Has anyone used ATI Essentials Pro with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals?

[bozo]

Just wondering if anyone is using this combo of salt and 2 part.

Any suggestions and opinions on the combo stated is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Any salt mix combination should be fine, as is most any salt by itself, assuming you recognize the pros and cons that every mix has.

Is there a reason to use this particular combination?

 

[bozo]

Any salt mix combination should be fine, as is most any salt by itself, assuming you recognize the pros and cons that every mix has.

Is there a reason to use this particular combination?

Hey Randy

Thanks for your response.

I found a good deal on this salt and 2 part. So I bought quite a bit of it.

I was reading on the ATI website and they recommended that we should not use a salt mix that has an alk of 9 dKH or above.

That's what prompted me to ask.

Thanks!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey Randy

Thanks for your response.

I found a good deal on this salt and 2 part. So I bought quite a bit of it.

I was reading on the ATI website and they recommended that we should not use a salt mix that has an alk of 9 dKH or above.

That's what prompted me to ask.

Thanks!

Some people like to match the alk of their salt mix to the alk of the tank, so that they can do water changes with no change in alk.

IMO, that is only significant if you do individual large water changes, and I see no reason to do that except in emergencies.

If RC has an alk of 11 dKH and your tank is at 8 dKH, a 10% water change only boosts alk by 0.3 dKH, which is fine.

 

[xiaoxiy]

I use ATI essentials with I/O, however I run my system at ~7.5dkH instead of the higher dkH that I/O mixes up at.

 

[bozo]

Some people like to match the alk of their salt mix to the alk of the tank, so that they can do water changes with no change in alk.

IMO, that is only significant if you do individual large water changes, and I see no reason to do that except in emergencies.

If RC has an alk of 11 dKH and your tank is at 8 dKH, a 10% water change only boosts alk by 0.3 dKH, which is fine.

Thanks Randy.

I guess my concern was about the comment ATI made with the 2 part dosing of their "super concentrated" formula.

I was worried because I know reef crystals mixing ALK at 9 dkh or even higher.

Thanks again

 

[bozo]

I use ATI essentials with I/O, however I run my system at ~7.5dkH instead of the higher dkH that I/O mixes up at.

Thanks for the response!

How are you getting your dKH that low if I/O Reef crystals mixes at the higher dKH?

Thanks!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Randy.

I guess my concern was about the comment ATI made with the 2 part dosing of their "super concentrated" formula.

I was worried because I know reef crystals mixing ALK at 9 dkh or even higher.

Thanks again

The only effect is the water change effect I noted. A two part of any brand is no more or less suited to a particular salt mix.

What alk level do you want to target for your tank?

 

[bozo]

The only effect is the water change effect I noted. A two part of any brand is no more or less suited to a particular salt mix.

What alk level do you want to target for your tank?

Thanks Randy

I'm looking to keep ALK around ~8 dKH.

It just tripped me out that ATI says that about their 2 part because that would deter a ton of ppl from using their 2 part combo since a lot of people use salt mixes way above their recommended values of 7-8 dKH.

I supposed I'd have to find a way to lower the dKH of the freshly made I/O Reef Crystals to match the current ALK in the tank that the ATI is creating, but I'm doing an automatic water change system with stenner pumps.

I'm looking to do 1 gallon water changes every 6 hours. That's also why I'm getting paranoid lol!

Thanks again!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Randy

I'm looking to keep ALK around ~8 dKH.

It just tripped me out that ATI says that about their 2 part because that would deter a ton of ppl from using their 2 part combo since a lot of people use salt mixes way above their recommended values of 7-8 dKH.

I supposed I'd have to find a way to lower the dKH of the freshly made I/O Reef Crystals to match the current ALK in the tank that the ATI is creating, but I'm doing an automatic water change system with stenner pumps.

I'm looking to do 1 gallon water changes every 6 hours. That's also why I'm getting paranoid lol!

Thanks again!

There would be no concern using RC with that water change schedule and using any brand of two part.

 

[xiaoxiy]

Thanks for the response!

How are you getting your dKH that low if I/O Reef crystals mixes at the higher dKH?

Thanks!

I only do a 21 gallon continuous/automatic water change weekly on a 200+ gallon system.

If I have to do large water changes in cases of emergency, I use a different salt mix that mixes up at a lower alk (i.e Tropic Marin Pro).