Can I make my own salt from pharmaceuticals

[sixty_reefer]

has anyone made there own salt from pharmaceuticals?

Could I make my own salt from sodium chlorite pharmaceutical grade, sourced in the Red Sea? I believe it would have all the trace elements needed for a reef, just short on some elements from the evaporation process.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

has anyone made there own salt from pharmaceuticals?

Could I make my own salt from sodium chlorite pharmaceutical grade, sourced in the Red Sea? I believe it would have all the trace elements needed for a reef, just short on some elements from the evaporation process.

I used to mix my own salts at a public aquarium. You need to buy in bulk in order to save money. In the end, the "break point" was about $50,000 per year - less than that amount of salt, it was cheaper to buy Instant Ocean. Back 30 years or so ago, I could make my own salt for 9 cents per gallon (not counting labor costs), or buy bulk Instant Ocean for around 11 cents.

Mixing small batches is problematic because some trace elements are expensive and you need very little of them. Some people in the past would mix "extender" salts, with few trace elements, but it didn't work very well. Here is an article I wrote that gives some history of sea salts in aquariums:

Evaluating Synthetic Sea Salts

By C. M. Schwim Seawater is the lifeblood of our marine aquariums. Some aquarists near the coast can obtain natural seawater (NSW) for their aquariums, but m

reefs.com

Jay

 

[sixty_reefer]

I used to mix my own salts at a public aquarium. You need to buy in bulk in order to save money. In the end, the "break point" was about $50,000 per year - less than that amount of salt, it was cheaper to buy Instant Ocean. Back 30 years or so ago, I could make my own salt for 9 cents per gallon (not counting labor costs), or buy bulk Instant Ocean for around 11 cents.

Mixing small batches is problematic because some trace elements are expensive and you need very little of them. Some people in the past would mix "extender" salts, with few trace elements, but it didn't work very well. Here is an article I wrote that gives some history of sea salts in aquariums:

Evaluating Synthetic Sea Salts

By C. M. Schwim Seawater is the lifeblood of our marine aquariums. Some aquarists near the coast can obtain natural seawater (NSW) for their aquariums, but m

reefs.com

Jay

Thank you @Jay Hemdal, that’s the kind of info I was looking for, would we need to add trace elements if the salt was made from reef water? Would the trace not be in there already from the evaporation process and just add calcium, magnesium and potassium? The salt i’m looking at trying is from the Red Sea and it is a you say the more you buy the cheaper it gets. On small batches is coming at around 15 dollars to 10kg of salt including delivery (30cents a gallon)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There are recipes around, but what’s the purpose? It will cost far more than buying a salt mix unless you make enough to buy huge amounts of all the chemicals needed.

 

[sixty_reefer]

There are recipes around, but what’s the purpose? It will cost far more than buying a salt mix unless you make enough to buy huge amounts of all the chemicals needed.

Inflation, my tank is not very demanding.

we’re I am Most reef salts are around 80 plus for 25kg

this salt that am considering costs 25 for 25kg

it may not look much but it’s a big difference at the year. What would I have to add to the mix?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Inflation, my tank is not very demanding.

we’re I am Most reef salts are around 80 plus for 25kg

this salt that am considering costs 25 for 25kg

it may not look much but it’s a big difference at the year. What would I have to add to the mix?

IMO, this process is way too complicated for a DIY. I'm not sure exactly what you are buying, so you first need to dissolve it up and get an ICP measurement.

Exactly what is left in dried seawater depends on how it is done (e.g., at what point you remove residual liquid), and that's a prime industrial way to get consumable table salt so if it is done for that process, there will be little else in it. Almost no one is drying seawater to complete dryness to get a dry salt material. Even Red Sea salt mix is not just dried seawater. Some things precipitate that will not redissolve.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you @Jay Hemdal, that’s the kind of info I was looking for, would we need to add trace elements if the salt was made from reef water? Would the trace not be in there already from the evaporation process and just add calcium, magnesium and potassium? The salt i’m looking at trying is from the Red Sea and it is a you say the more you buy the cheaper it gets. On small batches is coming at around 15 dollars to 10kg of salt including delivery (30cents a gallon)

@Randy Holmes-Farley may know for sure, but I had always been taught that sea salt made from evaporation cannot be reconstituted for aquariums by adding water. I thought it had something to do with salts reacting with one another as the drying pools became more saline.

In fact, one salt vendor used to advertise that their salt was "natural ocean salt" but when you delved into it, what they were really selling was solar made sodium chloride with the other constituent salts added, just like in other company's mixes.

Jay

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley may know for sure, but I had always been taught that sea salt made from evaporation cannot be reconstituted for aquariums by adding water. I thought it had something to do with salts reacting with one another as the drying pools became more saline.

In fact, one salt vendor used to advertise that their salt was "natural ocean salt" but when you delved into it, what they were really selling was solar made sodium chloride with the other constituent salts added, just like in other company's mixes.

Jay

Yes, that's my understanding as well. Calcium carbonate is one of the things that irreversibly precipitates.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Randy is right, it’s no point to speculate. I have received my sample, will mix and sent it to icp and see what’s missing.
once I receive my results will do another mix and send it again to see if am happy with results.

 

[atoll]

One of the salt manufacturers possibly red sea boasted that they cordoned off an area of the beach and allowed the water to evaporate before collection. Not sure what they added to it before selling it. They even put photos of the salt beds drying in the sun.

 

[atoll]

Yes its Red Sea, here's a screen.print from their page on it.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Yes its Red Sea, here's a screen.print from their page on it.

I think the one am getting is from the same area, just need to work out what been removed from the evaporation process, will send it for a icp soon to see if it’s viable to use.
Kh was 2 and calcium 40 with basic test kits but am sure many other base elements will be missing as mentioned on the screen shot you posted.