A General Guide to Salt Mixes

[Finsky]

Replacement water mixing

Replacement water mixing

The question is: Do you heat your replacement water in your mixing container before you add the salt or after.

I use tap water with zero nitrates and phosphates and it has not been a problem for me. I have contacted my local water authority, i.e., what do they add etc. I put these posts from them recently.

 

[RBU1]

I'm sure this is somewhere in this long thread, but am I correct in heating the ro/di water up to temp before adding the salt?? I have always done it this way, but recently, and I can't remember where, I read you are supposed to add the salt to the cold water and THEN heat it..which is correct?

This is a new one to me....I always add my salt to cold water and let my mixing pump heat it up.

 

[Finsky]

Maybe the cold water tap is better than the warm tap water

Maybe the cold water tap is better than the warm tap water

What do you think? I use a 150 watt heater along with 400 gph and 270 gph powerheads.

 

[bertoni]

The colder water will keep the calcium and carbonate dissolved a bit better, but I doubt it matters much.

 

[hilgert]

I mix mine at room temp (whatever the RO/DI tank is at, which is room temp). Never had a problem. I dumped it into the sump (in my old system...setting up a new one now). The sump was 55 gallons, and I dumped it into one end. Typically there was an 8-10 degree F difference between house temp and tank temp, so the "net" is "about" 1 degree difference "ish".

In my new system I have a smaller area in which to do this (same net sump size, but I would be adding very near the pump), so I might toss one of the many small heaters I have (ghosts of the small tanks of the dark past...) into the RO/DI tank.

-Hilgert

 

[Billybeau1]

The colder water will keep the calcium and carbonate dissolved a bit better, but I doubt it matters much.

But the warmer water will help dissolve the salt faster from my experience. Like Jon said, it probably doesn't matter much but I heat my water to 79 deg then add salt.

Either way guys, whatever is more convenient me thinks.

 

[ricwilli]

I purchased two buckets of IO and measured the ca of both buckets. Both have the ca at 340. I thought the ca was suppose to be at 400? Did I buy the old salt? The buckets have the new logo on them. What gives?

 

[jennmac415]

I'm sure this is somewhere in this long thread, but am I correct in heating the ro/di water up to temp before adding the salt?? I have always done it this way, but recently, and I can't remember where, I read you are supposed to add the salt to the cold water and THEN heat it..which is correct?

OK, but I thought I read somewhere recently that adding the salt to cold water would precipitate out the calcium...I guess I either read it wrong or made it up...LOL :spin2:

 

[Billybeau1]

I purchased two buckets of IO and measured the ca of both buckets. Both have the ca at 340. I thought the ca was suppose to be at 400? Did I buy the old salt? The buckets have the new logo on them. What gives?

That does look like old IO numbers but what calcium test did you use to test it and what s.g. did you mix to ? Also how do you measure s.g. ?

Also if you haven't already, you might shake it up real good before you take some salt out of the bucket. Some settling may occur.

 

[Billybeau1]

OK, but I thought I read somewhere recently that adding the salt to cold water would precipitate out the calcium...I guess I either read it wrong or made it up...LOL :spin2:

I dunno Jenni, I heat mine up. I do remember someone bringing that up but I can't remember when or where.

 

[Aquarist007]

I always bring the salinity level up to around 1.020, heat the water over 24 hours, and then add the final salt to bring it to 1.026
I have found that mixing the salt in water around 60 or so degrees can cause you to overshoot the mark if you do it all at once.

 

[Myka]

Billybeau, I'm sure it has been discussed in this thread before, but it is a long thread! The first post says you used different brands of test kits. Did you use the same test kit to test calcium in all the salts, a second to test the magnesium in all the salts, and a third to test the alkalinity in all the salts, or did you randomly use different test kits and brands all over the map? I ask because over the past 15 years I have found some test kits to be highly variable, and inaccurate.

 

[Finsky]

Caution when using Pinpoint digital monitors with AC adaptors to measure your saltwater.

Thursday evening, I replaced by 644 watts of power compacts with a 60" Marineland Pro Lighting System with four 54 watt T-5 actinics and two 150 watt metal halides.

One unexpected thing happened, my digital Pinpoint pH monitor started rapidly flickering every micro second back and forth from 8.20, 8.17, 8.18, 8.19. I emailed the company representative and he told me to try using a 9 volt battery instead of the ac adaptor because I was probably getting electrical interference. Yesterday morning I installed batteries in both my Pinpoint pH monitor and Pinpoint salinity monitor. I also moved my Pinpoint pH monitor and the probe to about six inches in from the back left corner from the right corner. It now will go back and forth by .01 every second or two.

The salinity monitor was left on the right side and is working well with a stable reading without flickering. I emailed the company prepresentative with the operation of the monitors with batteries and he said everything sounds like both monitors are now working fine.

 

[Billybeau1]

Billybeau, I'm sure it has been discussed in this thread before, but it is a long thread! The first post says you used different brands of test kits. Did you use the same test kit to test calcium in all the salts, a second to test the magnesium in all the salts, and a third to test the alkalinity in all the salts, or did you randomly use different test kits and brands all over the map? I ask because over the past 15 years I have found some test kits to be highly variable, and inaccurate.

:lmao: Yes, long threads can be difficult to keep track of.

I had about 8 different calcium kits, 8 different alkalinity kits and 4 magnesium kits. When you have that many kits, you can tell which ones are reporting good numbers and which are not.

There are definitely some unreliable kits out there. Due to my extensive testing, I know which ones are reliable and which ones are not.

 

[RossW]

I had about 8 different calcium kits, 8 different alkalinity kits and 4 magnesium kits. When you have that many kits, you can tell which ones are reporting good numbers and which are not.

There are definitely some unreliable kits out there. Due to my extensive testing, I know which ones are reliable and which ones are not.

What is your reccomended test kit for each of calc, mag, alk?

 

[Lyfey]

Just switched to Tropic Marin Coral Pro, I will try to keep up with some postings on positive / negative effects. I have very high hopes for this salt.

 

[Finsky]

Yep, I heat to approximately 79 degrees and mix.

Yep, I heat to approximately 79 degrees and mix.

I dunno Jenni, I heat mine up. I do remember someone bringing that up but I can't remember when or where.

I do think the warmer water dissolves the salt faster. I am sticking with my RC mixed in my 20 or 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brutes with 400 gph/270 gph powerheads, a 150 watt heater, and two air stones, athough I would use whatever method works best.

I mix approximately five 1/2 cups of salt to every four gallons for 12 gallons. I keep my specific gravity at 1.024 and I know where my hydrometers read close to 1.024 by testing aquarium water with a Pinpoint Salinity Monitor reading of 1.024. Last week I had to add about one more gallon to bring the mix down to 1.024. After filling replacing 13 gallons, I brought the specific gravity right down to 1.024 by adding a little at a time with a sixteen oz plastic cup.

I recently went our and bought all new test kits and got rid of my old ones. I purchased Rea Sea Phosphate, Nitrate, Magnesium, Alkalinity Pro, and Calcium Pro. I have used the Calcium Pro for years and am satisfied with the other Red Sea kits. I also like the Instant Ocean Alkalinity Test Kit which I found to be close to the reading of the Red Sea Pro Alkalinity kit. It is difficult to find the really easy to use Instant Ocean Alklinity Test Kit alone without buying one of their entire kits. I tend to test alkalinity quite often and the Instant Ocean Test Kit uses a 5ml tube poured into a larger tube to which drops of regent are added to bring the color from blue to yellow/green. Fast, accurate, and easy to use which lets me get an alkalinity reading fast whenever I need one. Have used for years.

 

[ricwilli]

That does look like old IO numbers but what calcium test did you use to test it and what s.g. did you mix to ? Also how do you measure s.g. ?

Also if you haven't already, you might shake it up real good before you take some salt out of the bucket. Some settling may occur.

- calcium - Salifert
- S.G. - 1.025 - Pinpoint

Thanks Billybeau1

I also emailed Marineland and this was there response after over a week.

My question:

I was reading on Reef Central that there is a new Instant Ocean salt with calcium of 400. I have purchased two buckets now and the calcium reads 340. Is the info on Reef Central wrong?

Marineland response

Hello there,

No, we do not have a new Instant Ocean salt. Both our Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals should provide a calcium range of 380-420. If you are getting a low reading it can be due to one of these issues:

· Incorrect testing (there is a high percentage of this that occurs)
· Test kit not functioning correctly
· Improper mixing of salt

We usually recommend doing a minimum of three tests to be sure of the reading. Follow testing instructions carefully – do not skimp on number of drops, etc.

If you wish, send us two cups of salt and we will test it for specifications.

Regards,

Marineland

Is it OK for the salt to be that off in range? I use Salifert and Red Sea to test Calcium and they both come up with the same numbers. I just purchased another bucket. This one had a different type of lid. The others had a twist off lid. This one has a snap-on lid. I will test tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

They are incorrect in that statement, in that older versions of the salt definitely ran lower as you mention. But they did not publicly announce any change, so will not state so now.

As I've said many times, manufacturers are very often not the best source of info on their own products.

 

[Aquarist007]

They are incorrect in that statement, in that older versions of the salt definitely ran lower as you mention. But they did not publicly announce any change, so will not state so now.

As I've said many times, manufacturers are very often not the best source of info on their own products.

This main seem incredably niave--but why would a company not want to admit that they improved their numbers in a particular salt mix.
IO with the improved levels of cal,alk and its price make it very good choice of mix to use IMO.