Is Magnesium powder you use in a reef tank the same as magnesium powder we use for planted tanks?

[john6]

Dumb question time
I have absolute loads of red sea magnesium powder for my reef tank, can i use it for my planted tank or is it totally different?

 

[Hanuman]

@Zeus. and @Happi. You are both correct. The problem is the unit and the fact that Red Sea did a rough approximation of what Liters are in Gallons or vice versa. Technically 100 L = 26.4172 Gal (or inversely 25 Gal = 94.6353 L) but I assume, for the sake of simplicity, that Red Sea simplified that to 100 L = 25 Gal. See below.

Reconciled. Now you can hug.

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[Happi]

Reconciled. Now you can hug.

 

[Zeus.]

@Zeus. and @Happi. You are both correct. The problem is the unit and the fact that Red Sea did a rough approximation of what Liters are in Gallons or vice versa. Technically 100 L = 26.4172 Gal (or inversely 25 Gal = 94.6353 L) but I assume, for the sake of simplicity, that Red Sea simplified that to 100 L = 25 Gal. See below.

Well spotted 😁, it doesn't help when there's Imperial Gallons and US Gallons as well, at least litres are the same volume throughout the world.
At least we wasn't ranting about our different results 😉

 

[Hanuman]

@Zeus. you know far too well what I think about imperial units.... 😅

 

[Zeus.]

@Zeus. you know far too well what I think about imperial units.... 😅

That will be the French man coming out in you 🤣 But metric all the way in my book - well except for 'miles per gallon' never got on with 'km/litre'. We are just as bad in the UK as we drive in miles and buy fuel in litres, although I think they only changed to selling fuel in litres as it sounds less putting tax on fuel up 5 pence per litre than say 20 pence per gallon - which the later is less.

 

[X3NiTH]

Definately a blend of Sulphates and Chlorides of Magnesium, no Hydroxides as there would be a warning in the MSDS but there is none. I suggest that if it is a blend rather than straight up one ingredient then it follows this principal “sulphate/chlorinity ratio of 0·14000 ± 0·00023” which is the ratio of Sulphate to Chloride in Seawater. I have the liquid supplement to hand but not the dry powder so I can’t check for blend consistency or hygroscopicity.

🙂

 

[Zeus.]

sulphate/chlorinity ratio of 0·14000 ± 0·00023” which is the ratio of Sulphate to Chloride in Seawater.

So if we are using MgCl2.6H2O and MgSO4.7H2O as our salts (the little yellow box is the sulphate/chlorinity ratio of the dose)

Any other salts which are added eg 'calcium' just need to have the same sulphate/chlorinity ratio and we will have a clone of sea water with the correct sulphate/chlorinity ratio.