What to supplement?

[trueblackpercula]

b-ionic and water changes

[Tim224DT]

Originally Posted by Casey

Good water changes and a kalk drip and Alkalinity booster and Advantage calcium is all I use and all levels come out fine nothing else ever added.

Same here he got me on this routine and it works great!!


Tim

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Mike O'Brien

The only thing lacking is usually magnesium because the ocean didn't have as much mag when the media was formed.

I've never heard this.

Aragonite is primarily calcium and carbonate regardless of how "old" it is. It's not going to add much else to keep up with NSW levels. That's what your salt is for. Personally, I'd say it's mainly because corals don't incorporate magnesium to any large degree, so you wouldn't expect to find it in media. . Magnesium "poisons" the CaCo3 substrate and makes it harder for calcium to "fit" into the lattice. Which is the main reason to keep your Mg levels up - it reduces the formation of abiotic CaCO3 formation and makes it easier to keep Alk and Ca levels higher in the system.

As for adding it too quickly, you'd have to dump a whole bunch of supplement in even a 75 gallon tank to get your Mg up even 50. I wouldn't say it's the Mg effect as much as all the sulfate you're dumping in there with it - in most cases that's the other ion. Regardless, any time you're adding that much supplement, you want to keep up with water changes or your water chemistry can become messed up. Your best bet is to find a salt mix with good Mg levels and keep up with changes. I've found Reef Crystals to be right around the 1250 range....which is pretty much NSW levels.

[Mike O'Brien]

From Randy's article on magnesium

"
One other comment on seawater concentrations of magnesium. The magnesium content of seawater has not been constant since the oceans formed. Specifically, the magnesium content has often been lower, as in the late cretaceous period. As is discussed below, the amount of magnesium getting into calcium carbonate skeletons is a function of how much magnesium is in the water. Consequently, the magnesium content of ancient sediments can be significantly lower than more modern ones from similar organisms.¹ In addition to being an interesting fact, this result may also play a role in the suitability of certain limestone deposits in maintaining magnesium in aquaria. For example, such limestone is sometimes used in CaCO₃/CO₂ reactors or as the raw material for making calcium hydroxide (lime). If it is low in magnesium, one may find additional supplements necessary to maintain modern seawater magnesium concentrations. These issues will be detailed more in future articles. "

[Mike O'Brien]

Not that I can say that modern formed media will maintain level's. But like I said that's what dolomite is for.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Mike O'Brien

Not that I can say that modern formed media will maintain level's.

Correct - it absolutely won't (in an SPS system) and that was my point. (Regardless of how much was in the ocean 700,000 years ago vs now).
Magnesium "disappears" to many more places than a coral skeleton...and in much larger quantities.

[Coraline]

carib sea purple up. and phytofeast phytoplankton. and reef vital dna by marc weiss co and maybe some coral vital live sand booster also by marc weiss co.

[Coraline]

also maybe some kent coral builder to maintain ph alkaline levels

[Coraline]

also maybe some kent coral builder to maintain ph alkaline levels