DIY salt mix recipe

[TosT]

23.98 g sodium chloride
5.029 g magnesium chloride anhydrous
4.01 g sodium sulfate
1.14 g calcium chloride
0.172 g sodium bicarbonate
0.699 g potassium chloride
0.100 g potassium bromide
0.0254 g boric acid
0.0143 g strontium chloride
0.0029 g sodium fluoride

Water to 1 kg total weight.

recipe from: http://synchiropus.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=271
see also: http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic63848-12-2.aspx


I ran into the previous thread this morning and saw the DIY salt mix recipe. Down here a bucket of InstantOcean (we only get IO and ReefCrystals) costs about twice as much as in the US. :eek2: Being on a student budget, you can see why this looks more than appealing. Nevertheless, I was wondering if anybody else has tried this and if so, what their results have been. Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[Billybeau1]

Well , you have to read the whole thing. He only uses the first 5 elements and then he mixes it 50/50 with Instant Ocean.

Sorry but I cannot recommend this. Budget or no budget.

 

[jdieck]

I would suggest you get the prices of each element as you will need them ALL if what you plan to have corals or a fish only tank with live rock.
Using only the first 5 elements will leave out requiraed borates to maintain PH stability and the required strontium that promotes squeleton growth.
Also unless you use reagent or USP grade for the chemicals you run a high risk of introducing many unknown impurities and I have the hunch that reagent or USP grades of the components will run you a higher cost.
If you can get pure table salt (Sodium Chloride) you might be able to import a premixed bucket of all other elements and save some money.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/1559/cid/392

 

[TosT]

Thanks for your replies. I am known to spend money on experiments like this and then not have them work (like that DIY skimmer) so I figured I better ask first.

I agree, using all of the chemicals is probably essential. Most of these are locally available and I'm checking into others such as potassium bromide which seems to need some kind of permit.

Thanks again for your replies. Any other opinions, comments?

 

[jdieck]

:thumbsup:

 

[Sarcophyton874]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to get the water from ocean, then pour it into a container and put a canister filter on it? You already live in the tropics and I'm sure the water isn't as polluted there. The Catalina Water company sells a similar product to pet stores here in California. All they do is go to Catalina Island to collect water, then they filter it, and finally they sell it for like $10 per 5G.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9691642#post9691642 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sarcophyton874
Wouldn't it be cheaper to get the water from ocean, then pour it into a container and put a canister filter on it? You already live in the tropics and I'm sure the water isn't as polluted there. The Catalina Water company sells a similar product to pet stores here in California. All they do is go to Catalina Island to collect water, then they filter it, and finally they sell it for like $10 per 5G.

That is a good idea, If you live in San Jose it might worth the 60 miles ride to the ocean.

 

[TosT]

I actually have a friend that has a cistern truck bring her ocean water, since she has a huge setup. However, she has been experiencing lot's of trouble keeping corals, even though she does massive water changes every other week or so. She's not sure if it has to do with the place where they are getting the water from or because of the fact that ocean water doesn't last as long as the synthetic stuff. So we are both looking into this. If we pull it off I'll let you guys know if it works out.