salt

[thefuture]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7787208#post7787208 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Horace
One thing on IO....IO is very low in Ca, very low in Mag and HIGH in Alk. For anyone trying to mimic natural salt water levels of all ions, this salt makes it very difficult and expensive. Personally I do not like the idea of having to add a boat load of Ca and Mg to my water just to get it to the proper levels. There is no reason i should have to buy supplements to supplement my change water! Also as stated before, IO has high Alk and when I do a WC with IO it raises my tank alk (I DONT WANT THAT). Every time you do a WC with IO it sets off the balance of Ca and Kh which as an SPS keeper is the very most important thing to maintain. For that reason I chose a salt that is as close to NSW levels as possible so I dont have to add ANYTHING. That salt happens to be Seachem Reef Salt. Out of the bucket the Alk, Ca, and Mg are all in an exceptable range w/out adding anything, and lastly it cost the same as IO

what other salts have u tried?

 

[steveweast]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7787208#post7787208 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Horace
One thing on IO....IO is very low in Ca, very low in Mag and HIGH in Alk. For anyone trying to mimic natural salt water levels of all ions, this salt makes it very difficult and expensive. Personally I do not like the idea of having to add a boat load of Ca and Mg to my water just to get it to the proper levels. There is no reason i should have to buy supplements to supplement my change water! Also as stated before, IO has high Alk and when I do a WC with IO it raises my tank alk (I DONT WANT THAT). Every time you do a WC with IO it sets off the balance of Ca and Kh which as an SPS keeper is the very most important thing to maintain. For that reason I chose a salt that is as close to NSW levels as possible so I dont have to add ANYTHING. That salt happens to be Seachem Reef Salt. Out of the bucket the Alk, Ca, and Mg are all in an exceptable range w/out adding anything, and lastly it cost the same as IO

Couldn't agree more....but, some folks are pretty passionate about their IO. From what I understand, the IO dkh level is variable...sometimes it's high....sometimes it's OK. Supposedly, they have this staightened out now....but, since I don't use it, I haven't been following it too closely. There was a time there when some folks were getting a dkh of over 16 on some buckets of IO...ouch.

 

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7787374#post7787374 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Malolo
Horace Im just curious what you use to tast alk because I have always gotten ~NSW levels for IO: 2.5- 2.75 @ 34-35ppt using a Hach digital titrator. It is a rather subjective endpoint (kinda pinkish-red to pinkish orange right at the finish) so kinda hard to nail exactly. Is evryone else seeing Hi alk in IO?

I test my Alk with a Salifert Kh test kit. While using IO, I consistantly got readings of 10+ which is much higher than the typical 8.0 that I prefer to run my reef. While Seachem isnt as low as 8.0, it tends to be closer than the IO is.

As a matter of fact, there was a guy who posted the other day about the fact that he was haveing to add calcium to his tank weekly becuase his Ca was not staying stable w/ his Alk. This guy uses a Ca Rx so there is no possiblity that he could be adding more of one than the other, yet his Ca would not stay balanced with the Alk. After going back and forth as to what the cause of that imbalace was, It turns out this guy does sizable weekly water changes with IO w/out adding Ca to his change water...BINGO!

 

[Malolo]

Yeah I hear ya about the Ca. I regularly have to supp. my make-up with a little calcium chloride. I just wonder is if I've just been lucky or if my alk tests are suspicious because I have never had hi alk issues with IO, just the opposite, I have a hard time raising above nsw levels so I stopped trying. Usta try to maintain 3-3.5, now I am content with a steady 2.5-2.75. Seems to be where my systems like to run anyhoo.

 

[Horace]

Malolo, if your having a hard time maintaining Alk, that has nothing to do with the IO, that has to do with how your maintaining your alk/ca in your tank between water changes. All it means is you need to crank up your Ca Rx or dose more 2part/kalk etc. If your tank is running as low as you say, and you do a large water change with IO that is ~10 dkh when your tank is currently ~7.0 dkh....Your going to see an immediate swing in alk...NOT GOOD. If you want to see what I am talking about, measure your alk before the water change, then about 10 mins after the water change measure it again. The alk likely will be elevated somewhat pending on how big of a change you do. Now if you do only 5% - 10% WC the difference wont be that much. If you do a 30%, you will see a sizable difference I think.

 

[kimoyo]

Why don't you guys just buy Reef Crystals instead, which has higher cal, mag and alk than regular IO?

http://www.madisonreef.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=364

 

[Horace]

The alk is still too high on the Reef Crystals...the Tropic Marine looks tempting though! Those levels are just what I like!

 

[Malolo]

I typically dont see those kinda alk values in the IO I mix up. I tested a batch two weeks ago that was 2.5 meq. Lately I even add a little baking soda to it. My system values have been steady as a rock just kinda low. I was questioning the accuracy of my testing because I am hearing others say IO alk is hi when I never see that.

 

[Horace]

The readings on that link for reef crystals was 12.6 dkh...thats far far too high for SPS. Im not sure how your measuring it, but I always got high readings as well...not quite that high though.

 

[JB NY]

You can have success with a variety of salts. I've used IO, Oceanic, Tropic Marin and Ocean Pure with great results. Whatever you choose, just test the salt before using and (if needed) adjust the parameters to match what you want in your tank.

 

[NewSchool04]

I use reef crystals and I've never had a 12 or higher dKh reading, never even close and I've used it for two years now. I try to test the first batch of each bucket I use and always come up with basically the same readings. Usually between 8.5 and 9 dKH and 400 - 420 ppm Ca.
I use Salifert test kits that are pretty simple to read.

 

[bond007069]

IO

 

[CeeGee]

Is there a way to lower alk before adding it to the tank? I use Reef Crystals as well and have a slightly high alk reading.

 

[JB NY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7795743#post7795743 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CeeGee
Is there a way to lower alk before adding it to the tank? I use Reef Crystals as well and have a slightly high alk reading.

No, if you are not happy with the alk being high in some of the salts you will have to try another brand.

 

[PUGroyale]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7794027#post7794027 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JB NY
You can have success with a variety of salts. I've used IO, Oceanic, Tropic Marin and Ocean Pure with great results. Whatever you choose, just test the salt before using and (if needed) adjust the parameters to match what you want in your tank.

Good point... especially if you're maintenance practices include weekly 10% water changes Any real disparity in the parameters of the new salt water isn't going to cause much of a change to the overall tank conditions. Now if you're doing 25% or more it could be an issue.

 

[deansreef]

IO is great and there other product Reef Crystals is what I use

 

[glassbox-design]

Tropic Marin is our usual choice....recently switched to SeaChem, and everything is doing great....Mag, Alk, and Ca is staying steady.

eric&flint

 

[Horace]

Just curious guys, but I dont get why anyone would buy a salt they have to add stuff to...Who wants to buy the salt, then have to pay for even more additives to put in there. This is especially a concern for salts with low mag. That stuff is not cheap and it takes a ton of it to raise the levels. Unless your buying magnesium chloride in 50lb bags (hard to find these in most areas), it will cost you a fortune in additives. Frankly if the salt doesnt have the min levels of Mag, Ca, Alk it is a waste of money/time IMO.

 

[JB NY]

Very few salts contain the correct amount of magnesium now a days.

 

[panic]

I'm staying with half IO half Oceanic.

Measuring salt in the mixing container is not true as when it is in a working system. Rock and sand buffers, light alters ph, etc. I guess it could be close. You would have to calculate your systems' requirements of the levels you test for day by day with out adding any thing, up until you w/c. Then overcompensate on the additives to balance your water to your desired levels depending on the depleted areas.