A General Guide to Salt Mixes

[MammothReefer]

I can't seem to find much mention of HW Marinemix, I remember a while back several people on here were swearing by it I just finally made the switch but haven't done enough water changes to see if it's going to have an impact on my tank positive or negative compared to reef crystals which I've been using for years. I understand also Tunze has re-branded HW Marinimix as there own salt? The downside for me is that @ 56$ for 150gallons (@1.020 which means i get maybe what 120g? out of a box?) vs 30$ for 150g it gets really pricey when doing weekly water changes on my 500gallon system.. (trying to get nitrates back to par atm)

 

[Billybeau1]

That is one salt I did not test because I could not find it in anything less than buckets. If I could have gotten a small box or bag, I would have bought it and tested.

I'm sure its a fine salt.

Just mix up a gallon at 1.0264 and measure the big three. That will give you an indication of how the salt will affect your tank.

P.S. If you have fish only, 1.020 is fine. If you have corals you might want to bump it up a little to at least 1.025.

 

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12812366#post12812366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
That is one salt I did not test because I could not find it in anything less than buckets. If I could have gotten a small box or bag, I would have bought it and tested.

I'm sure its a fine salt.

Just mix up a gallon at 1.0264 and measure the big three. That will give you an indication of how the salt will affect your tank.

P.S. If you have fish only, 1.020 is fine. If you have corals you might want to bump it up a little to at least 1.025.

Ya I have to mix it to 1.026 which makes it even more pricey because you don't get that advertised 150 gallon out of it @ 1.026. (kinda a shame @ 56$ a box) It's about 25-26 cups for me to make my salt 1.026 in a 50 gallon brute. I really looking more for personal experiences with this salt compared to others then #'s as I've noticed from the first page most of these salts are all very close in range as far as numbers go but man do people have different experience with different brands. I wanted to give the new Tunze salt a go (which I understand is fortified version of Marinemix) but at 25-26 a bag.. when your changing 2 bags worth a week.. OUCH! Makes me long for a smaller system.

 

[chatyak]

Tropic Marin Pro doesn't look too bad... I like the numbers based on the chart.

Tropic Marin Pro Reef 450 8.5 1380

 

[JRechcygl]

I know this is an "old" thread but I have a few questions. What test kits did you use? I presume you used RO water? How many times were the tests done? I'm just wondering because I've tested a bunch of the posted salts and have gotten significantly different results. I'm also a little puzzled as to how Dr. Ron Shimek gave the Crstal Sea pretty good reviews and posted the elments from it and they also were significantly different than the levels you posted, Ca and Mg in particular. Any help and insight would be appreciated.

 

[Esquare]

Part of it may be that the different brands change the formulas from time to time.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

I've been using Tropic Marin Pro Reef for almost two years now, I am going to give Instant Ocean a try because my neighbor uses it and the parameters in the mixing can are just as good as the TM I am using. Also the IO is half the price.

 

[Billybeau1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12852158#post12852158 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRechcygl
I know this is an "old" thread but I have a few questions. What test kits did you use? I presume you used RO water? How many times were the tests done? I'm just wondering because I've tested a bunch of the posted salts and have gotten significantly different results. I'm also a little puzzled as to how Dr. Ron Shimek gave the Crstal Sea pretty good reviews and posted the elments from it and they also were significantly different than the levels you posted, Ca and Mg in particular. Any help and insight would be appreciated.

Test kits were Salifert, API and Elos.

RO/DI....Zero TDS..... Calibrated meter

Refractometer calibrated with 53mS Pinpoint fluid verified with a lab grade floating hydrometer.

Mixed 5 gallons of each at 35 ppt or 1.0264 aerated overnight and heated to 79 degrees.

As far as Mr. Shimeks' reviews, I haven't a clue. I tested all of my salts the same way and with the same testing equipment in the same fashion. As someone else mentioned, maybe the company changed its formula since he tested.

I did not use $200 equipment for my test, but I stand by my results as they are quite consistent from what most have reported.

If you are getting different numbers, a number of things could be different in your testing. Most often it is the salinity that the solution is mixed to. It is also not unheard of to get a bad batch of salt every now and then. It could have even happened to me, but, I haven't gotten too many arguments from my results.

 

[Billybeau1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12852910#post12852910 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rickyrooz1
I've been using Tropic Marin Pro Reef for almost two years now, I am going to give Instant Ocean a try because my neighbor uses it and the parameters in the mixing can are just as good as the TM I am using. Also the IO is half the price.

Well, I'll have to disagree with that one.

TM Pro's numbers are no where near Instant Oceans. If you switch to IO, you will most certainly have to supplement calcium and magnesium.

 

[Billybeau1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12814480#post12814480 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MammothReefer
Ya I have to mix it to 1.026 which makes it even more pricey because you don't get that advertised 150 gallon out of it @ 1.026. (kinda a shame @ 56$ a box) It's about 25-26 cups for me to make my salt 1.026 in a 50 gallon brute. I really looking more for personal experiences with this salt compared to others then #'s as I've noticed from the first page most of these salts are all very close in range as far as numbers go but man do people have different experience with different brands. I wanted to give the new Tunze salt a go (which I understand is fortified version of Marinemix) but at 25-26 a bag.. when your changing 2 bags worth a week.. OUCH! Makes me long for a smaller system.

MR, I know what you mean. Few commercial salts will mix to 35 ppt at the quantities recommended by the manufacturer.

Most seem to use 1.024 as a reference for some reason.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

I still need to bump my Ca when I do water changes with TM Pro.

 

[Billybeau1]

Are you sure you are mixing to 1.0264 ?

A very common mistake.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

I mix at 1.026.

 

[Canarygirl]

Ricky, have you calibrated your refractometer lately? Just asking because when I did mine a couple months ago, it was off by 4 points I recalibrated it again yesterday and it was off by 1 point already.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

Yes, I calibrate before every use with Pinpoint Salinity Calibrator.

Link below:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...g_Equipment_Calibration_Solution~vendor~.html

 

[Pbrown3701]

Not sure if this has been covered in the previous 19 pages, which i only skimmed: Sorry if it has.

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of mixing IO and Oceanic? According to the numbers on page 1, i've calculated that if you mix IO and Oceanic in a 60/40 ratio, you "should" get Ca at 440; Alk at 10.6; and Mg at 1300. It seems that this would be perfect.

 

[ksed]

Rickyrooz1
I've bought several buckets of TMP salt and it's one of the most inconsistant salts I have ever used. Went back to RC.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12862108#post12862108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ksed
Rickyrooz1
I've bought several buckets of TMP salt and it's one of the most inconsistant salts I have ever used. Went back to RC.

Seems to be the case with there Ca levels, sometimes they are right on and sometimes they are low but never higher than 430ppm.

 

[ksed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12863263#post12863263 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rickyrooz1
Seems to be the case with there Ca levels, sometimes they are right on and sometimes they are low but never higher than 430ppm.

I had mine at near 500calc 1100mag 6.5alk. I found mag to be all over the place.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

I'm going to switch to IO because I can get two buckets (320 gallons) and still spend less than one bucket of TM Pro (200 gallons). I have calcium chloride and magnesium chloride from Bulk Reef Supply to bump up the levels if they're low.