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Mixing Station Parameters


ccary23

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Mixed up red sea's sea salt to 1.025.  CA came out to 410 (salifert) , but KH came out to 5.6 (hanna).  Thinking this was clearly me using a dirty cuvette I swapped out and still got 5.6.  I just recently started testing my water prior to changing it and I am glad I did.  Is this something that I should expect to experience?

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How are you measuring specific gravity? Are you using anything to calibrate your measuring tool?

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I am using the Milwaukee digital refractometer.  I calibrate before use.  I used a different reagent and still got the same.

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Good. It's always important to have faith in the accuracy of your salinity when discussing the concentration of other ions in your water.

 

1.025 sg = 33.2 ppt

MFR data for Red Sea Salt says to expect 7-8 dKH alkalinity for this concentration. 395-425 calcium. 

Similar data for Red Sea Coral Pro Salt indicates 10.5 to 11 dKH alkalinity for 33 ppt. ~425 calcium.

 

Given this, your alkalinity is lower than expected given the mfr spec. I will say that, with the Red Sea Salt, if you're going to use it in a reef tank, you may want to mix it up to 35 ppt rather than 33 ppt as the alkalinity, calcium and alkalinity are pretty much where the minimum "normal" levels would be for 35 ppt concentration. That is, around 8 dKH, 425 ppm Ca and 1270 Mg. 

 

Red Sea Coral Pro mixes up a bit heavier for alkalinity than I typically go at 35 ppt. It mixes up to 11.5-12.5 dKH (according to the mfr).

 

I'm assuming that you're using the Red Sea Salt and not the Coral Pro Salt?

 

BTW, you can easily boost the alkalinity of your newly mixed saltwater with baking soda (Arm and Hammer works great).  Use Jose Dieck's Reef Chemistry Calculator to help you decide on how much to use.

 

 

 

 

 

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This post peaked my interest and i decided to measure what my salt mixes to. I use the black red sea pro bucket so here's what mi got after mixing.

 

Salinity 1.026     checked with hanna salinty checker and calibrated refractometer 

 Alkalinity : 9.7   hanna checker 

 Calcium 395

MG 1200

 

honestly im a little shocked by these numbers why are they so low as opposed to what red sea advertises on the bucket? I tested each one like 3 or 4 times because i was disbelief but idk what to say about this. guess ill be switching salt because this is just horrible. at 35 ppt the bucket says it should have 12 dKH but im only getting 9.7 so idk what to make of this. none of the advertised levels are what i got 

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I did similarly. However, I already had about 40 gallons of saltwater in my mixing tank before I mixed up another 35 gallons to top it off at 75 gallons. I typically use Instant Ocean and this go around I measured Alk at 10.2 dKH and Ca at 425 (which is just about "balanced"). I didn't bother measuring magnesium at the time.

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19 hours ago, piratesreefer said:

This post peaked my interest and i decided to measure what my salt mixes to. I use the black red sea pro bucket so here's what mi got after mixing.

 

Salinity 1.026     checked with hanna salinty checker and calibrated refractometer 

 Alkalinity : 9.7   hanna checker 

 Calcium 395

MG 1200

 

honestly im a little shocked by these numbers why are they so low as opposed to what red sea advertises on the bucket? I tested each one like 3 or 4 times because i was disbelief but idk what to say about this. guess ill be switching salt because this is just horrible. at 35 ppt the bucket says it should have 12 dKH but im only getting 9.7 so idk what to make of this. none of the advertised levels are what i got 

How long did you mix and store your salt? Looks like it is susceptible to drops in parameters over time, which is why they give specific mixing instructions.

 

 

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22 hours ago, piratesreefer said:

This post peaked my interest and i decided to measure what my salt mixes to. I use the black red sea pro bucket so here's what mi got after mixing.

 

Salinity 1.026     checked with hanna salinty checker and calibrated refractometer 

 Alkalinity : 9.7   hanna checker 

 Calcium 395

MG 1200

 

honestly im a little shocked by these numbers why are they so low as opposed to what red sea advertises on the bucket? I tested each one like 3 or 4 times because i was disbelief but idk what to say about this. guess ill be switching salt because this is just horrible. at 35 ppt the bucket says it should have 12 dKH but im only getting 9.7 so idk what to make of this. none of the advertised levels are what i got 

 

2 hours ago, WheresTheReef said:

How long did you mix and store your salt? Looks like it is susceptible to drops in parameters over time, which is why they give specific mixing instructions.

 

 

@piratereefer See 11:25 in WheresTheReef's repost of the BRS video. It seems that your salt is the outlier among all the brands tested.

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I've used reef crystals and regular IO and I never get what is advertised. Salinity and Alk are almost always low.  I have made it a habit to mix up the saltwater, do my water change, measure and adjust salinity, alk and calcium. Once I know my tank water is where I want it I dose as usual and do it all again with the next water change. 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Sharkey18 said:

I've used reef crystals and regular IO and I never get what is advertised. Salinity and Alk are almost always low.  I have made it a habit to mix up the saltwater, do my water change, measure and adjust salinity, alk and calcium. Once I know my tank water is where I want it I dose as usual and do it all again with the next water change. 

 

 

Why not mix to your salinity before a water change? Parameters would likely be closer to where you want them. Also, if you perform smaller more frequent (e.g weekly 10%) water changes then the effect of mixing to different parameters have less of an impact on the tank. Adjustments would also be smaller with smaller fluctuations.

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Yeah, I do large water changes about once a month (100g) and I just find it easier to make adjustments in the tank. Why do it all twice? I guess the answer is I’m lazy. I also have a large water volume so I dont think the discrepancies make that big of a difference. Especially if I correct them within an hour or two.


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I will typically mix anywhere from 30- to 50 gallons at a shot in a 7-gallon mix tank (it easily holds 75 gallons, but is marked to 70). Some time back, I calculated that 1 cup of IO would raise the tank by 0.834 ppt so it's really easy to dial in the full container if I initially mix it a little low. 

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