Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)
- Thread starter nineball
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bbart12
New member
While I have only been in the hobby for a couple of years. Over that time I have used quite a few salts. Anything from Instant Ocean, to Brightwell Aquatics salt, to Seachem Salinity all of which have problems with Seachems being one of the worst due to the rather amazingly large amounts of solids that precipitate out.
B-Ionic is the best salt that I have used by far!! There is something to be said that the pump that I use to mix my salt and what I have used over the last year has not be cleaned since I used the last of the Salinity. Also I feel that having 4-parts allows for a more consistent mixture. When you measure out the given amount of NaCl it will have a predictable change on a volume of water. ESV goes so far as to give you weight measurements for each of the parts to remove error associated with the volumetric measurement of solids. It is also the most clear mixing salt that I have used.
The only thing that I have not read and cannot find is the presence of minor elements located in the liquid parts provided. In order to make my self feel better I add trace elements to the mix when I do my weekly water change.
Brian
swissgaurd
New member
hey shawn and peter
ive tried many salts some i liked some i still like
first salt was HW -to hard to find
instant ocean-inconsistant batches
fritz-i dont think its around anymore
kent marine-used to like it but then they had batching errors
tropic marine-used to use it when it came in burlap bags
redsea pro best success with sps so far used it longest only thing was the residue left in mixing container.
D & D -glorified redseapro had high alk.
royal nature- well ,lost sps still cant figure out whats wrong with this salt.
bought a bucket of tropic marine bi-actif which im using now to correct problem with royal nature.see if i can get things on track again.
i will then go to tropic marine pro,never used it but have seen results.
tropic marine was good to my tanks in the past.
so to narrow it down.i will use either tropic marine pro or redsea coral pro.
i give the salt brands only one chance if they screw up the batching process i dont bother with them anymore.
i test every batch,look for dirt after 24 hrs.
test for as many things as i have tests to my disposal.
what i like to see in a salt is ph after mixing for 24hrs to be 8.2 all other tests fall into place
tropic marine always dissoles from 8.2 to 8.4
vic
ive tried many salts some i liked some i still like
first salt was HW -to hard to find
instant ocean-inconsistant batches
fritz-i dont think its around anymore
kent marine-used to like it but then they had batching errors
tropic marine-used to use it when it came in burlap bags
redsea pro best success with sps so far used it longest only thing was the residue left in mixing container.
D & D -glorified redseapro had high alk.
royal nature- well ,lost sps still cant figure out whats wrong with this salt.
bought a bucket of tropic marine bi-actif which im using now to correct problem with royal nature.see if i can get things on track again.
i will then go to tropic marine pro,never used it but have seen results.
tropic marine was good to my tanks in the past.
so to narrow it down.i will use either tropic marine pro or redsea coral pro.
i give the salt brands only one chance if they screw up the batching process i dont bother with them anymore.
i test every batch,look for dirt after 24 hrs.
test for as many things as i have tests to my disposal.
what i like to see in a salt is ph after mixing for 24hrs to be 8.2 all other tests fall into place
tropic marine always dissoles from 8.2 to 8.4
vic
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Well this is something I can talk a lil about lol. I have used just about every salt out there and I agree comletely about ESV's salt. I am currently useing it in my 60g and love it. I make my WC water sunday mornings and do a WC late afternoon or evening. You can easily measure out all the cal/alk/mag and tweak it to whatever numbers you want.
Conventional tactics include:
- large macro algae refugium (reverse lighting schedule);
- large/oversized protein skimmer;
- feed skimmer venturi with outside air (will require a little dedication for this)
- lots of splashing/surface agitation (gas exchange providing you don't have an over abundance of CO2 in your ambient air);
- ozone;
- use of carbon to remove organic compounds; etc,
Here's an interesting read re carbon; organics; oxygen/pH; and crashes...... however you should also be mindful of the head and lateral line erosion study that points toward carbon fines... if you use lots of carbon be sure to address the issue of fines effecting your regal and other tangs prone to this affliction...
In my tanks, I've been keenly observing the pH dynamic, especially as it applies to carbon dosing (both liquid and pellet based), and for me I've been able to pare it down to gas exchange, however I do appreciate the effect of domestic [occupant] respiration (due to efficiently sealed buildings). In all of my debating around the most popular suggestion is the use of marco algae refugia.
HTH,
SJ
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coralreefdoc
New member
CO2 Scrubber System attached to your skimmers air intake
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
You've been this patient waiting to set up a reef tank, but you don't have 24hrs to wait for the salt to mix
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
That's good advice to slowly mix the salts, and often overlooked, myself included.
We could mix IO & IORC without going any further to other brands. Mixing brands offers diversified "good stuff" but at the same time diversified "bad stuff". When it comes to salt mixes I have stayed with a "known evil" in IO products. Having said that, I discount many of the claims that people make about the salt mix being the source of all of their problems form nuisance algae to coloration.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Some people go as far as to use outside air to feed their protein skimmers. I'm not sure if this is enough to off gas Co2, but it can't hurt.
Ambient Co2 levels creep up in the winter when we seal our homes up here in the north, but it's actually the summer months with the AC running and all the windows closed that I hear the most reports of low PH.
Increasing your alk to 9-10 will help with PH, but you don't want to make your tank chemically dependent. An HRV (air exchanger) helps quite a bit in keeping the air fresh, but it's a bit of an expense.
Controlling the ambient Co2 levels of the room is really the key. The tank will always equilibrate with the air in the room, assuming you have good water flow/gas exchange.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Good point again Doc. The Filter Guys are a sponsor here and they sell Co2 scrubbers. I have heard that they are hard to use with cone skimmers due to the high air to water ratio, but I cannot confirm this.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Gary Parr is a well known reef aquarium photographer from Chicago. He is coming today for a photo shoot. See the lengths we go to to please you Chingchai
Any other requests
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Hey, a local from the Kinc', Welcome.
chingchai
Premium Member
That is great to hear. Gary is one of the best photographer in this hobby.Gary Parr is a well known reef aquarium photographer from Chicago. He is coming today for a photo shoot. See the lengths we go to to please you Chingchai
Don't say anything about pleasing me. But everybody looks forward to seeing progression of Peter's tank. Inspiration is what we need.
nineball
Active member
Hi Chingchai, there is actually quite an update. We have a new member of the NineBall team. His name is Steve Noakes. He is a coral aquaculturist by profession and he will be working with Mr. Wilson to maintain and grow our coral reef. As Mr. Wilson has noted we have been concerned about some of the water quality tests and with Steve's help they are all coming back into line. The proof however is in the reef itself. The colour, polyp extension and the growth is wonderful. This has been improving in an incredibly short period of time. We are finally going to properly set up the first Mars system for rehabilitating and growing coral exclusively. Since Steve's profession is coral farming we are devoting six of the tanks to growing out frags from the more successful colonies in the display tank for him to sell. In exchange he will help ensure the best possible care of our reef and its inhabitants. More on this later. The mangroves are growing wonderfully. The automated misting system is working well. It is very clear to me that the LED's are working well. I am very pleased with the aesthetic appeal of the lights as well as affect on coral life in the tanks. Hopefully Gary will capture some of this in his photo session.
Peter
msr224
New member
Wow, That is a mouthful. This post if full of possibilities. Can we look forward to some details of Steve actions? I hope so. A tutorial and some information on what he was looking for and what all you guys have done would be great for the rest of us!!!!
Thanks again for the educational commitment that you have undertaken.
Allmost
New member
Mr. Wilson, I have a friend at a university testing different salt mixes for a project, I just Emailed you their findings with regards to heavy metals in some more popular salts. I will send you the rest of info when they finish this week if you are interested or think would help in anyway
if you need any other brand of salt tested ... let me know
they are in market for purchasing salt for a 18,000 Gallon system !- Status
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