hard water

[Mr P]

I have just been on my water supplier website and the hardness is285mg/l .I add magnesium sulphate to my el mix,am I just adding to the water hardness?.

 

[George Farmer]

Yes. But if you don't know what part of your total hardness is Mg, then I would continue dosing as you are.

Excess nutrients is better than not enough - most of the time...

 

[Mr P]

thanks for that George,i have been looking at the water report and cannot find a reading for Mg, I have been el dosing for a couple of years in the tank and must
admit everything seems ok.
cheers roy.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

cannot find a reading for Mg

With a few exceptions there is very little magnesium in the tap water in most parts of the UK, so you need to keep adding it.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mr P]

thanks darrel, I will keep putting the Mg in,is there a way of checking wether or not there is too much or too little in the tank so I could adjust my ei mix accordingly,
or is it not that important.
many thanks .roy.

 

[ian_m]

thanks darrel, I will keep putting the Mg in,is there a way of checking wether or not there is too much or too little in the tank so I could adjust my ei mix accordingly,
or is it not that important.
many thanks .roy.

Just make sure you dose as per EI, which provides nutrients in excess for the plants.

I wouldn't worry about exact amounts of MgSO4 as it the cheapest EI ingredient and overdosing not an issue. I once dumped 1litre of double strength IE mix into my 180l tank (pump failure) giving 200-300ppm and fish & plants didn't seem to notice.

Spend your time worrying about important things like CO2 levels and 50% weekly water changes instead.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

, I will keep putting the Mg in,is there a way of checking wether or not there is too much or too little in the tank so I could adjust my ei mix accordingly,

Like "Ian_m" says too much isn't really a problem. Some water naturally has high levels of magnesium (like Lake Tanganyika), but in the UK most of our hard water aquifers are in fairly pure limestones, and they contain very little magnesium.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mr P]

thanks again chaps for your help.i am very strict with my dosing and do my best to dose correctly,water changes and CO2 i also keep on top of,i did not really want my fish to be uncomfortable due to excessive hardness.but you have put my mind at ease.
many thanks .roy.