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Ca and Mg still low despite dosing B-Ionic

itsacrispy

itsacrispy

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Hi all,

I can't update my old thread, but here's the link to it for background info: http://www.bareefers.org/discussion/index.php?topic=6700.15

I purchased ESV's B-Ionic Ca and Mg last week, along with Ca and Mg test kits. The initial test prior to dosing showed Ca at 400 and Mg at 1100. It appears Ca is a tad low (standard is 450 I believe), but Mg was way off (standard is 1350 I believe).

I cleared out about 80% of the Halimeda and other calciferous algae after testing. I then dosed the prescribed amounts for the past week and tested the water last night. Ca still showed 400 and Mg still showed 1100.

Does anyone know why there's been no change in Ca and Mg? The instructions show that Mg should increase by 100 PPM after 1 week of dosing. I'm guessing that the surviving calciferous algae and hammer coral could be sucking up the additional Ca and Mg, but I was wondering if there could be other causes.

Thanks in advance!
 
Well I may be wrong but I thout B-ionic was Cal and Alk not mg. And in fact sometimes dosing the B-ionic required you to also add mg.

The amounts you dose should be dictated by what your levels are, so if they haven't incresed you should increse your dose, go a 5-10 ml increase and test, see what your levels are are and adjust. At some point you will find what the tank/corals need to stay consistant
 
You'll need a LOT of mg to increase it to noticeable level. Using B-Ionic alone to correct the ratio is probably not going to work without overdosing your Ca. So, I'd recommend focus on bringing up your Mg first, and then your Ca. Make sure you use reliable test kit also.
 
Thanks guys.

I have ESV's Ca & Alk two-part solution, as well as ESV's Mg solution. I've been dosing all three bottles.

As for the test kits, I have a Red Sea Ca test kit and Salifert Mg test kit.

I think I'm going to have to go bulk in my ESV solutions then, cause I'm almost out of the 32 oz Mg bottle :(.
 
Well going bulk is way worth it. As far as the dosing if you are trying to rasie the levels you have to dose MORE then they recomend to bring it up, use one of the reef calulators to give you and idea. And FYI the red sea test kit for mg SUCKS big time.
 
Mike...I have two 1 gallon of B-Ionic Mg in stock. Dunno how much off the top of my head though. I think it's $10,000 a gal... :bigsmile:
 
Roc said:
Well going bulk is way worth it. As far as the dosing if you are trying to rasie the levels you have to dose MORE then they recomend to bring it up, use one of the reef calulators to give you and idea. And FYI the red sea test kit for mg SUCKS big time.
Click to expand...

Good point, I'll check out RC's calculator. As for as Red Sea test kits go, I'm not using their Mg kit, but I am using their Ca kit; does that one suck too?
 
robert4025 said:
Mike...I have two 1 gallon of B-Ionic Mg in stock. Dunno how much off the top of my head though. I think it's $10,000 a gal... :bigsmile:
Click to expand...

Haha, thanks robert ;) ! Now if you're really willing to sell them, can you pm me where you live and how much you'd like for the bottles?
 
Mike, going "bulk" is best using "Randy's Two Part Solution" (For Calcium & Alkalinity). ESV B-Ionic will cost you an arm and a leg. Compare the cost of B-Ionic CA&Alk to;

4 pounds of CaCl from "Leslie's Pool Supply" (I think it's called "Hardness Plus") = $11
12 pounds of Baking Soda from CostCo = $6

You can make several GALLONS of balanced CA & ALK solution with that, following Randy's recipe.

As for Magnesium, you can try using Epsom Salt (4 pounds for $3 at drug stores). Read Randy's article (Google "Randy's Two Part")

V
 
Thanks Vince. I'll read up on the article a bit more, way too much to process right now. The thing is, I just don't know what could be sucking up the Ca and Mg so quickly. I already took out 80% of the halimeda, and the only major consumer of Ca and Mg that I can think of is the hammer coral.
 
Red sea calcium test kit is junk, it doesn't even work for me. Surprisingly, despite the dumb instructions and people at Redsea, there MG test kit is pretty accurate for me.

I had some trouble with Tetra, Red Sea and API calcium test kits for the longest time. I was not getting an accurate calcium reading until I stepped it up and bought the Salifert test kit.

What is your alk at?

FWIW, calc at 400 seems ok, mag at 1100 is a little low from what I've read. Check out this link: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php if you haven't seen it already. My magnesium was extremely low in both of my tanks (thanks to the salt I was using), I use and still use Kent's tech M, it takes A LOT of that stuff to raise magnesium just a little bit.

If your going to be at the meeting, I have a carton of Epsom salts I can give to you?
 
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