micros and macros testing and dosing and others

www.bigalsonline.com has the test kits as I'm sure www.drsfostersmith.com do too.

O.k., the Nutrafin Calcium Test is not the most accurate test. You add 2 different reagents, then count the number of drops of reagent 3 until a color change. Each drop of reagent 3 represents 20ppm of Ca. If the color changes at one drop, then the Ca is below 20ppm, 2 drops Ca is 20-40ppm, etc...

Once you have the calcium (Ca2+) in ppm (again, it's NOT exact), you multiple that number by 2.5 to get calcium hardness (or calcium carbonate - CaCO3). Now, you need to know your GH (general hardness) in ppm. Subtract the Calcium hardness from the general hardness and you will get magnesium hardness. THEN (man it just can't be easy!) you have to divide magnesium hardness by 4.1 to get the amount of Mg2+ (magnesium).

I like Captn Hook's method better...but is it right????
 
Sorry for my bad information folks, what I posted above isn't correct. I was just talking to a friend of mine who knows quite a bit more about plants than I do and he said there's a formula for it.

Looks like beviking's much more complicated method could be it, I don't really know. Sorry about that.
 
For many of the levels there is no exact number. GH and calcium can be quite variable, while iron is usually targeted at .1ppm.

The nutrafin Ca test has instructions for both fresh and salt and it came in a freshwater master kit. Unless specified as one or the other, I would think (as Captn said, "think" which means not knowing for sure!) it would be useable for both.
 
I'm using the AP calcium test.

I like Captain Hook's method too, but that's assuming you know what your Mg is, right? The only Mg test I could find was Salifert's and it definitely does not work in freshwater. Unless someone figured out a way to make it work? The Mg content of FW is far lower than SW so the test can't read it.

Roan
 
Yeah I've got the Salifert Mg test kit as well. I use it on my reef tank and was kind of excited when I first bought it, hoping I could test my FW tanks. It because quickly obvious that wasn't going to happen.
 
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