Have enough of Tropic Marin Pro Salt

[carloschali]

I lost some SPS colonies due to TMP salt. I too was an avid user of the Pro salt. It always mixed at the right parameters. I used Pro for years, never testing a new batch much less a new bucket because I thought the parameters was where they was when I first starting using Pro. I didn't test my tank water also because it was always right on the money. When I noticed things going down hill, it was traced to the salt testing with alk of 5.2. I never got a bucket with harden salt. It's taking me 6 months to get my tank back to where it was with new growth. I will never use tropic marin salt again. I blame myself for not testing my water like I should have.

If you have (or had) sps, you will know that they are difficult to keep and consume lots of calcium and alkalinity. Having said that, why would you not test? I cannot expect that regular water changes alone will keep my calcium and alk at the levels I want them to be, with the number of sps colonies I have and their growth rates, which also fluctuate. I am not convinced that low alkalinity levels in a 10% weekly water changes can make you lose sps corals. IMHO, there were some other issues here. DISLCAIMER: I don't know anybody in TM, I use their salt through my LFS which sells me salt water using TM and my corals are doing very well.

 

[yvr]

For what it's worth, I've been using Tropic Marin Pro almost exclusively for two years on my 185g and for 4 months on my newer 210. I've had no issues with hardened salt, inconsistent element measurements etc. So, while this thread seems to be "the place" to communicate issues, surely there are many of us that have used and continue to use Tropic Marin salt with great satisfaction.

Loyalty to salt brands is always a contentious issue. But since we are on the topic, I have always been happy with Tropic Marin's products and they have produced some great results for me and other hobbyists I know who use them. I have tried many other brands over the past 15 years and I always come back to Tropic Marin's stuff.

 

[slow_leak]

I think Hans Werner addressed the issue here

Last summer wasn´t hot in the Southern US? You know how hot it gets in an dark brown oversea container? You know when we have recalled the buckets?

Regarding hardening you maybe should ask a chemist what heat causes to hydrated salts. Only some of the salts in a marine salt mix are anhydrous, most components are hydrated salts. Hydrated salts melt when they are heated over a specific melting point, calcium chloride tetrahydrate for example melts at 35°C. It is sufficient when only one of the main components melts to solidify the complete salt mix.

Hans-Werner

The follow up may be proprietary but I suspect the root issue was a supplier change of calcium chloride that claimed higher purity, and was further dehydrated prior to mixinging. When it partially melted, it became hydroscopic and recrystalized making a solid form. This material was slower to dissolve and also may not have been fully dissolved when test. Also material had chalk at bottom. This was likely calcium carbonate that settled out.

I believe Hans is implying material that did not get shipped remained granular, but may be over interpretting his comments.