What Salt do you use?

[Chin_Lee]

Jason
If you are measuring the basics each time, i don't see any real benefit over the use of one of the cheaper salts. I also measure the basics each time to determine if there are any deficiencies. I then use the supplement calculators to bump it up accordingly. After I add the supplements, i don't re-measure and its pumped into the sump during the water change.

To save time, I've written up on the wall above my 60g water tanks on how much of each supplement to add to increase 10ppm in 60g of water. So if I'm 100ppm short on Mg, I multiply that number by 10, measure that amount of Mg, and dump it into the water. (2 minutes maximum for bumping up one supplement)

On $40-50 difference per bucket in salt prices, thats enough Mg/Ca from Mr. ChemMaster to boost the Mg/Ca for 20-30 buckets of salt (no i'm not getting any commission on sales i just feel that his product is very good quality stuff).

In addition, $40-50 for 5 minutes of your time is really not that bad of a trade off. I know I don't even make close to $40 in five minutes even on overtime wages (that $9-10 per minute). On the other hand, has Tropic Marin made an additional $40-50 for the 5 minutes that you've saved?

Since we may have thousands invested in livestock and taking into consideration the number of bad batches of salt by some bigger salt manufacturers, i strongly believe that testing the alk/mg/ca is always required on all salts regardless how much we've paid for it. I guess my point is:
if we are testing once already, and to save $40-50, why not add the supplements (if required and especially if you have a quick reference system set up already).

If I were to pay an extra $40-50 per bucket of salt, I would expect the following from the salt manufacturer:
- no need to measure the basics
- guaranteed %min. on the good elements
- guarantted %max. on the bad elements
- livestock replacement guarantee if any of the % min/max analysis was not met and the use of the salt caused the death of the livestock(s)
Otherwise, i'll take that $40-50 to spend on something else with this hobby.

Originally Posted by Jason McK

Don't you feel in the long run with all the testing and addition of supplements and your time it ends up costing you more.

I was of the same mind set as you, until I started to read about the fillers that are in the salts that may boost measures numbers like CA or ALK but have no benefit to corals. I also took a close look at the amount of time I spend getting my water change water perfect. 3 or 4 tests for Mg, ALK and CA while adjusting between each.
What prompted this thread was a need to find out what everyone else was doing (It was successful) but the reason I was wondering was because despite my best I still had a display tank that was reading 4KH. This was do to the inconsistency of the salt I was using. So I'm assuming now there is no way I can read my make up water 2 or 3 times and if it's good Assume it will always be good.
I'm on Tropic Marin now and will measure the 3 basics each time I make a new batch but if I'm forced to add any supplements I will return to a cheaper salt.

[Jason McK]

Very good system Chin. I guess I don't trust myself enough to add a perscribed dose of something without measureing again. I'm wrong too often.

[untamed]

I'm getting 7.4dKH on the batch of Ocean Pure Pro that is in the mixer right now. I also checked the salinity, and I'm a bit low. I assume that if I add additional salt, I'll get some rise in this number.

It's made me realize that I can't just put 50 gallons of water and 1 bag of salt and expect the salinity to be correct. I never accurately calibrated the 50 gallon mark on my mixer....maybe it's not exactly right.

[danny zubot]

I assume that if I add additional salt, I'll get some rise in this number.

Maybe, but I didn't get any rise when I did my change last weekend after I corrected my salinity. It still read 7.4.

[Reefer Rob]

So if IO salt is that much out on the levels we test for, we can only assume the trace elements we don't test for are out as well! Even though I'm not having any problems, I think I'll try some TMP next time. What is everyone getting for reading with Reef Crystals? This is supposed to be their "better" salt.

[littlesilvermax]

Thanks for the kind words Chin.

This is my theory:

You cannot just use dehydrated seawater to make sea-salt, as it goes through a chemical change when it dries that is not reversible, so it has to be synthetic.

Some companies use stuff that dissolves very fast and is proven to work fairly well, like IO. In fact I can have a full 45 gallons of water made up (not including time to make the RO/DI water) in 1/2 hour, and it is clear! That includes adding the magnesium and calcium.

Other companies try to get higher levels of magnesium and calcium but then it makes the whole thing harder to dissolve and much more expensive. Of course salt making companies would never introduce a salt that required 2 or 3 steps to make, even if that is a better procedure, which I believe it is.

I have read too many stories of the "reef" salts causing problems long term. Although there have been a few complaints from IO, for the most part there are many fantastic reef tanks that use it w/o problems.

So, what if a 2 or 3 step process is better? What does it cost? How easy is it?

Well I buy a couple of skids of IO every year for the locals and I test one pail for alk, cal, and mag. I have always come up with around 10, 350, 1180.

That is the only testing I have done for the last 5 years on my salt, once a year! I mix up my water 45 gallons at a time. I use 6 teaspoons of calcium and about 350 ml of magnesium that I mix into the water before adding salt. Then the next day (or an hour later, whatever, as long as it is mixed, FWIW I use 2 large submersible pumps to mix and heat my water so it goes really fast!) I add the salt. It literally takes me less then 45 seconds to add the magnesium and calcium, and it costs about $2 a pail!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have the best tank around, but I am close. I get about 3 lbs of growth a month out of my SPS and clams in my 250.

Take it for what it is worth, but to me the above procedure just makes sense. I had to bang my head in the wall many times to get it all figured out when I was first getting into reefing, but now it is super easy!

[Reefer Rob]

What about strontium and iodine, have you tested for those? It's still up in the air how important these are, but it's a good idea to keep everything as close to NSW as possible IMO.

[Chin_Lee]

OK Ben I need to ask how you measure 3 lbs of growth in a month?
And interesting thing about testing the pallet of salt only once to get the baseline readings. Do you check for markings on the buckets to ensure they are the same batch? If so, what markings do you look for for the batch number?

And I do agree that there have been so many great tanks in the past and present that used IO, I have to wonder if the comparisons of salt brands becomes just a comparison of numbers game based on the analysis on a batch of salt that was available at that time to the persons conducting the analysis. Its interesting that I've have even seen these numbers deviate on different analysis with the same brands of salt but yet we will base so much of our decisions on these analysis.
Personally i feel that consistency is the key regardless of what salts you use. If you are consistent with the Ca/Mg/Alk in your new water to match the current levels in your tank, you can't go wrong. Meanwhile take more time to work on getting the Ca/Mg/Alk in your whole tank up to the levels you wish to maintain instead of spending time on that small batch of saltwater which is only 10-15% of your total volume. And when you mix in the new saltwater, the numbers are diluted 85-90% of the difference.

[Johnny Reefer]

Originally Posted by littlesilvermax

...... I use 6 teaspoons of calcium and about 350 ml of magnesium that I mix into the water before adding salt. .....

Just want to confirm.....the 350 ml of Mg.....is that a dry measure?......or do you mean grams?

Thanx much,