Interesting Vibrant Sea ICP Test results

[Squibbles]

http://lab.atiaquaristik.com/share/e75d502241dfa17fbfa8

Mixed up a batch of the new Seachem Vibrant sea for a water change and decided to send out a sample of it out with my tank's ICP test.

The results are quite disappointing and now I'm glad I haven't done more than 2 water changes with this salt. Had great success with the AquaVitro Salinity salt, but it's no longer carried locally so had to switch salts.

It concerns me that manufacturers are putting products like these on the shelf

 

[Larry L]

Is there a reason why you mixed it up with the salinity so low?

 

[Bob Weigant]

I’m using it with zero problems. Granted I don’t test for everything. It’s sps dominant 225 and as long as the corals are happy I will continue to use this salt

 

[Squibbles]

Is there a reason why you mixed it up with the salinity so low?

Was recommended to mix to 1.023 due to concerns of high Potassium when I contacted them asking about the high potassium number they advertised.

 

[Squibbles]

I’m using it with zero problems. Granted I don’t test for everything. It’s sps dominant 225 and as long as the corals are happy I will continue to use this salt

Corals are still happy after a few water changes. I'm more concerned with long term imbalances as I was planning on turning on the auto water change system again (I travel a lot for work) with the new salt. 3-4 months of 5% water changes per day could lead to some crazy crashes.

The numbers just seem very strange, coming from a generally reputable manufacturer.

 

[RobertP]

I wouldn't worry about the Potassium levels. Most of our test kits cannot measure it very well and our corals take it in. From my understanding it has to be extremely high before it is an issue.
When testing any salt you always want to mix it up to the correct salinity and then take your measurements after that is set.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Squibbles - Your corals look amazing. I’ve been using this salt for about 6 months. For now I’m gonna go with so far so good

 

[Larry L]

I wouldn't worry about the potassium levels either, especially if that's your only concern. There's a fair number of people out there (including Justin Credabel and Mark "Mr Saltwater Tank" Callahan) that are purposely using elevated potassium (2x or 3x NSW) to enhance coloration. Maybe that's why Seachem is doing it too.

 

[Potatohead]

Calcium at 532 @ 31.5 ppt is concerning

 

[Christoph]

Hello!

From how much prepared saltwater was this sample taken?

We found, that rather significant inhomogenities can be present in salt buckets, so that small samples often dont represent the mean numbers of the particular salt brand.

Best,
Christoph

 

[Squibbles]

Hello!

From how much prepared saltwater was this sample taken?

We found, that rather significant inhomogenities can be present in salt buckets, so that small samples often dont represent the mean numbers of the particular salt brand.

Best,
Christoph

The sample was taken from a 50G water change.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I base my concerns on health of fish and corals. From their looks, I would not change much.
I would never send in a water sample before or after a water change but rather in between.

 

[Squibbles]

I base my concerns on health of fish and corals. From their looks, I would not change much.
I would never send in a water sample before or after a water change but rather in between.

I know. Just trying to preemptively prevent issues. However the test I linked is the freshly mixed saltwater straight from the box. I usually briefly test with hobbiest grade kits and noticed some strange results with ca and k which prompted me to do an icp test on fresh mixed vibrant sea.

If I were too auto water change with this salt, over time my tank will match vibrant seas parameters.