Any recommendations for a good Mg test kit? Anyone know of any test kits that measure above 2000ppm of Mg?
Need Mg test kit
- Thread starter RedLion
- Start date
There might be a scientific test for magnesium, but there is no available hobby test for it that I know of. The closest "test" there is is the assumption that the difference between general hardness and carbonate hardness is made up of magnesium. I have experienced a water source where that assumption was probably false based on the growth reaction of plants to dosing as little as 5 ppm Mg from MgSO4 when by the assumption there was 75 ppm Mg.
So you are saying rather than testing for it, it is better to simply, uhhm, blindly dose to recommended dose?
Yeah, even if you have hard water I've seen recommendations to dose a mixed gh booster that contains both calcium and magnesium. If there is any deficiency a bit more of the one that isn't lacking won't hurt most plants. If all the water has is, for example, calcium, and you dose everything including calcium the only thing that happens is the water has a bit more tds right after dosing than you might shoot for ppm wise for calcium.
How much plants have available to grow on can be compared with a barrel with the tops of the boards uneven, and perhaps one or two shorter than the rest. The barrel will only hold as much water as the shortest stave will hold, and likewise the plants can only grow as much as the limiting nutrient allows. You would have to get pretty extreme to give the plants issues with to much of one nutrient. The fish might have a say about the high tds though long before the plants would.
How much plants have available to grow on can be compared with a barrel with the tops of the boards uneven, and perhaps one or two shorter than the rest. The barrel will only hold as much water as the shortest stave will hold, and likewise the plants can only grow as much as the limiting nutrient allows. You would have to get pretty extreme to give the plants issues with to much of one nutrient. The fish might have a say about the high tds though long before the plants would.
I do not know of a marine magnesium test kit that goes up to 2000 ppm. is there a particular reason you want to obtain that high of a Mg level?
Generally speaking, it is hard to overdose Mg in a reef tank. You'd have to really be trying to overly elevate Mg levels, as it takes a lot of any dry Mg additive to significantly bump up Mg levels. Routine water changes with a decent salt mix will keep Mg in range for the majority of tanks.
Generally speaking, it is hard to overdose Mg in a reef tank. You'd have to really be trying to overly elevate Mg levels, as it takes a lot of any dry Mg additive to significantly bump up Mg levels. Routine water changes with a decent salt mix will keep Mg in range for the majority of tanks.
Yeah, I noticed this is marine forum at first and then promptly forgot and talked about fresh planted.
