Re: [AGA-Member] Magnesium nutrient issues

[Heather J Gladney <hgladney@comcast.net>]

Larry Lampert wrote:

> Hi Heather,
>
> The old Krib Archives are a goldmine of information
> for those interested in doing the research. We can all
> thank Erik Olson for that! 
>  
Loud "yes, thank you" from this chair, too!

> I am not sure what part of the country you are in but
> for reference purposes.
Central CA, considered fairly arid, but not desert--we end up living off 
snowmelt in mountain reservoirs.

> My water comes from 3
> reservoirs here in Dallas so it to can vary. I measure
> my GH with a Lamotte kit. It comes out to around 5.5
> Gh, to be exact when I do the calcium test and the
> Magnesium remainder it comes out to 96-98ppm total GH
> with 90-94ppm CA and around 4-6 MG. Yes, my CA:MG
> ratios are way out of whack too. I use two teaspoons
> of Mg2SO4 for each 30 gallons of water I change. This
> gets me to about 138ppm total of which the Mg is now
> around 48-54ppm. 
>  
This is helpful, because I'm seeing something I may be doing wrong.
Using Chuck Gadd's calculator program (another big thank you!) when I 
run your figure of 2 tsp of dry MgSO4dry in 30 gallons (as if I was 
adding it to a 30 gallon tank), I get 9.38 ppm.
You already have 4 to 6 ppm of Mg in the makeup water.  That totals to 
13 - 15 ppm in your makeup water, right?
But if I run 2 dry tbsp in 30 gallons (just in case you meant 
tablespoons, not teaspoons) then I get 28.14 ppm.
Which would total to 32 - 36 ppm, which still doesn't match your numbers.
Where is the 48 -54 ppm Mg coming from?  Is my version of the downloaded 
program corrupted, perhaps?
This is partly why I've thrown out the Mg question to the list!

> It is not exact since my teaspoons are not always
> measured exactly level. I have not seen any
> reproducible benefits from going any higher or lower
> with MG ratios. IME if I keep the ratio at 1:3 or 4 it
> is all the same. I have not gone any higher than 1:2
> as Jeff discussed so I don't know what would happen
> but I have used straight tap water and my plants did
> indeed have deficiency symptoms.
>
> The last piece of advice is to not trust test kits
> implicitly. The reagents go bad over time in the best
> of kits, and many pet store grade kits don't seem to
> work at all. Indicator plants ie. Rotala, Ammania, and
> many others will let you know if you have a nutrient
> deficiency every time as long as you know what to look
> for.
I could never get Rotala to grow, either before or after CO2..  It acted 
as if it was in a low light tank buried down in the dark at 20" deep, 
and rotted out on me.  Hadn't tried Ammania, as I assumed as a 
high-light plant it would have similar issues.
Now I'm wondering if the light isn't the problem, but Redfield-ratio etc.

> More good info on this on the Krib and APD
> archives too!
>
> Reading your posts it sounds like you are on the right
> track. Let us know how the tank progresses.
>  
Thank you again--I will. 

> Regards,
> Larry Lampert
> Dallas,TX
>
>
> --- Heather J Gladney <hgladney@comcast.net> wrote:
>  
>
> > > stated:
> > >      



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