Red Sea Coral Pro salt causing Hair Algae problem
- Thread starter bkoppes
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ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
I let my salt mix for weeks sometimes. Lol. I guess this salt mix wouldn't work for me.
From what they posted about precipitation, I'd rather all that be done in a mixing barrel than my tank. I would think mixing it longer would actually help.
Interesting read thanks for posting it. I've always avoided RSCP simply because of the high alk.
And here is the YouTube video demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlIHJ02NaKk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlIHJ02NaKk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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Jlobes
5000 Club Member
ive read the instructions...they dont say anything about mixing for no more than four hours!!!
http://www.redseafish.com/uploadimages/user manuals/10031 Red Sea Salt manual.pdf
http://www.redseafish.com/uploadimages/user manuals/10031 Red Sea Salt manual.pdf
Jlobes
5000 Club Member
I use RSCP salt and have had great success for the past 12-18 months. I do have a bit of hair algae but I do NOT blame the salt. However, I did not know about the mixing(even though I read the directions) and I often mix for 24+ hours. Something to think about now.....
fragmatic
retired reefer
In the vid he says not to worry if you mix it for a longer time. As per our conversation the mix was crystal clear when I did my water change. So this is not a factor in the ream of this problem IMO... if the problem does exist.
fragmatic
retired reefer
He said it will cloud and is fine to use if you mix it longer.. however, if you are like me, you do not mix it as harshly as it is being done in the vid. I have a 35 gallon can full now and it is not cloudy. So, shrug...I dauh know...
We are accustomed to mixing for 24 hours or more because we are not used to crystals.
I went and bought a new bucket of my normal brand of salt to used before I bought the Red Sea. ............ while this gets sorted out my Red Sea is staying in the bucket.
46gReef
Well-Known Member
This thread is intriguing....about 4 months ago I ran out of my normal salt mix(IO Reef Crystals) & all my LFS had was RSP. So I bought a bag, did my H2O change & about a week later HA outbreak....I also used a very cheap carbon because again, that's all my LFS had & I needed to change my old carbon out. I attributed the HA outbreak to the cheap carbon(I figured it clogged up quicly & started leeching PO4 into my tank) although the thought did cross my mind that it might be the salt. I'm no scientist and I know the only way to know 100% would be to set up identical tanks & blah, blah, blah but seems a little too coincidental all these people are having the same issue......The reason I'm posting is because I was planning on doing a H2O change tonight with RSP that has been mixing for a few days now(ran out of IO Reef Crystals again ******!!)....I'm wondering now if I should wait......as far as the mixing issue, most solutions becomes more uniform when mixed longer so I'm not sure what that is all about.
I posted the mixing thing for the user Connie whom stated they were mixing it over night, and this was their first time using it. I figure it would serve that person best to know the proper mixing technique for it (whether they choose to follow it is up to them). The reason they say to do it that way is so you actually get the benefits of using the coral pro salt, otherwise you might as well be using the regular red sea salt as the beneficial parts have precipitated out. The difference in letting it "precipitate" in the tank is the nutrients are getting to the coral vs the sides of the mixing bucket. You'll see a similar residue when mixing reef crystals.
As far as getting answers you guys need to run some tests on your RO water, freshly mixed water, and display water. If the salt is to blame you should see a significant jump in phosphates, nitrates, and other "fertilizers" when comparing freshly mixed salt to new RO water. You should also see significantly more of the dissolved nutrients in the freshly mixed water than in your display, as the dissolved "fertilizers" are being used up by the HA in your display. If you are not seeing this jump in parameters then it will be difficult to quantitatively blaim the salt.
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As far as getting answers you guys need to run some tests on your RO water, freshly mixed water, and display water. If the salt is to blame you should see a significant jump in phosphates, nitrates, and other "fertilizers" when comparing freshly mixed salt to new RO water. You should also see significantly more of the dissolved nutrients in the freshly mixed water than in your display, as the dissolved "fertilizers" are being used up by the HA in your display. If you are not seeing this jump in parameters then it will be difficult to quantitatively blaim the salt.
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Stray32
Valuable Member
So, I did just that. Tested Phosphates and Nitrates in my RO/DI, fresh mix, and tank water, using ATI tests. Here are the results:
Nitrates: 0 for all three
Phosphates:
RO/DI: between .25 and .5
Mixed: .25 ish
Tank: .25 ish
So it appears that part of my problem is that I am introducing fairly high phosphates right out of my RO/DI for some reason. All of the filters are brand new, so it seems I will need to solve this problem first. However, more than just phosphates can cause algae outbreaks, and I am still not convinced that the salt has nothing to do with it. Its too much of a coincidence in my opinion that so many people are having the same issue with the same salt. Let's just put it this way, I have used the same water from the same tap through the same RO/DI for 5 years and have only recently had this issue.
Nitrates: 0 for all three
Phosphates:
RO/DI: between .25 and .5
Mixed: .25 ish
Tank: .25 ish
So it appears that part of my problem is that I am introducing fairly high phosphates right out of my RO/DI for some reason. All of the filters are brand new, so it seems I will need to solve this problem first. However, more than just phosphates can cause algae outbreaks, and I am still not convinced that the salt has nothing to do with it. Its too much of a coincidence in my opinion that so many people are having the same issue with the same salt. Let's just put it this way, I have used the same water from the same tap through the same RO/DI for 5 years and have only recently had this issue.
skinz78
10K Club member
I have been using it for a few months now. I love it, it mixes clear with no residue left in the bucket. My corals and fish are doing very well now, and my HA is starting to go away.
skinz78
10K Club member
I did check my RO/DI and tank water for phosphates recently. I never suspected the RSCP salt until I switched salt brands and then started doing a little research in my tank thread to see when the RSCP was first introduced and then also when my problems with HA begun.
FWIW my RO/DI has zero phosphates "checked with a Hanna Checker" and I haven't changed my filters other than DI resin in over a year, TDS is zero still.
My tank water tests at zero phosphates but with all the algae in there I am thinking that it is being consumed so quickly that there isn't any noticeable measurement.
FWIW my RO/DI has zero phosphates "checked with a Hanna Checker" and I haven't changed my filters other than DI resin in over a year, TDS is zero still.
My tank water tests at zero phosphates but with all the algae in there I am thinking that it is being consumed so quickly that there isn't any noticeable measurement.
So what you need to do to deal with your algae problem, IME, is not do any more water changes until your phosphates come down and to facilitate the drop in phosphates you should run some gfo. You need to bring them down very slow though. If you feel water changes are a must, you need to get different base water from a friend or LFS. Then when you start doing water changes again (phosphates down), get your water from a different source or get your RO working better then see if the algae problems persist. You are not getting any sort of measurable significance from the mixed water so it is hard to say it is or isn't the salt (but according to your preliminary testing it isn't). You should test the different water before you use it, to ensure its better than your water. There does seem to be a lot of people claiming this salt is doing this but nobody is backing it up with quantitative data, so it may or may not be because of the salt. We just need to get to the root of the problem so it can be useful for other people. Are you using city water, is it possible they changed their treatment process?
When you checked the RO water, was it in the mixing bucket? Is it possible it picked up residual phosphates? I have a Hanna checker getting here Thursday and I'm gonna do some tests myself, I ordered specifically because of this thread.
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