View Full Version : Cheapest source of safe MgCl
bristle
10/20/2009, 05:55 PM
I'm having some bryopsis problems in my 20 gallon and 75+30 sump. I tried reading through the long thread, but never really got anywhere with it. Where is the cheapest source of MgCl that I can assume to be safe to put in my aquarium? I live in Canada...
Billybeau1
10/20/2009, 06:51 PM
Increasing magnesium to get rid of bryopsis didn't work for me but it has worked for some. Bulk Reef Supply sells a magnesium chloride for pretty cheap. Seems like a lot of reefers use it.
Have you checked your phosphate and nitrate levels ?
HighlandReefer
10/20/2009, 06:52 PM
Tech M seems to be the mag. supplement of choice for getting rid of bryopsis. FWIW, it may be the contaminates in the mag. supplement that controls the bryopsis.
dan223
10/20/2009, 07:02 PM
Ive done it a couple times with regular mag. chloride, I dont know why people insist on the tech m, just because tech m works does not mean others do not but Im sure both work. It seems 1700-1800 is the number where it dies, for me 1650 did nothing 1750 and it turned translucent and dissintegrated. I use a deicing product called freezgard, it has some impurities that settle out after mixing. When I called their tech department he said he knew quite a few people were using it for fish tanks without problems and that purity was around 96% and the impurities would most likely be calcium and potassium. I would call around to salt suppliers and see what mag products they sell and then contact manufactors for details. Mag chloride and hexahydrate is also sold for a dust control agent so you could also check with feed suppliers.
bristle
10/20/2009, 09:30 PM
Thank you...just in time for winter as well!
bristle
10/20/2009, 09:35 PM
By the way, I'd just like to thank each of you for spending a bit of your day to help me out. I appreciate it a lot.
I have no checked my levels in any way shape or form for 18 years...just recently this bryopsis came along with some GHA. I'll try to cut back on feeding, change my RO/DI filters and up the magnesium to see what that does.
Randy Holmes-Farley
10/21/2009, 04:58 AM
Ive done it a couple times with regular mag. chloride, I dont know why people insist on the tech m, just because tech m works does not mean others do not but Im sure both work.
Some brands appear not to work. Maybe you just tried a brand matching what Kent uses. :)
HighlandReefer
10/21/2009, 07:32 AM
Dan's mix seems to work at 1700-1800 ppm mag. whereas Tech M seems to work around 1600 - 1700 ppm mag. We don't know what the starting point for the mag. concentrations were. Perhaps Dan's mix had less contaminates in it or he started 100 ppm higher then other hobbyists. If the contaminates in the mag. mix are killing the algae, then the total concentration of mag. would not be as important as the amount you increase your mag. level given the amounts of contaminates in each mix. It seems that somewhere around a 400 ppm mag increase is what it takes to kill the algae, if my hunch is correct. ;)
HighlandReefer
10/21/2009, 08:14 AM
The above post I made leads to a few other questions:
If one assumes that contaminates are causing the algal kill, what would be the best approach to add the mag. supplement? If you raise the mag level all at once, then the level of the contaminates may be at the proper levels to kill algae. After a short period of time, many of the contaminates will bind with the organic matter and the concentrations would most likely decrease fairly quickly. On the other hand, the level of contaminates may be too much for tank inhabitants when increased all at once. This might account for why some hobbyists see results and other's don't. The problem would be what is the best approach in determining how much to increase your mag level at one time without any scientific data to work with? :D
dan223
10/21/2009, 11:59 PM
Im not sure why there seems to be assumptions that it must be the impurities that kill the briopsis and not the magnesium itself? Maybe someone can try using a reagent grade mag chloride. It wouldnt be too expensive on a smaller tank as a one time deal. Possibly another factor is when I use it I use the brs formula of 5 cups mag chl. to 3 cups mag sulf. I know people use other recipies also maybe these ratios have something to do with it also.
Randy Holmes-Farley
10/22/2009, 04:23 AM
Reagent grade and other high grades are not necessarily any purer than bulk or hobby grades. They have just been tested to meet certain specs. I showed that for calcium chloride. So they could still have something in it.
mat167
10/22/2009, 10:59 PM
What level contaminants are we talking about in Mg supplements? I would have to assume that it is in the order of at least 10E-6 or 10E-9, correct? At the parts per billion levels, would contaminants even be biologically relevant? As far as my limited knowledge of analytical chem will let me understand, there would be essentially no way to measure parts per billion concentrations without spending large amounts of money/time/effort. Has there been any sound research done on this, either by Randy or others? I'd be interested in seeing what the contaminants are and specifically what levels they are present in. Sorry to get a little off topic...
P.S. I hope I'm not coming off sounding overly aggressive, I just had a bunch of questions I wanted to ask :)
Randy Holmes-Farley
10/23/2009, 04:50 AM
While it may be among the ones that do not work, here's typical contaminants in one good quality brand of magneisum chloride. Kent's product also presumably includes some magnesium sulfate with some level of impurities.
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3568
Trace Element Content of Dead Sea Works
Magnesium Chloride
Element Typical(ppm) Maximum(ppm)
Mg 115000(11.5%) 125000 (12.5%)
Ca 7000 8000
Br 5000 8000
K 2500 3500
S(SO42-) 180 200
Sr 120 150
B 20 30
Li 10 15
N* 4 5
Si 9 15
Fe 3 10
P 2 3
Mn 2 3
Al 1 3
Ba 1 2
TEDALLEN80
10/23/2009, 08:40 AM
with that element breakdown, wouldnt the bryopsis be fighting the elements? The mag is supposed to burn off the algae, but there's iron in the mix so its a fuel also correct?
Randy Holmes-Farley
10/23/2009, 09:51 AM
FWIW, that isn't Tech M. That said, iron does not necessarily boost problem algae, although there are situations where it can.
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