Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaSteve  So you actually supplement Mg in addition to Ca? In the B-ionic solution #2 "Calcium" it does say it contains Mg, but perhaps not enough? |
The amount of Magnesium Chloride in B-ionic is meant to maintain Mg, not to raise the level significantly.
I am also using B-ionic (and temporarily C-Balance) to boost and maintain my
Ca levels. However, my Mg was around 1215, which is a bit low. According to Carmie's rule of 3ppm Mg to 1
ppm Ca, I should be able to get my
Ca up to 405 before exceeding the ratio. I was still having probems boosting
Ca, and am now raising my Mg levels (with B-ionic Mg) to about 1300 as I dose
Ca. Thanks to the
Randy Holmes Farley article , I am finaly starting to see some progress. My initial problem is that I was raising
Alk when I should have been dosing only the
Ca component until I go into a "balanced" zone as discussed in the article. After I am in the balanced zone, then I would raise my
Alk to get to the target zone. Post your
Alk,
Ph,
Ca and Mg levels, and refer to Randy's article to see what you should be dosing.
Quote:
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Without getting into a chemistry lab, is there a good test kit for Ca, Mg. KH, and pH that you all like and that is accurate? In the pH kit and the API master reef kit, it is like throwing dice everytime I test and I dont trust the reliability nor accuracy.
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When I started in this hobby, I had the Red Sea "Marine Lab" kit, which I
used to think was fine, but after all that I have read online, I am not too sure. I have since switched over to Salifert(Ca, Mg,
PO4,
NO3), and although there are not kid-proof caps (and warnings) on the reagents, and there is no
known independant testing of the Salifert reagents (there was an
Alk kit scare on RC a while back), I like these kits the most so far.
I have even picked up a few Elos kits (KH,
Ca), and although they are nice kits (with proper labels
and NIST testing), the titration drops are too big so the tests have less resolution. You can use more water to increase the precision of the tests, but then you burn through more reagents. Since I am dosing
Ca and
Alk, I would like to see the results of my dosing more precisely than I would normally. I believe Elos may be improving their kits soon to address this.
I like the look of the
LaMotte kits, and especially like the cases they come with and the LaMotte company certainly seems to be on top of the testing game. I have heard that their tests are not necessarily the easiest to use.
Carmie has stated that she uses Seachem kits, and this seems to be a really valid option.
For
pH(and temp), I rely on a handheld
Hanna meter I picked up recently, and compare it to an old Lighthouse controller that I am now using as a temp/pH monitor.
