Salt, one man's opinion (aka salt dissertation)

cee

cee

New member
I'll probably get flamed for this but what the heck:

Most salts are "heavy" in certain elements and lacking in others (esp. potassium). I try to match NSW levels as close as I can when I mix salts because I find that the alkalinity boost after a water change can make my corals look bad for a day or two. Having said that, IO/RC tends to be too high in alkalinity and, esp. IO, a bit lacking in Ca and Mg. That's ingredient 1. To drop the alk a bit and boost the other two, Oceanic is one option to accomplish that. Finally, and not all the time, I use the SeaChem salt to add a little borate alkalinity. That's my receipe which has variations but I find for the price it works well and those 3 seem to have reasonable QC at the factory (IO/RC had some issues a few years back with quality). The other thing worth mentioning is that they all contain high levels of different undesirable elements, and by mixing I can balance that out a bit.

Some advocate those expensive salts like Reefer's Best, Tropic Marin, etc., but I don't see the point since I can more or less duplicate their balance with my mixture. Also, some recent salt studies I've seen leave me to believe they aren't all they're advertised to be. Another one that looks like it would be good "out of the box" to achieve NSW levels is the CoralLife (I think that's the one) salt mix albiet a bit high in Ca (although I don't mind that as much as high Alk). You can see a pretty comprehensive summary here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1287118

Dave
 
Thanks for posting this Dave. I feel like I pushed you to posting this, but I believe it is a good discussion.

From the information that I have found, it looks like IO is high in Alk and RC is even higher. This is based on work by Bertoni done a few years ago http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1714505 I am concerned about the Alk. I am also concerned about the trace minerals of each mix and the purity. My issue is that I have not found good information on the trace minerals that compares the mixes to NSW. Based on the cost, Ca, Alk, and Mg content of the mixes, I believe that a mixture of Oceanic and IO would be good. The exact mixture, is not certain. Now here are my questions- Can anyone post a link to research on the trace minerals (a comparison would be good)? Why does RC get such high praises?? Based on Bertoni's work, it looks like the Alk is too high. What are the levels that we should really be striving for in our systems??? I understand that it varies, but should we be striving for NSW? I have not used it, but I really want to try it due to the hype. I had another, but forgot it- I will post later. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks
 
So for a beginner like me, which one is best for a reef tank, without braking the bank?

in laymans' terms, please. :lmao:
 
Thanks Dave. I also strive for Ca 420-440, Alk 8-9, Mg 1400 (had hair algae issues in the past), and IO don't test for any of the trace. Not familiar with the role of Sr, K, or other traces.

I took a quick look at the links you listed. That is what I wanted. Now I have to figure out how to do the conversions. Oh, and why does the SeaChem test so high for ammonia? And there is a big difference in the amount of salk needed to make the same salinity. I would not think that there woudl be that much deviation. Anyway, I am going to try to make up a mix based on some of that information. Thanks

I think IO is a good bang for your buck. I have used it strictly for 4+ years and have not had major issues (that I can definatively attribute to IO). Although I have not tried anything else and thus have nothing to compare it to. Like Dave said, CoralLife looks good right out the box according to the tests.
 
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My theory, especially for the average hobbiest, is : If it's not broke don't fix it. If your using a salt and your inhabitants are thriving why change. If there's a problem that can be attributed directly to the salt and not due to something like big changes in things like temperature, salinity or excess nutrients, change . I've used IO for many years, tried various others and always go back to IO, cost and availability do play a role in my decision.
 
Hey Dave, I've been using Coralife since It came on the scene (Long time ago) but recently Oceanic has aquired them and the salt HAS changed IMO. There has been a grey sludge left in the mixing barrel since my last purchase of their 300gal mix that was never there before. Leads me to believe that Oceanic has changed something In the way It's mfg. Sad as It was In my opinion the best salt out there, I'm going to get one more bucket to make sure but If the grey matter Is there It's time for a new salt mix.
Bill
 
Hey, Do anyone have opinions on the Ca, Mg, and Alk of Oceanic, IO, and RC?? They vary from the AWT study and the Bertoni study. I understand that they will not be equal or maybe not even close, but the trends are different as well.
 
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poolkeeper1 said:
Hey Dave, I've been using Coralife since It came on the scene (Long time ago) but recently Oceanic has aquired them and the salt HAS changed IMO. There has been a grey sludge left in the mixing barrel since my last purchase of their 300gal mix that was never there before. Leads me to believe that Oceanic has changed something In the way It's mfg. Sad as It was In my opinion the best salt out there, I'm going to get one more bucket to make sure but If the grey matter Is there It's time for a new salt mix.
Bill
Click to expand...

Bill,
Have you run tests on newly mixed batches? Do the parameters vary much from what you measured previously? The gray sludge you speak of wouldn't worry me too much if all other levels are in line.
 
i use RC. have for several years. started with coralife. lived in florida and used natural for a little while and used oceanic at one point to.. best results i've had is with RC.

IMO and from one of Randy's articles, the higher alk that RC mixes to isn't a big deal because of how much is used up daily. to sustain a tank with waterchanges alone you'd have to do like 50% daily with a lightly loaded tank to keep up. on my 40 breeder i change 5 gal a week and never notice a alk spike. I think pick a salt and stick with it is probably the best suggestion.
 
Here is a link to a table of major and minor elements in NSW
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/planasystem/ig/Guide-Charts--Tables--Diagrams/Major-Elements-in-Saltwater-.htm
and Here is a link to the top 14 out of 70 trace elements in NSW
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/planasystem/ig/Guide-Charts--Tables--Diagrams/Table-of-Top-14-Out-of-70-Trac.htm

Here is another link to primary elements in salt mixes
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/planasystem/ig/Guide-Charts--Tables--Diagrams/Comparison-Table-of-Primary-El.htm

This article is interesting on different sea mixes
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i3/Salt_Impressions/Salt_Impressions.htm


I was unable to find an article or table comparing the trace elements in different brands. I was just researching all of this the other day. So I'm glad this discussion was started.
 
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