I am wondering whether I should just continue to use Reef Crystals with "chelators?" and Seachem Reef Buffer without borate because I have to use Olympia city water from the Nisqually Basin. I have used Reef Crystals for the last three years of my four year old tank. The first year I used Instant Ocean.
I have a difficult time understanding how one would measure alkalinity using a Red Sea Pro Alkalinity test kit with Seachem Reef Salt???? Is it possible? It appears Seachem Reef Salt is made for RO water as it does not remove heavy metals of my tap water?
"Reef Crystals. Reef Crystals is a specially formulated
synthetic sea salt made by Instant Ocean for use in aquaria
with soft and hard corals. It has all the features and benefits
of Instant Ocean with added calcium, some vitamins and trace
elements. It also contains a special additive to detoxify heavy
metals such as copper." This is from the Instant Ocean Web site.
From Seachem:
"In our Reef Salt, we do something a little bit different than other manufacturer's with regard to alkalinity. We elevate our levels of borate in order to allow for one to keep a more stable pH. You see, while there is a misconception in this hobby that the only buffers present in saltwater are carbonates, this is simply not true. There are other elements in saltwater that provide buffering capabilities and sometimes these other elements actually do a better job of it than carbonates, as is the case with borate. So, we have always added a little extra borate in our Reef Salt in order to prevent pH fluctuation. What this means to you is that your hobbyist grade test kit cannot distinguish between carbonate and borate alkalinity, it will measure both as a total alkalinity. From my experience using Reef Salt, the borate alkalinity generally ranges at about 1meq/L (converts to 2.8 dkH). We actually make a test kit that measure these two parts of alkalinity separately so you can know exactly where your numbers are. If interested, here is a link to this kit which also includes a magnesium test kit:
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/RS_Magnesium.html
We do not include metal chelators or dechlorinators to our salt. We recommend using RO water if possible when having a saltwater tank.
2. Reef buffer does not contain borate. I believe I addressed the testing procedure with borate above."