Salt Mix
- Thread starter JakeShu
- Start date
- Tagged users None
I'm not claiming that it's going to color up or feed your corals, but when you're making small batches out of a typical salt mix you're going to encounter (sometimes severe) swings in measured parameters from batch to batch. You can roll your bucket around all you want, but it's just not likely to be homogenous. And from bucket to bucket you'll see differences too. That's why ESV is great for small batch mixing. But again, I'm not claiming any color boost or anything like that. Although I do believe that you can safely use it for a standard % water change within a shorter period after mixing without seeing signs of coral irritation as compared to other salt mixes. There's plenty of empirical evidence for that, and I am very confident in saying I have seen the evidence for myself, but the quantitative evidence of steady parameters from batch to batch is basically proof-positive.
But! And if! You are exact in your measurements of the 5 components, the first being the volume of RODI you start with. Next the NaCl dry component takes the longest to dissolve fully (I give it 30 min in a 5 gallon bucket with a 100 gph pump running and I break up any clumps bigger than a dime before I start a timer). Then the Mg sulfate, same deal but I give that 20 minutes. 3rd, the Ca liquid solution, 2 minutes. Last, the Alk solution: another 2 minutes but then I let it all stabilize for an hour before I use it. By the way I use a digital grain scale commonly used for loading ammo or in my case for weighing point weight on arrows for target archery. It was like $15.
Sounds like a lot of work, but it's not like you sit there and watch it for an hour. There are plenty of other things you can do during the first part of the dry components mixing time, and it kinda gets me in the reef tank maintenance mode, so I use that time to do what I need to do for weekly maintenance type things. Works for me.
MarsRover
Well-Known Member
Loving the thread. Just a note to you @Digby57, sometime point weights can be lead. Just want to be careful you are using scale papers or something similar so you aren't slowing, potentially, adding heavy metals to your tank!
The 5 component sounds very interesting. I always thought it was interesting that all these folks out here who run triton etc... and are testing and tweeking individual components of their tank water, still used a "batch" salt.
All these companies change their formulas at one time or another. I can't image process and material quality control is an extreme priority for them, certainly not batch consistency between small and big boxes. I do believe in mixing larger batches, even if you are a nano keeper. Simply for the reason of non-homogeneity in any dry mix. That said, it depends on how they make the salt.... conceivably they could have it all dissolved in a liquid solution and then they boil off the water and scrape up the salt. In that sense then you are more likely to have homogenous grains....still a limit there though... It all depends on production process.
It really scares me, i was just watching GPS on CNN and Neil Degrasse Tyson was on talking about people and knowledge-literacy in the world these days. I then come on here and am all to well reminded how prevalent it is. I am a humble engineer, scientist at heart. I am no @Randy Holmes-Farley. But i think whenever threads like this pop up, i always feel the need to tell people need to careful about conjecture vs hard scientific facts. "this salt is better because my corals were kicking after i did one water change!" or "this salt is garbage because my corals died after i added it" all conjecture and little to no science. I'm thankful someone like Randy is out here otherwise i wouldn't be able to handle the internet..
I think Randy or whomever else said it, is absolutely correct about it depends on what you do, or don't, want in your salt mix and what you do, or don't, want to supplement it with.
Whatever salt you go with, it is important to test it after mixing it. Mix in as of large batches as you can to MINIMIZE the risk of a high/low concentration of a certain element in each scoop of salt you used etc.. etc...
I hope everyone went to public school, or some school of some sort at least through middle school. We all learned basic science in school. Please please please don't forget it! It's so important in a chemistry and biology driven hobby such as reef keeping! Media literacy, we all should have learned it in high school. This includes the internet! Just because some anonymous-schmo on the internet, myself or even Randy (i know you're a scientist and understand what i'm saying without taking it as insult) says something, you shouldn't take it as gospel! Don't just respond to everything you read on the internet/TV/books "oh i didn't know that was true! Sweet!" Instead, say, "hrmm....i wonder if/how/why that is true" and keep it on a shelf in your mind as a "possibly true but unconfirmed by ME". This is the basis of science. People think even that because it was published in a scientific journal that it must be true! Not so! Scientific journals are people putting their name on their findings and saying "heres what I very carefully did and what I found by doing it, here is what i think is true about what i observed, please, someone out there, repeat my experiment and let us know if you found the same and agree with my explanation for it"
I think if more people did this in this hobby, there would be a dramatic increase in success throughout the hobby, and the world....
Our hobby happens to be one that is still very mysterious and still extremely challenging for even the worlds best scientists and engineers to study because it is hard to control parameters and narrow down results to the variation of a single parameter! This is also why people in this hobby say "just because it works for one person doesn't mean it will work for you". This is why I love it. When you achieve success, you've somehow come across your own something special.
</rant>
I am in the same boat, been using Redsea coral pro for 1 year and happy with the results, my tank mainly SPS (lower cost ones) and they been thriving and growing. I mix 10 gallon weekly in 5 gallon buckets. the system volume is 90 gallon.
Looking into ways to reduce my cost. I supplement with Reef energy A and B and dosing 2 parts. Wondering if I can switch to the IO salt mix to reduce my cost. And if I do, should I supplement with anything else.
Thanks in advance
Looking into ways to reduce my cost. I supplement with Reef energy A and B and dosing 2 parts. Wondering if I can switch to the IO salt mix to reduce my cost. And if I do, should I supplement with anything else.
Thanks in advance
