A General Guide to Salt Mixes

[Finsky]

Seachem Reef Complete and Seachem Reef Buffer

Seachem Reef Complete and Seachem Reef Buffer

I find it interesting that Seachem recommends not going over 5 to 6 meq/L when using their Seachem Reef Buffer.

They recommend staying between 380 ppm and 420 ppm of calcium on the Seachem Reef Complete container.

This is a high alkalinity although I have used these two products togeather for the life of my four year old tank.

The Seachem Reef Complete for calcium raising and mainenance and the Reef Buffer to maintain an 8.1 to 8.4 pH and an alkalinity from 4 to 6 meq/L and I have a Red Rose Bubble Tip anemone starting on its third year in my tank along with a one years old Red Rose Bubble Tip and three green bubble tips from four to six months in the tank.

I just changed 20 gallons using Reef Crystals and rinsed my filters out this past Saturday.

My calcium went from 400 ppm to 420 ppm at with a salinity of 53.0 mS/35 ppt/1.0264.

 

[Lyfey]

I just switched back to instant ocean salt from tropic marine pro reef. Anyone have any expirience that you could share?

-Chris

 

[Finsky]

Apoligies, I have only started with Instant Ocean and graduated to Reef Crystals for the last three of four years.

I wonder about the specific gravity of salt in reef aquariums.

I have been hurting my tanks inhabitants keeping my tank at 35 ppt/53.0 mS/1.0264 specific gravity?

I have read Drs. Foster and Smith's Web site where they state the "average" coral reef specific gravity is 1.025?

How many people keep their % of salt at 35 ppt which I have read is the average ocean %?

 

[maynardjames]

i keep mine at 35ppt. or as close as i can with a 50 dollar refrac

 

[tmz]

1.026 for me.

 

[jason2459]

i keep mine at 35ppt. or as close as i can with a 50 dollar refrac

Same here. To keep it close as possible I also calibrate with pinpoint 35ppt solution at least once a month.


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[Finsky]

I use a Pinpoint salinity monitor which is calibrated with Pinpoint Salinity Calibration Fluid 53.0 mS/35 ppt/1.0264 SG.

When I first received and calibrated my Pinpoint monitor I adjusted the tank water to exactly 35 ppt/1.0264 SG.

Then I immediately measured the tank water with my two Coralife Hydrometers.

I got readings of 1.024 and 1.025 for the two as they read .001 different.

When I mix my 12 gallon weekly replacement water (20 gallon monthly with two canister cleanings), I use the hydrometers to adjust the replacement water to 1.024 and 1.025 in the mixing container.

When I am pumping the replacement water back into the tank, I can really see the tank water stays around 53.0mS/35ppt/1.0264 maybe raising to 53.1 or lowering to 52.9 and I adjust accordingly to get a final tank reading of 53.0mS/35 ppt.

I was quite surprised when I first used the Pinpoint salinity monitor to adjust the tank water to 35 ppt/1.0264 SG and then saw the readings with the Coralife hydrometers.

I had been going to a LFS to have them measure my specific gravity with a refractometer to check on the accuracy of my hydrometers' readings.

I consider my two hydrometers to be valuable tools in keeping my water at 35 ppt as they give me a continuous check on the Pinpoint monitor's reading.

In addition it is convenient to test the replacement water not requiring me to move the monitor probe around from where I keep it constantly in the back right end of the tank.

 

[bertoni]

The SG of the ocean varies quite a bit, and can change with storms, but SG 1.0264 is a good canonical average, and there's no reason to target anything lower for the animals that we keep.

 

[lbaldrey]

I keep my tank at 1.024 since all of my corals are from Indonesia where the salinity is reportedly between 1.023-1.025 and during the rains it goes down to 1.022 in some places.

Not that I have any great success to report from doing so except the fact that Zoanthids do better at the lower salinities than when I ran my tank at 1.026 and had some melt down.

 

[rigleautomotive]

Jon

here is the latest on the new Red sea

Red Sea is planning to release their new Red Sea Salt and Coral pro salts very soon according to numerous sources we've learned. The salts have been retooled from feedback from many aquarists as well as industry professionals. The difference between the two seems to be that the Coral Pro Salt is said to give accelerated growth and enhanced vitality of all corals with elevated levels of the foundation elements (Calcium, Magnesium and Carbonates). The standard Red Sea Salt is said to have the exact parameters of water on a tropical reef with a slightly elevated alkalinity as needed in a closed marine system.

Like most Red Sea Products, these will hit the UK first with pricing from £12.99 "“ £74.99 for the Red Sea Salt and £33.99- £89.99 for the Coral Pro Salt.

 

[Finsky]

Red Sea has bad batches of titrate in Pro Alkalinity test kits

Red Sea has bad batches of titrate in Pro Alkalinity test kits

Yes, I like most Red Sea products as I switched to all Red Sea test kits about six months ago. Red Sea Pro Alkalinity test kit, Red Sea Pro Calcium(used since my tank was set up four years ago last July) test kit, Red Sea Phosphate test kit, and Red Sea Magnesium test kit.

My initial Red Sea "Pro" Alkalinity test kit had a red colored titrate which turned you aquarium water from blue to purple to pink. The purple color is the target color and pink lets you know you have added too much titrate liquid and need to redo the test.

Then I ran out about a month ago and have since purchase three of the RED SEA PRO ALKALINITY test kits which all had an orange colored alkalinity titrate liquid which turns the aquarium test water yellow and then the water stays yellow no matter how much orange titrate you add?

I ordered two from Dr. Fosters and Smith who did not get back to me although they promised to contact the manufacturer.

I just received a third RED SEA PRO ALKALINITY test kit which I ordered from That Fish Place out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and since my wife had a stroke last Sunday, I did not have a chance to test the third kit until tonight.

Red Sea told me they would send out replacement kits and they sent my two of their cheaper PH & Alkalinity test kits which only measure alkalinity to about a high of 3.5 with a three colored chart with all colors blended so it is almost impossible to read and you cannot get that really accurate reading like the Pro Alkalnity and Pro Calcium kits.

I have to think there are others out there going through this same problem?

 

[firstimereefer]

Hi Everyone,

I have been trying to follow this thread as best as I can, but you can definately get lost in the 88 pages of it. Is there some guide out there, where I don't have to sort through 88 pages of discussion, that ranks the salts and lists the element proportions we should look for in a salt. I say this because I recenlty bought the Brightwell Neomarine Salt, but before I start usuing it in my 60G, I would prefer to return it and start with something different.

 

[TheFishMan65]

The first post had a list of the salts contents, but if got moved here.
I have not seen a ranking of salts only the elements.

 

[Aquarist007]

The SG of the ocean varies quite a bit, and can change with storms, but SG 1.0264 is a good canonical average, and there's no reason to target anything lower for the animals that we keep.

I agree and to add further that as long as the salinity is kept between 1.022 and 1.026 there seems to be no problem with corals fish and inverts.
Salt fluctuating downwards is not as problematic as having to raise the salt level.

 

[bertoni]

I don't know of any data on toxicity of higher levels of SG. I ran tanks at 1.030 and higher for a while due to some user errors, and never noticed any problems. I found the issue when I finally checked the SG by chance. The Red Sea gets rather high in SG, and animals from there won't have any issue with levels like that.

I don't know of any data on how well animals adapt to SG at 1.022. I wouldn't be willing to run at that level.

 

[bertoni]

I don't know of any data on toxicity of higher levels of SG. I ran tanks at 1.030 and higher for a while due to some user errors, and never noticed any problems. I found the issue when I finally checked the SG by chance. The Red Sea gets rather high in SG, and animals from there won't have any issue with levels like that.

I don't know of any data on how well animals adapt to SG at 1.022. I wouldn't be willing to run at that level.

 

[Aquarist007]

I don't know of any data on toxicity of higher levels of SG. I ran tanks at 1.030 and higher for a while due to some user errors, and never noticed any problems. I found the issue when I finally checked the SG by chance. The Red Sea gets rather high in SG, and animals from there won't have any issue with levels like that.

I don't know of any data on how well animals adapt to SG at 1.022. I wouldn't be willing to run at that level.

Bertoni, I just lost 200 dollars worth of stock because the tank salinity rose to 1.031. However I do believe that if the salinty had slowly risen the fish would have been able to adapt to it.

I find it odd that there is alot of data on the low level of salinty being 1.008 where the osmolarity of the fish is comprimised but there is little data for the high end of salinity.

 

[allsps40]

I just switched back to instant ocean salt from tropic marine pro reef. Anyone have any expirience that you could share?

-Chris

I have been using RC for about 2 years now. It has been fairly consistent for me and keeps my ca, alk and mag in check. Before I used RC I went back and forth from Pro Reef and HW Reefer. I feel that Pro Reef is the best salt especially if you keep sps. The alk is a little low but that is because it was designed for use with kalk of a ca reactor. I used IO when I could not get RC and dipped kalk to make up for lower ca.

 

[bertoni]

Well, I agree that a quick change in salinity can be an issue. 1.031 might be high enough to cause some death of some species, but I'm not sure on that.

 

[tmz]

I think you get data on the low end because the internal sg of marine fish has been established ,ie, around 1.008 .They have no way to adjust to sgs lower than their internal salinity to maintain homeostasis. So going lower than 1.008 for a period of time is clearly harmful as the diffusion of fluid into them lowers their internal sg and they have no means to expell it.
How much drinking and concentrated urine they can pass to cope with abnormally high sgs and maintain their internal sg of 1.008 depends on the specific animal's biology(kidney's, etc) the method of acclimation and other variables. So tolerance for higher sgs will vary.
Invertebrates on the other hand don't adjust up or down. Their internal sg changes with the water around them and they are vulnerable to low and high sg variation form their individual norm.
Some playthoa and other corals that come from lower sg near estuarine runoffs,etc. may suffer in higher end Red Sea sgs and vice versa. Unfortunately most of us don't know where the specific specimens we keep come from.
I think 1.022 for corals is quite low particularly for corals like some xenia. Zoanthidae do well for me at 1.025/6,fwiw. For the next occasional specimen that stuggles, I'll be trying a bit lower sg to see if that helps.