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sera guide - Marine aquariums

45 Regarding their natural concentrations, the so-called macro elements are situated be- tween the common and the trace ions. Strontium and magnesium are among them. It is known that available strontium ions are utilized in the skeleton of stony corals and therefore must be replenished. Magnesium is mainly taken up by coralline algae. These settle on live rock as a violet cover. However, there are also many species whose shape re- semble small trees. Natural magnesium lev- els of 1,250 – 1,300 mg/l (ppm) provide good conditions for the growth of these algae. Both metal ions are present in high levels in sera marin COMPONENT 5 strontium and sera marin COMPONENT 6 magnesium, respectively. Be sure to avoid overdosing, as this would reduce the calcium level. Many marine aquarists are not aware of this, and they reduce the amount of available calcium by too high additions, especially of magne- sium. Calcium, strontium and magnesium are among the alkaline earth metals. This group features similarities in its physical character- istics, leading to similar chemical and phys- ical properties. It is therefore by all means necessary to get an overview on the current values by means of water test kits, and to monitor the increased concentration after adding the water conditioners. You can reli- ably monitor the magnesium level with the sera Mg-Test. Strontium and magnesium Iodine does not remain active in the water very long. Iodine is precipitated by high con- centrations of other ions. It is thus removed from the water and becomes unavailable for the aquarium inhabitants. A constant iodine level is achieved by daily addition of sera marin COMPONENT 7 iodine. Iodine ++