OP
OP
IO becoming less concentrated????
- Thread starter Feet4Fish
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Thaxxx
Valuable Member
And all of these had the same results? Taking 160 gallons worth to make 55 gallons.
Have you been using this water knowing it's nowhere near normal?
I know I wouldn't.
OP
OP
Feet4Fish
Valuable Member
Results have been like this from recent bags and one bucket. Haven’t bought a box in a bit as the prices went up on the boxes.
92Miata
Valuable Member
Are you calibrating your equipment at 0, or with 35ppt solution?
I'd think that if you got some boxes where things were mixed wrong, and you got a whole bunch of something else other than the NaCl component - you'd have a ton of precipitate.
I get about a bucket and a half a month (of IO RC) on amazon subscribe and save and mine has been rock solid as far as parameters go.
Also - how are you filling your 55g bucket, and are you sure its not leaking somewhere you can't see?
Reefs and Geeks
Well-Known Member
As others have mentioned, this isn't adding up. It's possible alkalinity, magnesium, calcium...etc can be off, but for the salinity to be off, and by a huge margin just can't happen. They would have to somehow be putting 2/3 less salt in the bags/buckets for that to happen, which of course would be very obvious. Looks like you've been in the hobby for some time, so I doubt it's some rookie mistake or something like that. Would be great if you could post pics of your process showing how much salt going into how much water and the measured results after it's finished mixing.
Is there any chance that you somehow have a leak or drain in your mixing container that would be draining saltwater that would be replaced by your RODI supply? I can't think of anything else that would cause this other than a huge error in measuring the salt, water volume, or a crazy coincidence that all of your salinity measuring tools are off by the same amount.
Is there any chance that you somehow have a leak or drain in your mixing container that would be draining saltwater that would be replaced by your RODI supply? I can't think of anything else that would cause this other than a huge error in measuring the salt, water volume, or a crazy coincidence that all of your salinity measuring tools are off by the same amount.
sas226
Active Member
It says half cup per gallon to get to 35 ppt, I've had to use something like 3 1/2 cups of IO to get it to 35 ppt. It's honestly dumb as heck. It was one of reasons for me switching to Tropic Marin Reef Pro on my new build in the coming months. before anyone says it.. my measuring is accurate. it's the salt mix that's not accurate.
92Miata
Valuable Member
All of IO and reef crystals instructions are for 1.021. Not 35ppt.
3 ish cups for 5g is normal. OP's 8 or 9 per 5g isn't.
piranhaman00
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There directions are for 1.022.
All of IO and reef crystals instructions are for 1.021. Not 35ppt.
3 ish cups for 5g is normal. OP's 8 or 9 per 5g isn't.
Beat me to it.
terraincognita
Valuable Member
Not sure if anyone asked this. But did you mix your salt batch dry?
Unless you're dumping in an entire bucket? I didn't get how much you were making but it sounded like you were trying to make 5G not 160G
I learned to mix my salt batch dry before adding it to water to make my SW, had a similar type of situation, unfortunately I didn't really pay too much attention and it had a detrimental effect :-(.
Sometimes it happens where a company is also making these giant VATS of a product, and the mixing isn't 100% either, as well if you got the bucket that was dregs from the last part of the vat possibly not a correct mixture of all elements.
I don't think it's an impossible possibility.
I'd reach out to IO and try to get them to fix it and send you another batch.
Unless you're dumping in an entire bucket? I didn't get how much you were making but it sounded like you were trying to make 5G not 160G
I learned to mix my salt batch dry before adding it to water to make my SW, had a similar type of situation, unfortunately I didn't really pay too much attention and it had a detrimental effect :-(.
Sometimes it happens where a company is also making these giant VATS of a product, and the mixing isn't 100% either, as well if you got the bucket that was dregs from the last part of the vat possibly not a correct mixture of all elements.
I don't think it's an impossible possibility.
I'd reach out to IO and try to get them to fix it and send you another batch.
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OP
OP
Feet4Fish
Valuable Member
I appreciate the conversation that has developed and encourage it to continue for others to gain insight. I have used IO on and off for past 15 years with a few other salts mixed in for various systems. Didn’t start to see this inconsistency until about six months ago. The system that is using IO is a 650 FOWLR and everyone is doing just fine. There is not any leak around the saltwater mixing container and the RO is plumbed separate 55 gallon drum so it is not possible to accidentally dilute the saltwater drum. I do have a 35ppt standard that both the digital and manual refractometer get calibrated against on occasion and yes have been during these last six months as part of my investigation into this. The floating type hydrometer has also been verified with same standard. Typically I don’t measure the amount of salt. I constructed this system some time ago so simply I could just dump a 50 gallon bag of salts in and always be in the ball park. Has worked beautifully until recently.
This isn’t a big deal to me but was curious. I mixed up a new 50 gallons of saltwater this morning with a different brand salt mix and it was spot on. So since it isn’t really consistently any more cost effective to use IO currently, I will just transition to a new salt! Thanks everyone for your input! Here is the tank in question....
This isn’t a big deal to me but was curious. I mixed up a new 50 gallons of saltwater this morning with a different brand salt mix and it was spot on. So since it isn’t really consistently any more cost effective to use IO currently, I will just transition to a new salt! Thanks everyone for your input! Here is the tank in question....
Randy Holmes-Farley
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3 1/2 cups per gallon?
Randy Holmes-Farley
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FWIW, if 0.5 cups per gallon makes a sg of 1.021, then it takes 0.63 cups per gallon to get to 35 ppt. That's 3.2 cups per 5 gallons. 
flampton
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Thinking about the massive mass difference and to be sure the only way this is possible (beyond human error) would be that another soluble chemical was added, probably nonionic...
piranhaman00
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Lol cutting that salt with Levamisole now.
sas226
Active Member
Sorry, no. it went from 2 1/2 per 5g, to 3 1/2. Obviously these aren't super strict measurements but yeah. it's per 5g because that's what I mix for my water changes (small lil AIO atm.)
FWIW, if 0.5 cups per gallon makes a sg of 1.021, then it takes 0.63 cups per gallon to get to 35 ppt. That's 3.2 cups per 5 gallons.
It's entirely possible I've been reading it wrong the entire time. Thought it was 1/2 cup for .025. I'd check it right now but currently waiting on salt shipment heh. Good to know!
For Reef Crystals I use 31oz in 5 gallons to get 35ppt.
I just made a batch and decided to see what the 31oz was on the measuring cup. When I first poured it in it was around 3 1/4 cups. Then I decided that the cup needed to be leveled a bit. What this did was compact the salt and I ended up with around 2 3/4 to 3 cups.
Comparisons made by volume of salt used seam to leave room for a lot of variances.
I just made a batch and decided to see what the 31oz was on the measuring cup. When I first poured it in it was around 3 1/4 cups. Then I decided that the cup needed to be leveled a bit. What this did was compact the salt and I ended up with around 2 3/4 to 3 cups.
Comparisons made by volume of salt used seam to leave room for a lot of variances.
