can instant ocean be used with sps

[sticky polyps]

The calculation for figuring muratic dose is as follows

Gallons of water treated X number of dkh drop desired X 0.123 = ml muratic to add

For example:

25 gal X 2dkh drop X .123 = 6.15ml of muratic.

This works for products purchased at the hardware or pool supply store. Go slow. You can always add more if needed. Aerate for 24 hrs before use.

This is great, I have never seen this before. Are there different grades or strength to muratic acid? Or are the all the same consintration?

 

[swk]

This is great, I have never seen this before. Are there different grades or strength to muratic acid? Or are the all the same consintration?

I've only seen the one strength available at pool supply or hardware stores. Can remember what it is off hand. Purer supplies can be found from chemical vendors online but I have yet to have an issue using regular old muratic. Even with triton tests, etc I haven't seen any negative parameter that would be caused by the acid

 

[sticky polyps]

True.

 

[DaveRaz]

I guess I remember back running my SPS tank without quantity of 10 - 12 DKH. I can't believe someone would add acid to their water change water just to bring down the alkalinity. Too many people have been successful with instant ocean. I just don't see a reason to mess with it

I am not comfortable changing 20% water volume monthly with a dkh of 11 into my 8 dkh reef. If I were to change less water more frequently then I wouldn't mess with it. I'm too lazy to do weekly water changes. For me it's easier to drop 6ml of muratic into my mixing bin once a month. if it works it works.

 

[gcarroll]

I am not comfortable changing 20% water volume monthly with a dkh of 11 into my 8 dkh reef. If I were to change less water more frequently then I wouldn't mess with it. I'm too lazy to do weekly water changes. For me it's easier to drop 6ml of muratic into my mixing bin once a month. if it works it works.

You are adding undue stress to your life that is not necessary. That 20% water change will increase your DKH by .6. Are you implying that a DKH of 8.6 would harm your reef in some way? These are the toes of myths that deter people from our hobby. The hobby is not that hard and sometimes reefers are deterred because they read threads like this and think SPS are not worth keeping. I just want you to know that they are more resilient than you think. Happy Reefing.

 

[SCWA Reef]

You are adding undue stress to your life that is not necessary. That 20% water change will increase your DKH by .6. Are you implying that a DKH of 8.6 would harm your reef in some way? These are the toes of myths that deter people from our hobby. The hobby is not that hard and sometimes reefers are deterred because they read threads like this and think SPS are not worth keeping. I just want you to know that they are more resilient than you think. Happy Reefing.

Couldnt agree more, i put sps frags in my system from the 7th day and still have the now colonys a year on. I test alk once a week and calc maybe fortnightly, nothing else unless i have an issue, my waterchanges are sometimes fortnightly, sometimes monthly and my system looks better than ever! Too easy to over complicate things.

 

[33yrplus]

You are adding undue stress to your life that is not necessary. That 20% water change will increase your DKH by .6. Are you implying that a DKH of 8.6 would harm your reef in some way? These are the toes of myths that deter people from our hobby. The hobby is not that hard and sometimes reefers are deterred because they read threads like this and think SPS are not worth keeping. I just want you to know that they are more resilient than you think. Happy Reefing.

The reason I quit using IO was it was testing 14dKH and I mixed the whole bucket at once. That would equate to a sudden alk change of 1.2dKH. Not a good thing in my books. Your sig is true... SPS = Stability Promoting Success. For best color and growth rate of acros this is very true. btw an alk of 8.6 or even 9.2 is fine for acros. We are discussing sudden alk changes from doing a water change. I think it's more discouraging for people to do a water change and their acro's die then to see a discussion about a salt mix that has had quality problems in the past.

Corals do adapt slowly to the water conditions they are in, within a certain range. I suspect this is why there are so many people doing things so differently and having success.

Some acros are more sensitive than others. If you bang a milli with a 1.2dKH alk change probably nothing will happen. If you bang a weakened smooth skin deepwater acro with that same 1.2dKH alk change it will most likely rtn.

At this time these are my opinions based on observations and water tests etc. As more info becomes available my opinions tend to change.

 

[Big E]

I have used IO for 16 years on SPS systems and never had a single problem.

I just checked my recent new mix-- Alk-9.3 Calc- 390 with Salifert kits at 35ppt. Year's ago they had levels of 11 & 360. Back then I'd add some calcium. They improved the calcium & Mg levels about 4-5 years ago.

I let new salt mix 24hrs before I test or use it. I always buy the 200g boxes.

I run 8.0-8.5 on my systems so my 10% weekly water changes aren't even a blip on the radar as far as alk readings go. My dosing is done with Randy's two part.

 

[jason2459]

I guess I remember back running my SPS tank without quantity of 10 - 12 DKH. I can't believe someone would add acid to their water change water just to bring down the alkalinity. Too many people have been successful with instant ocean. I just don't see a reason to mess with it

Well, I did for a bit to help bring down the alkalinity in my tank. Normally I run around 10-11ish. About the same as what I usually test with IO. I dose limewater and it maintains it there very well.

However, I had an incident just over a year ago that wiped out all my inverts/corals. My alk shot up to over 13. To correct I could just stop limewater dosing or reduce my water change new salt mix. I have to keep my house closed up year round do to severe outside allergies which keeps the pH rather depressed. Limewater is a primary means of keeping it over 7.8.

So, I went with lower the alkalinity in my saltmix with Muriatic Acid while I built back up my stony corals and coralline so my alk would remain balanced again.

 

[33yrplus]

I have used IO for 16 years on SPS systems and never had a single problem.

I just checked my recent new mix-- Alk-9.3 Calc- 390 with Salifert kits at 35ppt. Year's ago they had levels of 11 & 360. Back then I'd add some calcium. They improved the calcium & Mg levels about 4-5 years ago.

I let new salt mix 24hrs before I test or use it. I always buy the 200g boxes.

I run 8.0-8.5 on my systems so my 10% weekly water changes aren't even a blip on the radar as far as alk readings go. My dosing is done with Randy's two part.

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the updated info. It's been 5 years or longer since I used IO so they could well have been having QC issues back then and have since fixed the issue. How did the Mag test on your latest batch?

I use a 300 gallon rubbermaid to mix my salt in so I would use a whole bucket or box at once and let it mix for 24hrs. I would test that water with Salifert kits for Ca and Mg and I used a Lamotte kit for Alk. That was where I was getting my #'s from.