the aquavitro since my strontium levels are low too. I live in Elgin and had planned to go to Aquatek today to pick some up. ahhh...I see, I misunderstood your question. Here is a link to the post where I introdcued myself to the forum, there are some pics and a list of most of our livestock. All the way from Elgin, hello.... - Austin Reef Club You said that you drip 12.0 PH water in to your tank. I assumed this was RO water and wasn't sure if you were adding something in it to get it to 12.0 or if it came out of your RO machine at 12.0. I'm not sure the PH of local tap water but my RO water is around 8.5 (from a well). Seems like the PH tap water in our area would be high because of all the limestone in our aquafiers, but 12.0 would be high now that I think about it. You answered my question though...you are adding Kalk to your top off water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 I guess this is why it is so important for me to get my PH up... Last night I noticed ich on my powder blue tang, he very quickly took a turn for the worst and this morning he looks like he is about to die, the ich is MUCH worse. I also see ich on my other tangs, just not as bad. I tested my water paramters and everything is great except my PH which has dropped to 7.6. I have no idea why this has happended...again. THIS I did a 60 gallon water change last weekend, I ran air stones in the water, added buffer and Mg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 So just an update. My ph has dropped back to 7.6 a few times since I posted this, I'm constantly juggling between to high KH and to high PH. Right now my ph is at 7.8 and my KH is at 14. I have added an entire 1 gallon jug of Mg ESV B-ionic and raised my Mg from 1110 to 1170, no where near the 1350 suggested. Looks like I will be buying 5-6 more gallons to bring it up also I'm going to find out what salt has the highest Mg and only use that. This is very frustrating. Because of these PH swings I had an major ich ourbreak that killed my powder blue, happeded very quickly. I treated my display tank with kich ich because some of my fish are impossible to catch and within 24 hours I lost my scooter blenny and lawnmower blenny, both were extremely healthy and had no signs of ich...I'm sure they died from the kich ich. Decided to treat the tangs with copper in QT, this is when I lost the powder brown. My cleaner wrasse had ich so since they aren't tolerant of copper treatments (so I read) I put it and a cardnial fish in a tank with formulin. Cardnial fish died within 12hrs and the cleaner wrasse who I moved back to the tank now has been hiding for days, I only see him out a couple minutes a day, I know it doesn't feel good. I have my remaining tangs in my 72 gallon tank now, they are eating and no ich has popped up, crossing my fingers. I learned something interesting about this ordeal, I have the 72 and a 36 with puffers tied in with my display tank. There is a UV sterilizer light between the sump and the 2 tanks, so all of the water going to the 2 tanks is treated. The ich was not passed to the other tanks (puffers are ich magnets) which makes sense but it was nice to prove that it works. For the future I will have a QT tank for new fish that is tied in with my system with uv lights on the in and outs (no treatment added af course). This way I can take advantage of using my tank water and not worry about ammonia and nitrates building up and also proper temperature would be easier to maintain while not putting my other fish at risk. Is there something that can pass through that the uv wouldn't kill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ludakris Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 im not sure what the effects on an older tank would be but ive had my setup for almost a month and my ph was at 7.8 for the longest...i did a water change with ro/di water and i checked it again about an hour afterwards....my ph went up to 8.4...im not sure what ur doing ur water changes with..dont want to sound dumb or anything..im kinda new...just sharing my experience.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 It sounds like you have a high C02 concentration in the air in your house which is driving down your pH even tho your KH is in line. I just went through the same thing, but finally have it nailed down. Our members are giving you great advice so I'll add to what has already been thrown out there 1. Absolutely get 2 part solution from BRS. Its the most cost effective and easy to use. Shameless plug: I'll be setting up my Ca reactor in the next few weeks so I'll have 2-3 full kits and dosing bottles that you can buy off me or if you want it earlier, I can setup a group buy for us. 2. Getting your parameters in check will help a lot. It took me 2 weeks to get all my levels to a good consistent level (right now I'm @ 9.5/400/1250+ for KH/Ca/Mg) and since then my pH is more stable and my coral growth has really taken off. I've never had an fish ich outbreak as I feed garlic in with my mysis shrimp, but I'm sure having steady water params helps the fish too. How to get your parameters in check...(see next point) 3. Start dosing Kalk in your top off. Kalk is VERY cheap (I got a gallon worth from BRS for $11. I use 8 teaspoons per 5G of top off water so it'll last me a while). Since adding the Kalk, my pH never goes below 8.00 even at night and I rarely dose Alk anymore. I used to dose 30 mL's of Alk a day. My calcium stays right @ 400 where it used to drop to 320 in a day even though I'd use to dose 60 mL's+ of Calcium a day. Note...I use Red Sea salt and love it. River City sells it locally for $55 for 180 (?) worth. 4. The C02 scrubber worked well, but it ate media like candy. The company that makes the C02 scrubber sells replacement cartridges for $25 and I'd blow through those in 2 weeks. Several forum members found cheaper C02 media solutions, but I found those to last only for 5-7 days. So the C02 scrubber wasnt cost effective for me at all. Bottom line: dose BRS' 2 part solution and add Kalk to your top off water. BRS' two part kits include Mg so you can knock that out as well at the same time. Kalk is a cheap alternative to the CO2 scrubber and works better IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Thank you for the advice, I would like to purchase any 2 part that you can part with, this weekend would be great if possible. I had read that co2 could be the issue in some other forums and since the tank is in my office the co2 levels are higher than normal. To combat that a month ago I ran the airline for my skimmer outside to my garage to bring in fresh air and also set up an air pump outside that is attached to 4 air stones that are in my overflows. It didn't make any difference, not sure if it's not enough or if that not my problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Thank you for the advice, I would like to purchase any 2 part that you can part with, this weekend would be great if possible. I had read that co2 could be the issue in some other forums and since the tank is in my office the co2 levels are higher than normal. To combat that a month ago I ran the airline for my skimmer outside to my garage to bring in fresh air and also set up an air pump outside that is attached to 4 air stones that are in my overflows. It didn't make any difference, not sure if it's not enough or if that not my problem. running your line outside probably isn't enough. I did the same thing and until I ran the line outside AND added in the C02 scrubber, I didn't see a huge benefit. Now with the kalk water, I've fixed the issue. I'll PM you about the 2 part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Did you say something about Kalk fixing your problem? Man did I mention that earlier? BTW: Feeding garlic does NOT prevent anything. Many people think it is a MEDICINE, it is a food. Some have noted that garlic can help create a feeding response and well fed fish tend to have a healthy immune system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Yep...shoulda done Kalk a long time ago!! Err...healthy immune system = less disease. Nothing prevents any disease outbreak but a healthy immune system lends itself to helping prevent diseases Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Doesn't kalk raise the KH (my KH is already high)? Here is some info from Seachem that I found. Severely depleted levels of magnesium (below 800 mg/L) can cause depressed pH levels and an inability to maintain proper calcium levels. The most frequent causes of magnesium deficiency are use of kalkwasser, frequent overdosing of a carbonate additive, or low levels in the salt mix itself. Kalkwasser, for instance, precipitates magnesium as magnesium hydroxide while excess carbonates precipitate it as magnesium carbonate. In both cases, this means that magnesium that was present in the water is now unavailable. So I'm confused, do I use kalk to raise my ph while depleting my Mg even further or do I add Mg to get my levels stable to try and raise my ph that way??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I use kalk and supplement Mg. Since I started using kalk, my mg has not dropped below 1250 so if my Mg is getting pulled down, I'm not noticing it. So I'd add in kalk and keep your Mg dosing regement. Note: I'm not overdosing carbonate additive. I'm adding some kalk to my top off, but not near the maximum dose. And I've been able to cut back on my Ca dosing as the kalk is providing a fair amount of Ca. The issue arises when Ca is being dosed and the additional Ca on the kalk isn't accounted for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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