holy salt mix batman

[joeycadre]

so since april i've been using oceanic salt and i've been having very slow growth and lost almost half of my sps's. i thought i was doing something wrong and was racking my brain about what it could be. after getting my own ro/di unit i bought a small box of IO reef crystals just cause it was the only salt at the shop i got it. well i did my first water change last week and my god! all of my corals have amazing polyp extension. the fish seem much more happy and the small amount of cyno and hair algae i had are gone.

screw oceanic.

 

[neuroslicer]

How was your water chemistry for the Oceanic mix (Ca, Alk, NO3, etc.) and what is it now?

 

[joeycadre]

to be totally honest i never tested the mixed water befoer putting it in the tank. i know i should have. but i do know my calcium would soar after a water change and my alk would drop when i used oceanic.

everyting is spot on with the reef crystals. i have some mixing out in the garage right now and before i do my water change i will test it tomorrow.

 

[cayars]

Had you not done a water change before this?

If not it may have nothing to do with the salt you just used but could be because you exported some nasties and replaced elements (especially trace) that were missing from your tank.

But either way I like Reef Crystals a lot. It mixes easy and fast too. I'd have to say it's my current salt mix of choice.

 

[joeycadre]

i did water changes every two weeks. some times sooner.

 

[Reefdiver77]

I have been using Oceanic since Feb 05, when I sat up my tank. All of my corals (including sps) and livestock have flourished. I do get a high calcium and a low alk, but just drip a little baked baking soda to bring up alkalinity. I use water from the tap(Jackson water) with ultimate conditioner added to it. I never dose anything except the occasional baking soda. I have the Tech Parts A&B, but never use it. I guess I am just lucky. The only time I used IO salt was when I found a new large box at Goodwill for $2 and during that time I did have to dose the tech solutions.

 

[neuroslicer]

Joey,
I always thought my the slow growth my SPS were showing was due to less than adequate illumination (I use VHOs), but after being much more conscientious about monitoring Ca and Alk, my SPS growth and coralline algae took off like gangbusters. If you were using Oceanic, then you were probably running with low alkalinity. Even with frequent water changes, if you've got a sizeable number of SPS, you might find your Ca and/or Alk drops quickly, so keep up it monitored or you might find slow growth again, even with Reef Crystals.

I keep my Ca and Alk up with kalkwasser (Mrs. Wages pickling lime) when my water levels get low, or homemade two part calcium and baking soda solutions when water level is normal to high.

 

[joeycadre]

i dose seachem reef builder and advantage calcium. i keep a close eye on my ca and alk as well as my phosphates, nitrates, ph, specific gravity, etc... i test weekly. and i couldn't find anything except a nitrate spike over the last month. but before that spike my corals were doing crappy.

maybe i'm wrong about the oceanic and switch to reef crystals, but i seriously can't figure out anything i've done different besides that change.

 

[Reefdiver77]

I talked with Craig today at RDU. He was telling me about talking with a guy in Calif who had done research on all marine salts and Craig said this guy rated Oceanic the lowest and IO right down there with it. I forget the name of the salt the guy rated best, but Craig is trying to get it. He is also going to carry Seachem. He will no longer be carrying IO and Oceanic. Craig, if you are out there, let us know the name of the salt rated highest. (might have been Biosea). Anyway, Craig said with this salt, you have to do no dosing. He has also made the Kent folks upset due to not needing any dosing.

 

[neuroslicer]

"Do no dosing" doesn't make sense if you've got hard coral that pull calcium carbonate out of your water quicker than you can replenish it with water changes! My alkalinity drops an entire 1 dKH unit per day without dosing! And my calcium drops 5 - 10 ppm per day.

 

[Codeman00]

I totally agree with Neuroslicer. Craig's comments don't make sense here. If you have enough SPS, you will have to dose, plain and simple.