Magnesium Super High in Newly Mixed Saltwater - Is it Safe to Use?

[Lou Ekus]

For the two other posters, on this thread, that have tested high Mg levels in Tropic Marin Pro-REEF, our laboratory controls of this batch 14036 have shown 1300 ppm Mg. This doesn't mean that your salt is NOT high in Mg. Just that our control samples don't show the same thing. Please give me a call in the office, or send me a private message with your phone number so I can call you, so I can help you get this issue resolved.

 

[brandon429]

the actions people take off a single colorimetric param reading are in consideration this thread is good to watch. Cant wait to see test sample data from the batches reported


proposed order in terms of popularity in misreadings that cause mass reaction in reefing:

ammonia 10x above all, the ominous .25

phosphate, said a colorimetric reading not a probe.

nitrite

magnesium


alk

then calc/nitrate imo

 

[d2mini]

For the two other posters, on this thread, that have tested high Mg levels in Tropic Marin Pro-REEF, our laboratory controls of this batch 14036 have shown 1300 ppm Mg. This doesn't mean that your salt is NOT high in Mg. Just that our control samples don't show the same thing. Please give me a call in the office, or send me a private message with your phone number so I can call you, so I can help you get this issue resolved.

Interesting.
After two different kits from two different companies giving me similar results on that batch number, I picked up another bucket today.
My LFS was out of the regular TM so I had to get the Pro Reef again. And this batch is quite a bit older... in the 1200's.
I'll mix 40g tonite, test and report back.

I've heard that a new bucket of salt should be stirred up before mixing with water because some elements can separate during shipping.
Is this true? I've never done this before.
I've been using AquaVitro Salinity for years and decided to try TM this time because Triton recommends it when dosing their stuff.
I've never pre-mixed buckets of salt before and never had a problem.
What if I only mixed up one gallon worth of saltwater?

 

[that Reef Guy]

Interesting.
After two different kits from two different companies giving me similar reasons on that batch number, I picked up another bucket today.
My LFS was out of the regular TM so I had to get the Pro Reef again. And this batch is quite a bit older... in the 1200's.
I'll mix 40g tonite, test and report back.

I've heard that a new bucket of salt should be stirred up before mixing with water because some elements can separate during shipping.
Is this true? I've never done this before.
I've been using AquaVitro Salinity for years and decided to try TM this time because Triton recommends it when dosing their stuff.
I've never pre-mixed buckets of salt before and never had a problem.
What if I only mixed up one gallon worth of saltwater?

I Mix Up 4.25 Gallons at a Time in 5 Gallon Buckets.

As Recommended I Mixed the Bucket as Best as I could because it was a New Bucket.

My Orginal Reading was 1860 for Magnesium.

After Mixing I got

1740
1740
1755

The Next Day I Mixed it again and got these numbers hoping I could get it down another 100 points into the 1600's but that didn't happen

1740
1755
1770
1785

Good News was Alkalinity stayed the Same after both Mixings (8.6) and Calcium only went up a little (500).

 

[that Reef Guy]

I just spoke to Lou at Tropic Marin over the Phone and he answered all my questions.

He is very knowledgeable and friendly.

I was surprised that he posted on this thread and feel that Tropic Marin has really really good Customer Service because of that.

This is My 11th Bucket of Tropic Marin Pro and I have never had any issues until now.

But things like this happen with all companies so I do not blame Tropic Marin.

I switched from Reef Crystals to Tropic Marin Pro because the Alkalintiy is insanely High in Reef Crystals and their parameters are all over the place with every box that I have ever gotten from them.

I Do Huge Water Changes and Test and Dose my Alkalintity every day on all my tanks to keep it spot on at 8.5 which is what Tropic Marin Pro gives me.

I will continue to use Tropic Marin Pro and recommend it to everyone.

As good as quality control is at Tropic Marin sometimes these things happen (But I see issues happening a lot less with Tropic Marin than other Companies (especially the Notorious Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals).

Thanks again Lou for taking my call.

 

[Lou Ekus]

Interesting.
After two different kits from two different companies giving me similar results on that batch number, I picked up another bucket today.
My LFS was out of the regular TM so I had to get the Pro Reef again. And this batch is quite a bit older... in the 1200's.
I'll mix 40g tonite, test and report back.

I've heard that a new bucket of salt should be stirred up before mixing with water because some elements can separate during shipping.
Is this true? I've never done this before.
I've been using AquaVitro Salinity for years and decided to try TM this time because Triton recommends it when dosing their stuff.
I've never pre-mixed buckets of salt before and never had a problem.
What if I only mixed up one gallon worth of saltwater?

@d2mini - The batch number starting with "1200" does not mean it is older. We have a coding system that tells us manufacturing dates. I will need to know the rest of the batch number to know if it is older or newer than the 14036 batch.

I would love to be bale to chat with you by phone to answer all of your questions in detail... It is true that it is often said to "dry mix" a bucket of salt as elements might shift around given certain shipping conditions. That being said, I have not one specific example of a bucket that tested "off" of a certain parameter, then tested "on" after dry mixing. In principle this would be true. But I have no practical example of it ever coming into play. Still, we always recommend this technique first if a parameter is not testing well, as it would seem to be a possibility. I think that the small variation you have seen before and after dry mixing is just an "artifact".

It is always true, with any salt mix, that the smaller the sample you mix, the more chance you have of any one specific parameter being off the desired value. This is a result of the sample size alone, and becomes more of an issue when sample size gets very small below one gallon.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I was doing water tests the other day and my TMP showed 1410 mag with Nyos test. I wasn't too worried about that number, but usually i get 1300-1350. I will check again tonight and look at the batch number.

 

[that Reef Guy]

I was doing water tests the other day and my TMP showed 1410 mag with Nyos test. I wasn't too worried about that number, but usually i get 1300-1350. I will check again tonight and look at the batch number.

I would not be concerned with 1410.

I have been keeping my Magnesium at 1440 and Calcium at 480 for a few years now and have never had any issues.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I would not be concerned with 1410.

I have been keeping my Magnesium at 1440 and Calcium at 480 for a few years now and have never had any issues.

I'm not, but if my batch number is similar, maybe that would indicate something about your batch? This thread just has me curious.

 

[reeferfoxx]

My batch number was [HASHTAG]#15505[/HASHTAG]. Mag is 1450 with fresh mix.