1 goes up 1 goes down Grrrr...

Have been doseing with baking soda last couple of days, got my alk up from 6 to 8, ph 8.2-8.4, superb, but found that increaseing alk lowers calcium and my calcium was already low to start with 390ppm, its now after raiseing the alk that its dropped to a mere 350ppm, my mag is 1140ppm,
But as i understand it in order to raise my calcium i must first raise my magnesium to desired level 1350ppm, in order for it to hold the calcium?

And 2 when i add the calcium my alk will drop, its like a yo yo, how do i get round this?

 

You answered your own question Once you raise your magnesium, the calcium and alk will no longer fight each other.

 

Ok my 4x500g of epsom salts arrived today, check out the picks , is this the good stuff?





Is it ok for me to take a bucket of water out my tank and treat half the amount today and the other tomorrow, i require 376.4g/13.2oz

 

Bump...

 

That's should work fine. Some preparations, such as Bulk Reef Supply's, use a 50/50 mix of magnesium sulfate (epsom salts), and magnesium chloride. According to Randy Holmes Farley, limiting the use of mag sulfate will ensure no gradual buildup of sulfates in the aquarium. I suppose the good news is lots of people use epsom salts as their sole method of boosting magnesium, so perhaps the risk is groundless.

There's some conflicting info as to how much alk can be raised in a day. Some say dump it in, some say raise it a max of 100 ppm/day. In your position, I'd probably take a 1 liter bottle of water, fill it half way with RO/DI water, half way with the magnesium sulfate, shake to dissolve and pour it into a high flow area (I use my outgoing overflow for adding stuff). Wait a few hours, check your mag, and do this once per day until you're at about 1500 ppm.

I have never mixed this stuff with saltwater, so I'm not sure if you'll get a sufficient amount to dissolve. I've always used RO/DI, but I suppose the worst case scenario with saltwater would be the necessity for a larger volume to accomplish your needs.

Good luck!

 

I would raise you mag overe a 2 or 3 day span just to be safe. Prob no big issues here but thats a lot to raise mag in one day. I have mixed epsom salts with tank water before it just takes a little longer to dissolve.

 

Hello, the best way to go about this is to add the Epsom salt to raise the Mag about 60 ppm per day until you reach the desired target level. This will be trial and error. Now once you reach that level do not add anymore and check the Mag concentration after 2 days. This will tell you the "fall off" rate or how much your tank is using. If after 2 days your Mag is holding, go another 2 days and check it again. To properly dose you must determine when and how much to dose. As you start to raise your Mag and have raised it at least 100 ppm or so you then use the same method to determine your Calc and Alk dosing.

Here is an example of my schedule:
Sunday ML Wednesday ML
Calc 20 Calc 20
Alk 20 Alk 20
Mag 50 Amino Acids 15
Monday Thursday
Calc 20 Calc 20
Alk 20 Alk 20
Stront/Molly 5 5 Mag 50
Tuesday Friday
Calc 20 Calc 20
Alk 20 Alk 20
Mag 50
Saturday
Iodine & 5
Amino Acids 15
Other elements
As needed after water testing

 

That's the reason you add calcium and alk equally. So both go up.

And you are correct you should get magnesium to to 1300 or so. Just don't be surprised at how much magnesium it takes. Afterall you are increasing magnesium 200ppm but calcium only 50ppm or so.


my .02

 

cheers

 

Will mix it up today with a litre of ro make up, i mixed the soda with ro and it dissolved straight away, because my tank was full the next day i tried mixing it with some water from the tank and it never even dissolved, just sank to bottom of bucket and was still sitting there half hour later, so ime it dissolves a lot quicker using ro/makeup water./..