Triton test results

saltyhog · Mar 17, 2017

I just got my Triton results back and there are a couple of concerns and some interesting observations.

I'm pretty pleased with my test kits compared to the results. PO4 was spot on (Hanna ULR). Calcium was a little low 455 (Salifert) with Triton measuring 471. Magnesium was not as good 1425 by Salifert and the Triton results showing 1531.

My concerns were #1 Sulfur, my test showed my level to be 1/3 higher than desired with my level being 1192 and the desired level 900. #2 Lithium was more than twice normal at 418 with 200 the desired level.

Where would elevations of Sulfur and Lithium come from? What kind of problems could this cause? I'm using IO salt.

The intersting thing was that I've had Marine Pure blocks x2 in my sump for about 15 months and the Aluminum level was acceptable.

Zero Nitrates · Mar 17, 2017

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marke · Mar 17, 2017

Randy will give a better opinion in a while. But here is just my view. First if thats all thats off on your Triton test your in good shape, and dont need to change anything. My belief is that both of your issues could be caused by magnesium. Either in your salt mix or what your adding. If too much MgSulfate is used it raises Sulfur also. This is why using only epson salt a mag sulfate alone is wrong. Mag sulfate is cheaper than Mg Chloride of good quality, so a salt manufacturer might raise or add mag to their mix with a high sulfate content to reduce cost. The lithium issue seems to be coming up high on most test. I believe its due to impurities in mg chloride that is low grade or intended for street melt. That is why most suggest a usp grade mag chloride not an industrial grade one. We are not sure what salt mixes are using in terms of quality to boost mag.

saltyhog · Mar 17, 2017

Oh, the other thing was my Iodine was 6 which is only 1/10 of the target level of 60. Should I dose iodine? Are the hobby kits useful for checking on the dosing?

saltyhog · Mar 17, 2017

marke said:
Randy will give a better opinion in a while. But here is just my view. First if thats all thats off on your Triton test your in good shape, and dont need to change anything. My belief is that both of your issues could be caused by magnesium. Either in your salt mix or what your adding. If too much MgSulfate is used it raises Sulfur also. This is why using only epson salt a mag sulfate alone is wrong. Mag sulfate is cheaper than Mg Chloride of good quality, so a salt manufacturer might raise or add mag to their mix with a high sulfate content to reduce cost. The lithium issue seems to be coming up high on most test. I believe its due to impurities in mg chloride that is low grade or intended for street melt. That is why most suggest a usp grade mag chloride not an industrial grade one. We are not sure what salt mixes are using in terms of quality to boost mag.

Thanks Marke! I was pretty pleased. I had zip heavy metals.

I'm using IO salt which seems to be pretty low in Mg. I'm using BRS mix for Mg supplementation (5 cups of MgCl and 3 cups of MgSO4). Sure sounds like I'm overdosing Mg a little due to my testing inaccuracy (not terribly over dosing)

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 18, 2017

saltyhog said:
Oh, the other thing was my Iodine was 6 which is only 1/10 of the target level of 60. Should I dose iodine? Are the hobby kits useful for checking on the dosing?

I don't consider it useful, but it is easy to dose. It depletes rapidly.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 18, 2017

saltyhog said:
I just got my Triton results back and there are a couple of concerns and some interesting observations.

I'm pretty pleased with my test kits compared to the results. PO4 was spot on (Hanna ULR). Calcium was a little low 455 (Salifert) with Triton measuring 471. Magnesium was not as good 1425 by Salifert and the Triton results showing 1531.

My concerns were #1 Sulfur, my test showed my level to be 1/3 higher than desired with my level being 1192 and the desired level 900. #2 Lithium was more than twice normal at 418 with 200 the desired level.

Where would elevations of Sulfur and Lithium come from? What kind of problems could this cause? I'm using IO salt.

The intersting thing was that I've had Marine Pure blocks x2 in my sump for about 15 months and the Aluminum level was acceptable.

Sulfur (sulfate) might mean the salinity is high. Lithium isn't a concern.