Magnesium Test Kits (1 Viewer)

[emixa]

Happy New Year to all and I hope that it was a good one!

I have a baffling question for all the test kit reefers. We all have our preferred test kits for each selection, whether it is Elos, Salifert, Red Sea, Hanna and now Nyos.

Magnesium: I have always been told that Elos was not an accurate means for testing. Alot have stated that Salifert seemed to be the best. Well, I have to question that or maybe my water parameters.

Lately, i have started to see a growth of hair algae. The real hair type and the other that seems to be a little more scruffy. I checked my parameters and of course notice that my phosphate is at .08 (which I will be doing another water change and now adding GFO and taking my carbon off line). Then the next thing is that I always thought that the increase of your magnesium would assist in this nuisance. Which brings up this whole question.

Using Elos,it shows that my Mag reading is in the low 1200's. Using the Salifert test kit, I cant get the test color to turn grey or blue using all the fluid in the injector. Then i decided to pull more fluid in the injector and keep adding drops and it finally turned blue; interesting. So when I questioned this, I was told that maybe the fluid went under temp change which might have compromised the integrity of the fluids; ok. So I bought another one and had the same results. So recently, I was told to try another test kit and bought the Nyos test kits.

So for kicks and giggles, I ran 2 different water sample test kits; my new water batch and my present tank sample. Interest results occurred. Using the Fritz salt mix at 1.025 gravity, I received the following: Alk: 6.5 dK, Cal: 470, Mag:1480, and funny but no phosphates (sorry, but i was also testing the integrity of my hanna checker as well). So testing my present tank water using Nyos: the magnesium was off the charts. I mean using the suggested amounts, my water never changed colors. I decided to use more of the reagent to see when it would turn colors, and it was ridiculous......this baffles me. I haven't dosed Magnesium in forever. Oh, by the way, i am running a reactor. Presently, my Alk is 9.5 and my Cal shows to be 600,which is another weird thing.

Thoughts?

I guess the reason behind all this is that i would like to bring my tank back to the way it used to be. I have lost about 90% of my SPS and truly miss my old tank (sniff).

Thanks for reading...

 

[Diesel]

Ok, there are a few misunderstandings here.
First is a high Magnesium level isn't the way to reduce your HA.
Second, phosphate isn't the problem here from your HA......... pretty sure it is phosphorus.
Phosphorus is also the problem that your Cal level is high as it will stop your corals from taking it in.
Many ppl make the mistake and think that GFO reduces the Po4 in your water, well........ wrong and right.
GFO removes the phosphorus which if not present can't turn into Po4.
Better test for your phosphorus level first.
A good skimmer reduces about 29% of your Po4 and healthy corals reduces most of the Po4 as that is nutrients for them.
Corals can't do anything with Phosphorus but HA can.
WC as in twice a week 1o% will help you short term on your phosphorus problem.

Dosing Mag can be helpful as it will help to bring your ALK and CAL back into balance.
My suggestion is turn off your CaRx and start dosing manual some Mag till you get close to 1400 or 1500 but not higher than that.
This will help with your ALK and CAL consumption in your tank.
Daily testing on your Alk is a must and weekly on Cal and Mag, once all is in check/balance still daily testing on Alk is a must.
Register your testings always with date and time in case if you need to look back and see where you went wrong.
I also advice to get a No3 test kit as this will tell you what nutrients level you are.
You tackle with one test three findings and I will tell you how.
If No3 (nitrate) is high your Po4 can be low as also your phosphorus, if No3 is low than you starving your corals and feeding your algae which every tank has but if under control it will not bother you.
I include a link from Randy to understand the Phosphorus a bit better or maybe not as a lot is written in scientist terms.

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Phosphorus: Algae's Best Friend — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

 

[emixa]

Ben,

This all makes sense and i truly appreciate the feedback. I guess I truly have more issues then I thought but one at a time. My biggest concern is 'which' test kit is going to give me the more accurate reading? As of now, both Salifert and Nyos are telling me that my Magnesium reading are well over 1500, which I find hard to believe since I havent dosed Mag in some time. Then I have to question if I am doing the tests right since the readings are so high. The only test that has given me the best 'believable' readings was the Elos test kit, but I have seen so many contradicting results from other reefers.

I will say that for a while, I was recording my findings on a note book, with dates, and time notated. I have always had an issue with my Mag readings,and have never received a decisive answer. I guess now, I am trying to get to the holy grail finally bring my tank husbandry back to what it once was. I havent run a Nitrate test in years, just thinking that was a bit behind me and more for the start-up enthusiast; something else to note. I had to shut down my skimmer until a do a water change as for some reason, it was going nuts on me. I will crank it on again today.

 

[PSXerholic]

Ok, there are a few misunderstandings here.
First is a high Magnesium level isn't the way to reduce your HA.
Second, phosphate isn't the problem here from your HA......... pretty sure it is phosphorus.
Phosphorus is also the problem that your Cal level is high as it will stop your corals from taking it in.
Many ppl make the mistake and think that GFO reduces the Po4 in your water, well........ wrong and right.
GFO removes the phosphorus which if not present can't turn into Po4.
Better test for your phosphorus level first.
A good skimmer reduces about 29% of your Po4 and healthy corals reduces most of the Po4 as that is nutrients for them.
Corals can't do anything with Phosphorus but HA can.
WC as in twice a week 1o% will help you short term on your phosphorus problem.

Dosing Mag can be helpful as it will help to bring your ALK and CAL back into balance.
My suggestion is turn off your CaRx and start dosing manual some Mag till you get close to 1400 or 1500 but not higher than that.
This will help with your ALK and CAL consumption in your tank.
Daily testing on your Alk is a must and weekly on Cal and Mag, once all is in check/balance still daily testing on Alk is a must.
Register your testings always with date and time in case if you need to look back and see where you went wrong.
I also advice to get a No3 test kit as this will tell you what nutrients level you are.
You tackle with one test three findings and I will tell you how.
If No3 (nitrate) is high your Po4 can be low as also your phosphorus, if No3 is low than you starving your corals and feeding your algae which every tank has but if under control it will not bother you.
I include a link from Randy to understand the Phosphorus a bit better or maybe not as a lot is written in scientist terms.

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Phosphorus: Algae's Best Friend — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

Ben, here is some confusion on the Phosphorus in which I get conflicting answers on the math, determining the Phosphate level using for example the Hanna ULR checker.

My reading of Phophorus is 20ppb.
So the conversion factor into Phosphate what I found is 3.066.
And then I need to divide it by 1000 in order to get the result converted into ppm.

Here the math : 20ppb x 3.066 = 61.32 ppb PO4 / 1000 = 0.06132 ppm PO4

Is this the correct way to determine the PO4???
Like you mentioned the Phosphorus is not Phosphate already, but I believe the formula above is assuming that this amount will result in such a PO4 level !?

-Andreas

 

[Diesel]

Ben, here is some confusion on the Phosphorus in which I get conflicting answers on the math, determining the Phosphate level using for example the Hanna ULR checker.

My reading of Phophorus is 20ppb.
So the conversion factor into Phosphate what I found is 3.066.
And then I need to divide it by 1000 in order to get the result converted into ppm.

Here the math : 20ppb x 3.066 = 61.32 ppb PO4 / 1000 = 0.06132 ppm PO4

Is this the correct way to determine the PO4???
Like you mentioned the Phosphorus is not Phosphate already, but I believe the formula above is assuming that this amount will result in such a PO4 level !?

-Andreas

It might but I don't use this formula, the formula is the correct way btw.
If you have a Phosphorus measurement of 20ppb than yes give and take your Po4 will be 0.06 ppm which is great btw.
I can't remember when I test the last time for Po4.
Now I do every week for No3.

 

[Diesel]

Ben,

This all makes sense and i truly appreciate the feedback. I guess I truly have more issues then I thought but one at a time. My biggest concern is 'which' test kit is going to give me the more accurate reading? As of now, both Salifert and Nyos are telling me that my Magnesium reading are well over 1500, which I find hard to believe since I havent dosed Mag in some time. Then I have to question if I am doing the tests right since the readings are so high. The only test that has given me the best 'believable' readings was the Elos test kit, but I have seen so many contradicting results from other reefers.

I will say that for a while, I was recording my findings on a note book, with dates, and time notated. I have always had an issue with my Mag readings,and have never received a decisive answer. I guess now, I am trying to get to the holy grail finally bring my tank husbandry back to what it once was. I havent run a Nitrate test in years, just thinking that was a bit behind me and more for the start-up enthusiast; something else to note. I had to shut down my skimmer until a do a water change as for some reason, it was going nuts on me. I will crank it on again today.

Take a water sample to a LFS which you can trust on their test and double check.
If results are different ask them to test again.
I use Redsea pro on my MAG test, I test once in the 2 weeks for that as it is always the same.
I dose auto through my CaRx for MAG.
You test for Ammonia and Nitrite when you cycle and once you done cycling you will start testing for No3 and Po4.
When you have this under control than your good.
having a tank full of SPS like me you don't want to lack nutrients and for that I test.

 

[PSXerholic]

Ben,

This all makes sense and i truly appreciate the feedback. I guess I truly have more issues then I thought but one at a time. My biggest concern is 'which' test kit is going to give me the more accurate reading? As of now, both Salifert and Nyos are telling me that my Magnesium reading are well over 1500, which I find hard to believe since I havent dosed Mag in some time. Then I have to question if I am doing the tests right since the readings are so high. The only test that has given me the best 'believable' readings was the Elos test kit, but I have seen so many contradicting results from other reefers.

I will say that for a while, I was recording my findings on a note book, with dates, and time notated. I have always had an issue with my Mag readings,and have never received a decisive answer. I guess now, I am trying to get to the holy grail finally bring my tank husbandry back to what it once was. I havent run a Nitrate test in years, just thinking that was a bit behind me and more for the start-up enthusiast; something else to note. I had to shut down my skimmer until a do a water change as for some reason, it was going nuts on me. I will crank it on again today.

You can also use your test kits and test as you think you have used the kits correctly and then order a Triton Test which should then confirm the quality of your tests and readings.
BTW, I have used ELOS as well, and noticed the readings are going off after about 9 months of opening.

 

[PSXerholic]

It might but I don't use this formula, the formula is the correct way btw.
If you have a Phosphorus measurement of 20ppb than yes give and take your Po4 will be 0.06 ppm which is great btw.
I can't remember when I test the last time for Po4.
Now I do every week for No3.

Thx Ben,
I have the Phophorus tester received prior xmas and testing more since trying to find correct daily feeding and VSV dose.
Therefore I brought it to 20ppb and now trying to maintain it.

First test I had 5ppb which was too low as expected, so still working on it.

-Andreas

 

[emixa]

Take a water sample to a LFS which you can trust on their test and double check.
If results are different ask them to test again.
I use Redsea pro on my MAG test, I test once in the 2 weeks for that as it is always the same.
I dose auto through my CaRx for MAG.
You test for Ammonia and Nitrite when you cycle and once you done cycling you will start testing for No3 and Po4.
When you have this under control than your good.
having a tank full of SPS like me you don't want to lack nutrients and for that I test.

Ben,

That is good advice but the fun thing is that i only know of 2 LFS that will test your water, and of those 2 Fish Gallery is the only one i might trust, unless you know of another? I am open that that as well.

When you say that you dose auto through your CaRx, can you explain how you automatically dose Mag through those means. Sorry but I might be out of the times and as you know, I always like to know what thing I might be missing. thanks bud!

 

[emixa]

You can also use your test kits and test as you think you have used the kits correctly and then order a Triton Test which should then confirm the quality of your tests and readings.
BTW, I have used ELOS as well, and noticed the readings are going off after about 9 months of opening.

Andreas,

Thanks for the reply. So on your readings, are you testing on a timely basis as in once a week or a month? I used to fully believe in them until I couldnt get the readings to change. Can you send me the link or what needs to be done for the Triton test?

Again, thanks for the reply.

 

[Diesel]

Ben,

That is good advice but the fun thing is that i only know of 2 LFS that will test your water, and of those 2 Fish Gallery is the only one i might trust, unless you know of another? I am open that that as well.

When you say that you dose auto through your CaRx, can you explain how you automatically dose Mag through those means. Sorry but I might be out of the times and as you know, I always like to know what thing I might be missing. thanks bud!

We have FJW, Oceanlife, Infinity Fish, not sure about "that aquarium place and T&T but just give them all a call. and you pick who's ever closer to you.

Dosing MAG through your CaRx is easy............. just add a bag of Korallen-Zucht Zeomag Magnesium Granulate 1ml

 

[emixa]

We have FJW, Oceanlife, Infinity Fish, not sure about "that aquarium place and T&T but just give them all a call. and you pick who's ever closer to you.

Dosing MAG through your CaRx is easy............. just add a bag of Korallen-Zucht Zeomag Magnesium Granulate 1ml

Ben,

I have asked Dennis before at FJW and i know that he doesnt test at his place. I will try Oceanlife and Infinity Fish. I have never been to Infinity.

Thanks for the advice for the adding of Mag Granulate.

So here is another question since you did bring up the whole CaRx thing. Have you ever noticed that your Argonite Calcium media become dirty in the reactor chamber? It might have been stemmed from my lack of cleaning the water. Should i pull it offline and re-rinse the media?

 

[Diesel]

Ben,

I have asked Dennis before at FJW and i know that he doesnt test at his place. I will try Oceanlife and Infinity Fish. I have never been to Infinity.

Thanks for the advice for the adding of Mag Granulate.

So here is another question since you did bring up the whole CaRx thing. Have you ever noticed that your Argonite Calcium media become dirty in the reactor chamber? It might have been stemmed from my lack of cleaning the water. Should i pull it offline and re-rinse the media?

Yes you can rinse the media.
How long ago is it that the media been in there?

Weird thing is that I've seen Dennis do some test for clients.

The answer on the Triton test is simple.
Visit the UC site to order or any of our LFS who carry the test, recommended is 3 tests so that you can take a "baseline" reeding of your reef, with a second test to track any adjustments made after the initial test, and a third test to determine what trace elements are being utilized at a higer rate than others after the initial adjustments.
Myself order the 6 pack as I send in every other month to check on the element status.

1) Visit Triton Labs website (Triton Labor | Triton GmbH) and click on "Register". You will be prompted to provide a username, password, and email address.
2) You will receive an ID number for your test. Be sure to write down this number on the sticker provided with the test kit or on the vials.

3) Collect the sample from your aquarium by rinsing the 2 test vials 3 times with aquarium water, then fill the vials completely and cap them tightly.

4) Affix the label with your ID number to the filled test vial. Be sure to write down the ID number and keep it in a safe place for future reference.

5) Place the vial containing your sample into the self-addressed envelope provided, attach required postage, and return to us.

6) Please allow two weeks for transport and testing of the sample.

7) Log in to your account on the Triton site with your username and password to retrieve your test data.



Triton Labs ICP-OES Water Test- Full Panel Test Packet - TRITON - GOODS

 

[emixa]

Ben,

Thanks for the information. Dennis must not like me anymore......thanks Dennis!!!

 

[malira]

I know oceanlife test if they're not to busy.

 

[PSXerholic]

Andreas,

Thanks for the reply. So on your readings, are you testing on a timely basis as in once a week or a month? I used to fully believe in them until I couldnt get the readings to change. Can you send me the link or what needs to be done for the Triton test?

Again, thanks for the reply.

I dose MAG on a dosing pump with a Brightwell stock solution, since about 6 months I dose 9ml every hour and have only to test once in a while and won't needed any adjustments to maintain 1400.
But to get there I tested every three days, then weekly, biweekly until stable and since then once in a while.
I need 2.5G every 6-7weeks at the minute.

Here the Triton link:
Triton Lab | Triton GmbH

The german stuff at the minute on their site means they are not accepting any tests to be sent in, due to holidays.
If you order a test, they will send you container and at the time you receive them they will have continued their service.

Hope that helps,
let me know if you have anything else on the testing.

 

[emixa]

I dose MAG on a dosing pump with a Brightwell stock solution, since about 6 months I dose 9ml every hour and have only to test once in a while and won't needed any adjustments to maintain 1400.
But to get there I tested every three days, then weekly, biweekly until stable and since then once in a while.
I need 2.5G every 6-7weeks at the minute.

Here the Triton link:
Triton Lab | Triton GmbH

The german stuff at the minute on their site means they are not accepting any tests to be sent in, due to holidays.
If you order a test, they will send you container and at the time you receive them they will have continued their service.

Hope that helps,
let me know if you have anything else on the testing.

Many thanks for the information. I havent had a chance to get to Oceanlife so i will be making a trip in the next day or so.

 

[emixa]

So some interesting facts. I went to Oceanlife today and enjoyed my time there and got my water tested. I looks like I need to change out some of my older test kits and then learned some other inside things. found out that the saltwater sample from my tank i provided was or has something else to it. when tested there the following were the results:

Salinity: 1.029
Alk: 7.5ish
Cal: 480
Mag: 1580
pH: 8.0
Phosphate: .08
Nitrates: very slight detection but not enough to be alarmed.

So i guess the mag test that i have is not off. I do have high mag, which might be a stem from my alk being off. I was also told that while its good that my goal be to do weekly 10% changes, it might not be wise right now since i might end up shocking my system and i still have a couple of corals. he advised to be consistent on my water changes then start to lessen the time to 15% every 2 weeks a few times and then drop it to 10% on a weekly basis. so we thought that my salt might be an issue for the stress on my corals so we thought that the problem was the refractor i was using. I brought in (2) separate samples: 1 tank and 1 water change (being cycled). So the salinity from my tank was super high (1.029) and the salinity for my water change was 1.025 (on the dot). both mixes were used with the same refractormeter. i came and re-calibrated my refractor and my tank water shows to be 1.025 and the WC barrel shows to be 1.025...so not sure what happened there but i ordered another Red Sea refractor. i am raising my Alk from 7.5ish to 9-10 Dkh. I plan to pull my reactor out and rinse out the media. Then another thing came up, my lights. I run (2) 250w MH and 2 magenta LED stunner strips. my LED strips are burning out and only half of the lights and working. i was told that the "magenta" is not a 0good color scheme since it includes red and green so that might the reason for the stem of my (2) strands of hair algae. So the stunner strips are now off and will be trashed. so my tank will only have light from the MH and i will change the lit time from 6 to 8 hours. on a plus side, i did notice that since i have cleaned out the refugium side of the rock and sand bed and now bare bottom with only chaeto, i dont see the slimmer hair algae growing as much and now decreasing. the other one is growing in the over-flow area. not sure what to use to clear that.

Anyways, just some heads up and confirmation of the results.

 

[Diesel]

Ok, I'm going to say something here and after that I rest my case.

Salinity: 1.029......... yes that's high but you test 1.025 on your redsea??
Note: I won't go for a redsea refracto as it's known you have to calibrate every time before use, just ask around.

Alk: 7.5ish..............if you run a LNS this isn't alarming but be on the save side and raise it to 8ish.

Cal: 480 .............not bad at all
Mag: 1580...........Same way don't chase your mag too much.
pH: 8.0...............if you raise your ALK this might come in a bit higher too. Really you need to know your morning (before light on) and evening ( before the peak lights go off)
Phosphate: .08.............. looks good to me.
Nitrates: very slight detection but not enough to be alarmed.............. what is the magic #?? most tanks go bad cause ppl think you have to run this close to 0......... wrong!!
No3 can be as low as 0.2 but not lower better is when you play between 0.25 and 0.4, slightly elevated No3 will keep your Po4 at bay too.

 

[PSXerholic]

Emixa,
Amen to what Ben mentioned so far.
I keep No3 at least at 0.25 and try not to exceed 0.5, but have best results when around 0.25
Below 0.25 some of my SPS get a hit after few days on colorization.

One thing that I do see very often in general on many (very many,lol) Aquarists, is that they do the mistake and do not swirl the reagents prior use.
On Salifert Alk test for expample that can make you 2-3 off, really!!!
That basically applies to all test kits and all reagents generally.

You want to keep the reagents accurate in their mixture as well so you get good test results for the time you have them.
Not sure what Ben's experience is on this, but probably similar.

Happy Reefing,
-PSXerholic