Which salt to use.....

[Reefer_Madness]

So I am trying to understand something and need some opinions. I currently use Reef Crystals for biweekly water changes. My goals for Calcium/Alk/Mag are 450/8/1400. I dose in order to achieve these goals and keep them stable. I notice that my Alk has big swings, so I did some research on what the Reef Crystals has in it. Below are my findings for all salt mixes. Now my question is: If I want to keep my parameters stable, I should use a salt that matches my parameters, correct? That makes since to me. Copy the parameters of the water that is being replaced. Why in the heck are some of these salt mixes so all over the place? I assume it is because some people do not dose, so they get all of their elements from the WC?

 

Edited August 13, 2015 by Reefer_Madness

[sethsolomon]

Where did you pull this chart from?   The numbers seem high, I am wondering if these levels are when mixing the salt to 1.026-1.028.

[SpideyFish]

hw-Marinemix Reefer - Calcium 445-450 ppm, Alk  9.0 dKH, Magnesium 1380 ppm is my favorite, Redsea Coral Pro second place.  I use Redsea in smaller tanks ( Redsea 130D) and the levels stay stable through WCs.  However  hw-Marinemix Reefer took first spot for me because it left no residue when mixing, downside is it cost more, but I have been happy with both brands.  Depending the the size of your tanks there may not be away to get around dosing, large reef tanks will use elements faster than what a modest WC can provide.

[jaddc]

I don't think the actual brand of salt really matters. Instant ocean has been around forever without changing its recipe (despite the knowledge boom over the last 10 years) and people swear by it. They key is to just be consistent. Like most reefers (like Spidey) I pick my mix based on how well it dissolves in the water. For me, Instant Ocean left a lot of residue which doesn't hurt anything but isn't as clean as I like it. I use Red Sea Coral Pro.

 

Are you worried that a WC is causing your params to jump around? You can test that by: 1) testing the tank water before the WC, 2) testing the tank water after the WC, 3) test your freshly mixed water, and 4) testing your new saltwater just before you do a WC.

 

I used to test my new mixed water params on occasion, and when I open a new bucket, but all I learned is that it really doesn't matter. There is no reason to think the values you pasted above are true or will be the same when you mix it up.

[pizzaguy]

nice to see you back jaddc

[s2nhle]

Wow, great. i have been using reef crystal for years.

[jaddc]

nice to see you back jaddc

 

Thanks! Yeah -- I haven't posted in while!!

[miggs76]

I use DDH20cean

It is expensive, but my SPS always loved it.  The high mag also allows me not to have to dose MAG

[Cliff Puckstable]

i've been using regular instant ocean salt since the beginning. i don't see myself changing to anything else.

[Origami]

Been using IO for years. You can always supplement the water you mix up to set parameters where you want them.

 

Sent from my phone

[Reefer_Madness]

Why do a WC with water that is 490/13/1440 when I want my tank to be 450/8/1400?  Its all about mathematics.  If you are performing water changes with a super high Alk every two weeks, then your daily dosing is less than what the corals are depleting.  That means a swing in levels. 

 

This all came to light when I did a larger than usual WC and checked my parameters to make sure everything was OK.  I had a big jump in Alk and Ca.  I don't want that.  I had to turn off my dosers until everything went back down which means additional tests and messing with my system.  I strive for a self-automated system that is on cruise control.  I test stuff regularly to confirm and may fine tune, but I don't want jumps in my readings.  I am going to switch over to a salt that matches my water. 

 

I think I will either try Migg's solution (DDH2Ocean) or SpideyFish's mix (hw-Marinemix Reefer).  Both of those are really close.

[sethsolomon]

Why do a WC with water that is 490/13/1440 when I want my tank to be 450/8/1400?  Its all about mathematics.  If you are performing water changes with a super high Alk every two weeks, then your daily dosing is less than what the corals are depleting.  That means a swing in levels. 

 

This all came to light when I did a larger than usual WC and checked my parameters to make sure everything was OK.  I had a big jump in Alk and Ca.  I don't want that.  I had to turn off my dosers until everything went back down which means additional tests and messing with my system.  I strive for a self-automated system that is on cruise control.  I test stuff regularly to confirm and may fine tune, but I don't want jumps in my readings.  I am going to switch over to a salt that matches my water. 

 

I think I will either try Migg's solution (DDH2Ocean) or SpideyFish's mix (hw-Marinemix Reefer).  Both of those are really close.

+1  This is why I was wanting to use Fritz Salt.

[Origami]

Why do a WC with water that is 490/13/1440 when I want my tank to be 450/8/1400?  Its all about mathematics.  If you are performing water changes with a super high Alk every two weeks, then your daily dosing is less than what the corals are depleting.  That means a swing in levels. 

 

And that is exactly why, for so many years, I used IO and dosed it to the levels that I was maintaining in my tank before I performed water changes. Back then, IO mixed up to a lower, but stable alk level and need a little calcium and magnesium supplementation. But the formulation has changed somewhat since then (according to the Reef Central thread that has been around for ages now). Back in the day, IO used to mix up more like Red Sea does today according to that thread.

 

Keep in mind, though, that if you're doing 10% water changes, then the swings that you see will be moderated accordingly (for linear parameters like calcium, alk, magnesium, etc. - not for pH which is measuring on a logarithmic scale). For example, if you like to keep your tank at 10 dKH and you perform a 10% water change with water at 12 dkH, the end result is water at 10.2 dKH. Not that big of a swing.

[jaddc]

Why do a WC with water that is 490/13/1440 when I want my tank to be 450/8/1400?  Its all about mathematics.  If you are performing water changes with a super high Alk every two weeks, then your daily dosing is less than what the corals are depleting.  That means a swing in levels. 

 

This all came to light when I did a larger than usual WC and checked my parameters to make sure everything was OK.  I had a big jump in Alk and Ca.  I don't want that.  I had to turn off my dosers until everything went back down which means additional tests and messing with my system.  I strive for a self-automated system that is on cruise control.  I test stuff regularly to confirm and may fine tune, but I don't want jumps in my readings.  I am going to switch over to a salt that matches my water. 

 

I think I will either try Migg's solution (DDH2Ocean) or SpideyFish's mix (hw-Marinemix Reefer).  Both of those are really close.

 

There is nothing wrong with your thought process. Two points: 1) there are tons of cruise controlled awesome reefs whose reefers don't worry about this, and 2) use data that you collect and not what a company tells you. At the the end of the day -- its all marketing.

 

When you make up fresh saltwater with RC and test it  -- do you get the same values that's on the package/table? If not, why trust the table?

 

Tom's last post is spot on -- as usual!

 

Jeff

[Kevnjeep]

H2ocean is my favorite

[Squishie89]

Just to add more variables to the conversation, BRS is doing videos to walk viewers through a build. They did an episode on water/salt and gave their opinions on the topic; https://youtu.be/SMq-vk1mnZw (if you want to skip the talk about RODI, go to 11:50).

[Reefer_Madness]

Just to add more variables to the conversation, BRS is doing videos to walk viewers through a build. They did an episode on water/salt and gave their opinions on the topic;

(if you want to skip the talk about RODI, go to 11:50).

Great info. That and the info above actually addressed exactly what I was asking about. Thanks!!

[sethsolomon]

Something to add about IO.  Did a bit of an experiment over the last 2 days.  When you fresh mix IO the Alk is at 11.  But if you mix it over 24 hours the alk precipitates out down to an alk of 8.  So something to consider for IO users to help not have the huge swings.

[SixtyFeetUnder]

i've been using regular instant ocean salt since the beginning. i don't see myself changing to anything else.

Me too. What's interesting is my brother in law used to always get on me claiming tropic Marin was superior. According to this chart TM is below IO in all of the big three which makes me wonder what else are the big considerations or value adds? I assume strontium is the the 5-15 ppm on all of these but it would be interesting to see.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[s2nhle]

Wow, good to know about the salt. Thank you for sharing. i have been using reef crystal for years and just add alk and cal thru Kalk reactor and mag manually.

[22bfan]

I will be using HW Marinemix Reefer as i set up the 300 over the next month. I've got about 100 gallons of IO Reef Crystals water in what will eventually be the sump. Will keep you posted on the results once everything is stable.