Water Softener Salt

[narms72]

OK before you scream at me here me out. I have been reading in many different forums that people are using this salt for their tank with great success. Here's the link. http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-...oftening-salts/72/morton-solar-salt-crystals/ They just add calcium, magnesium, ect. Which actually allows them to control exactly what goes in and what doesn't. Morton states that it is 99.8% pure salt and really all they are doing is taking seawater and letting it dry to get the salt out. Isn't this what Red Sea and some others do to get their salt? I know some of you will laugh at me and call me cheap but I really don't care you go buy that "reef" product that costs 500% more (Think Southdown VS Caribsea) and please keep the comments constructive.

 

[CrazyEyes]

I'm gonna be honest, unless you're making alot of saltwater and have a good amount of free time its probably not going to be worth it in the end. A 50Lb bucket (160 gallons) of regular IO is around $35-$40. Now I know this bag of salt is only $5 but when you factor in everything it really adds up and only becomes cheaper when you buy the rest of the ingredients in bulk.

 

[anbosu]

The only people I've seen do this are people with large shark or ray tanks. I can't imagine trying to do this for a reef.

A couple stores locally regularly sell the 200g IO boxes in the low $30 range.

 

[TampaSnooker]

I knew of a bait shop that was doing this for their shrimp system, but I haven't followed up in a few years.

 

[narms72]

It is interesting that many have had success with using the salt in very large systems. I see no reason why this success can't be scaled down to a smaller tank like a 180, 150, 120 ect. I would use this recipe for a 2 part dose http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/#2 for Magnesium, calcium, and alkalinity levels and dose a trace elements supplement. Honestly I see all of this being very cost effective and don't understand why this is not a viable option for a smaller tank.

 

[anbosu]

It is interesting that many have had success with using the salt in very large systems. I see no reason why this success can't be scaled down to a smaller tank like a 180, 150, 120 ect. I would use this recipe for a 2 part dose http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/#2 for Magnesium, calcium, and alkalinity levels and dose a trace elements supplement. Honestly I see all of this being very cost effective and don't understand why this is not a viable option for a smaller tank.

It is a viable option, it is just going to take a very long time to save much money. Let's say you change 50 gallons of water a month, and you buy IO locally for $35 for a 200 gallon box. I have no idea what the materials cost is to make your own salt, but to buy 600 gallons worth of IO is $105 for the year, which in this hobby is a pretty small expenditure.

Now, where you can save a ton of money is making your own two part dosing solution. I probably spent $100 on calcium chloride and mag flake 6 years ago and I don't think I'll ever run out of that stuff, and a gallon of b-ionic is $20-30.

 

[oldsaint]

It is interesting that many have had success with using the salt in very large systems.

Where are these successful "REEF" aquarium using this salt?

 

[narms72]

Where are these successful "REEF" aquarium using this salt?

That is a very good point. The salt may have an issue that prevents it from being used in a reef setting. There is only one way to find out though.Maybe in the future Ill set up a 25 gallon with some green star polyps, a couple damsels, and a couple inverts or something to monitor.

 

[Fuzzone99]

A gentleman from The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago was at our facility for training. He stated that they used to make their own salt mixes for some of the exhibits, but ultimately it was far too expensive and time consuming. They now use IO by the semi load.

Sounds easy,.....but not so much. Start pricing ACS grade chemicals and it gets pretty steep pretty quick. While you don't necessarily need all of the minerals in actual seawater, the problem is ascertaining how much of the micros you would have. If you can't test for it (assuming you do not have access to a rather large lab), you can't control it.

From the University of Stanford website:
Elemental Makeup of Seawater
https://web.stanford.edu/group/Urchin/mineral.html