JWarren
Active Member
So you say your syringe reading is .175
Syringe scale:
- 0
- 0.01
- 0.02
- 0.03
- 0.04
-- 0.05
- 0.06
- 0.07
- 0.08
- 0.09
----- 0.1
- 0.11
- 0.12
- 0.13
- 0.14
-- 0.15
- 0.16
- 0.17 < You are between .17 and .18 at color change
- 0.18
- 0.19
----- 0.2
So, (1-.175 = .825) * 1500 = 1237.5
You are correct. But still not way low on Mg. Lot's of people run theirs at 1250. I keep mine at 1300 and there are those that push it up to 1500 and have massive amounts of Coraline algae growing on everything.
I have never seen a need to run the Mg at higher levels than 1300, maybe I am missing out on something, but I doubt it. Plus since I am using Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) exclusively right now, I do not want to drive up sulfate levels in the water column.
The only need to run higher levels of Mg is if you have a tank jammed full of stonies and the Ca and Alk intake by the inhabitants was high as well. All three work hand in hand with each other. Weeks of testing will show you what is being consumed and the adjustments to doses to maintain the balance you want to run your tank at will become apparent.
Run your tank at 1300 for a while and do some tests, it won't take long for you to figure out how much you need to add to keep it there.
Here is a copy of my instruction for comparison.
Syringe scale:
- 0
- 0.01
- 0.02
- 0.03
- 0.04
-- 0.05
- 0.06
- 0.07
- 0.08
- 0.09
----- 0.1
- 0.11
- 0.12
- 0.13
- 0.14
-- 0.15
- 0.16
- 0.17 < You are between .17 and .18 at color change
- 0.18
- 0.19
----- 0.2
So, (1-.175 = .825) * 1500 = 1237.5
You are correct. But still not way low on Mg. Lot's of people run theirs at 1250. I keep mine at 1300 and there are those that push it up to 1500 and have massive amounts of Coraline algae growing on everything.
I have never seen a need to run the Mg at higher levels than 1300, maybe I am missing out on something, but I doubt it. Plus since I am using Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) exclusively right now, I do not want to drive up sulfate levels in the water column.
The only need to run higher levels of Mg is if you have a tank jammed full of stonies and the Ca and Alk intake by the inhabitants was high as well. All three work hand in hand with each other. Weeks of testing will show you what is being consumed and the adjustments to doses to maintain the balance you want to run your tank at will become apparent.
Run your tank at 1300 for a while and do some tests, it won't take long for you to figure out how much you need to add to keep it there.
Here is a copy of my instruction for comparison.
