Brightwell Aquatics "Two Thumbs up!!!"
- Thread starter Marc
- Start date
Orr2003
New member
Thanks Zedar
How much did you dose and what is your total water volume?
Did your dose up your Nitrate to 20ppm from zero instantly?
Yes one dose raised it that much instantly. It wasn't very scientific.
I just mixed some up and poured it in. I have a total water volume of 120I havent dosed any since.
eyebedam
Is Sailing the Seas
So honestly what do you think about the Brightwell Salt Mix? Accordig to this thread it seems as if most of there products may be to good to be true. I was fixing to order some till I ran across this thread. If you could pick 1 all aound salt mix what would it be? Im just curious on what salt you think offers the best all around specs.
Last edited:
Orr2003
New member
IO & RC seem to be the most popular salt mixes.
eyebedam
Is Sailing the Seas
I been using IO but was wanting to try something new. Thats why I was gonna try the Brightwells........ that is untill I came across this thread. Now im unsure of wanting to try it.
Orr2003
New member
eyebedam
Is Sailing the Seas
Allow me to elaborate just a bit. I've noticed with IO my last to purchases were the 200 Gal boxes. Each contains 4 50 gal bags. In the first box I mix mine 1 bag at a time. Only 1 of the 4 bags mixed competly clear. The other 3 left a nasty brown residue in my mixing container.
With the next box 2 mixed clear & 2 left a nasty residue. I would like to add it's not my container. I purcashed a brand new 1 just to be sure my brute couldn't be leaching something back into the water. Also it was perfectly clear with just the RO water. It didn't get nasty till after IO was added. I was just curious if the brighteells salt was as good as they say. I thought I'd buy a bucket & give it a shot. I'm needing a couple buckets anyway so even if I got IO again I'd order the bucket instead of the box. I just figured you guys would be the ones to ask.
With the next box 2 mixed clear & 2 left a nasty residue. I would like to add it's not my container. I purcashed a brand new 1 just to be sure my brute couldn't be leaching something back into the water. Also it was perfectly clear with just the RO water. It didn't get nasty till after IO was added. I was just curious if the brighteells salt was as good as they say. I thought I'd buy a bucket & give it a shot. I'm needing a couple buckets anyway so even if I got IO again I'd order the bucket instead of the box. I just figured you guys would be the ones to ask.
Most if not all leave a residue. There have been numerous discussions on salt mixes in this forum . Keys to choice in my opinion are the amount of calcium, magnesium and alkalinity in them in terms of what's best suited to your system and methods. I doubt Brightwell's salt is any better than the others. Most leave a brownish residue ,in my experience. Personally I have always used Coralife more so because I started with it about 8 years ago and it works well for me so I'm reluctant to change.
eyebedam
Is Sailing the Seas
So no major recommendation for a salt that mixes clean?
It is typical for salt mixes to leave a residue. People get all worked up over it, but at least for IO it is typically just calcium carbonate. Why is that a concern? Just leave it behind. If you really want no residue you can use certain mixes, and possibly the new ESV salt mix (4 parts, as I understand it), but I see no big advantage to "mixing clean".
Here's what my mixing barrel looks like:
What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.htm
from it:
Figure 1. The residue on the bottom of the plastic trash can that I use to mix Instant Ocean. I rarely clean it out. The solid is most likely calcium carbonate.
Solid Residues Remaining After Preparing Artificial Seawater
Most salt mixes leave behind a solid residue when dissolved, although the extent to which this occurs varies from brand to brand. I use Instant Ocean and rarely clean out the 44-gallon trashcan that I mix it in, so a significant residue builds up over time (Figure 1). In preparation for this article I removed some of this solid material, and found that it could be almost completely dissolved in hydrochloric acid with lots of bubbling. This demonstrates that these solids were probably calcium carbonate (CaCO3), perhaps also containing magnesium. Pure magnesium carbonate is undersaturated in seawater (which is detailed in later sections of this article) 1 and should dissolve in marine systems, so it isn't likely to be the precipitated material, although there may be significant magnesium in the calcium carbonate.
Based on the fact that the material exists as sheets that clearly did not arrive in the mix (as opposed to a fine powder which might have), I conclude that at least a significant fraction of this residue formed in the barrel. I cannot, however, rule out the possibility that some solid calcium or magnesium carbonate may have existed in the salt mix and was cemented together by additional precipitation of calcium carbonate during dissolution or storage.
When salt mixes are dissolved, there exist local regions where the salt concentration is very high. In those local regions, the calcium and alkalinity must also be very high. In fact, as seawater is concentrated by evaporation, there is a well-established series of minerals that precipitate as the salinity increases. In this series, calcium and magnesium carbonate are the first to precipitate, appearing at a specific gravity of about 1.140, which is about a 50% solution of salt in water.1 Such conditions may well exist on the bottom of a saltwater reservoir as the salt is dissolving.
With some mixes (but not the Instant Ocean that I use), the initial pH on dissolution may be very high (pH 8.5-9 +). As shown in detail later in this article, pH can play a dominant role in determining the rate of calcium carbonate precipitation, and such a high pH would make it more likely to precipitate.
It has been suggested by some aquarists that some salt mixes may contain anti-caking agents, such as clays. I do not know if this is true, but if it is, they may form part of the residue that is left behind after dissolution.
In order to minimize the formation of insoluble carbonate salts when mixing, the following suggestions may be helpful:
1. Add the salt to a full batch of water, rather than adding water slowly to a large batch of salt. The latter allows a greater time at much higher than natural seawater salinity, which may tend to precipitate calcium and magnesium salts.
2. Stir the mixture vigorously as it is being dissolved.
3. If using a mix with a high initial pH, aerate the mixture as well as stirring it. The aeration will reduce the pH.
It is typical for salt mixes to leave a residue. People get all worked up over it, but at least for IO it is typically just calcium carbonate. Why is that a concern? Just leave it behind. If you really want no residue you can use certain mixes, and possibly the new ESV salt mix (4 parts, as I understand it), but I see no big advantage to "mixing clean".
Here's what my mixing barrel looks like:
What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.htm
from it:
Figure 1. The residue on the bottom of the plastic trash can that I use to mix Instant Ocean. I rarely clean it out. The solid is most likely calcium carbonate.
Solid Residues Remaining After Preparing Artificial Seawater
Most salt mixes leave behind a solid residue when dissolved, although the extent to which this occurs varies from brand to brand. I use Instant Ocean and rarely clean out the 44-gallon trashcan that I mix it in, so a significant residue builds up over time (Figure 1). In preparation for this article I removed some of this solid material, and found that it could be almost completely dissolved in hydrochloric acid with lots of bubbling. This demonstrates that these solids were probably calcium carbonate (CaCO3), perhaps also containing magnesium. Pure magnesium carbonate is undersaturated in seawater (which is detailed in later sections of this article) 1 and should dissolve in marine systems, so it isn't likely to be the precipitated material, although there may be significant magnesium in the calcium carbonate.
Based on the fact that the material exists as sheets that clearly did not arrive in the mix (as opposed to a fine powder which might have), I conclude that at least a significant fraction of this residue formed in the barrel. I cannot, however, rule out the possibility that some solid calcium or magnesium carbonate may have existed in the salt mix and was cemented together by additional precipitation of calcium carbonate during dissolution or storage.
When salt mixes are dissolved, there exist local regions where the salt concentration is very high. In those local regions, the calcium and alkalinity must also be very high. In fact, as seawater is concentrated by evaporation, there is a well-established series of minerals that precipitate as the salinity increases. In this series, calcium and magnesium carbonate are the first to precipitate, appearing at a specific gravity of about 1.140, which is about a 50% solution of salt in water.1 Such conditions may well exist on the bottom of a saltwater reservoir as the salt is dissolving.
With some mixes (but not the Instant Ocean that I use), the initial pH on dissolution may be very high (pH 8.5-9 +). As shown in detail later in this article, pH can play a dominant role in determining the rate of calcium carbonate precipitation, and such a high pH would make it more likely to precipitate.
It has been suggested by some aquarists that some salt mixes may contain anti-caking agents, such as clays. I do not know if this is true, but if it is, they may form part of the residue that is left behind after dissolution.
In order to minimize the formation of insoluble carbonate salts when mixing, the following suggestions may be helpful:
1. Add the salt to a full batch of water, rather than adding water slowly to a large batch of salt. The latter allows a greater time at much higher than natural seawater salinity, which may tend to precipitate calcium and magnesium salts.
2. Stir the mixture vigorously as it is being dissolved.
3. If using a mix with a high initial pH, aerate the mixture as well as stirring it. The aeration will reduce the pH.
:bounce1: I have too many t shirts. I but it by the box, 300g of mix. No shirt or bucket but lower price. It has been very consistent in the 7+ years I've used it. I'd like the calcium to be lower ,not that high calcium does any harm though.
Argentiner
New member
Hey Randy,
I've been dosing vodka for about a year and half now, but in the last few months since starting a calcium reactor I've been getting tons of brown wafer algae (not sure the proper name). Was thinking of trying the MB7 to reduce nutrients. Would vinegar do the same sort of thing to reduce this algae, like it does with cyano? I've never had any reading of phospate or nitrates on salifert kits or any problems with any other algae.
I've been dosing vodka for about a year and half now, but in the last few months since starting a calcium reactor I've been getting tons of brown wafer algae (not sure the proper name). Was thinking of trying the MB7 to reduce nutrients. Would vinegar do the same sort of thing to reduce this algae, like it does with cyano? I've never had any reading of phospate or nitrates on salifert kits or any problems with any other algae.
I'm not sure what kind of creature brown wafer algae is, but adding a source of bacteria, or switching to a different carbon source may be a reasonable thing to try if it may be feeding on the ethanol in the vodka.
Argentiner
New member
Ok, I'll give vinegar a try first. Thanks Randy.
:thumbsup:
Let us know what you find.
Let us know what you find.
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