Headless_donkey Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Check these guys analysis out. http://www.aquariumwatertesting.com/ Discuss what you think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Interesting .... when I first started reading the paper, I thought I would come away with a clear "winner" of a salt I should be using (I for the record have been using Reef Crystals for 2 years). But by the end of it, I really didn't know what to think. All the different salt mixes had their pluses and minuses. I guess if one were to be real serious about it, they would try to match up the approriate salt with the live stock they are keeping. But then again, you could always supplement for what a particular salt brand is missing. The only thing that would really drive me away from a brand would be excessive nitrate and phosphate content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 That's how I read it. Some are higher in calcium, so if you have lots of lps and/or sps, that mix is probably best for you. I switched from Instant Ocean to Red Sea, and now I have really high magnesium levels, average calcium, and low alkalinity. Dosing B-Ionic everyday gets the magnesium too high, so now I'm just dosing straight calcium and alkalinity. I dose B-Ionic 2-3 times a week to keep the mag. from getting too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 I had the exact same feelings. I took most notice of the salts that added negative things to the water. Some had much more ammonia and phosphates then the rest. I figured that you could make up the things the slat might be missing(mag, cal, alk) with supplements, but dealing with phosphates sucks. Tailoring salt chose to livestock is interesting. However, all aquatic animals benefit from balanced water chemistry and they all suffer if there is a deficiency in certain elements. That being said I have 2.5 buckets of regular tropic marin and will probably keep using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Tailoring salt chose to livestock is interesting. However, all aquatic animals benefit from balanced water chemistry and they all suffer if there is a deficiency in certain elements. Very true. I guess I was more thinking about the calcium content most of all... say if you were keeping a softies only tank, then calcium would not be of that big of importance when picking the brands (unless you are also trying to keep a healthy coraline going). For me, with a 24g tank, the salt was not that big of deal. As my 5 gallon weekly (well, almost weekly ) water changes replenish a lot of elements compared to water changes done on a much larger tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I couldn't read it. I clicked on the pdf and it crashed. Tried twice with different browsers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 works for me 3 different computers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Working for me now. WOW I'm surprised to see the ammonia and phosphate levels of my salt (TM Pro). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Try this link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Try this link I am sure there is a way for ARC to host the file. Looking in your direction Andrew. JK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Here it is: Salt Analysis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Sweet aren't we supposed to be "working?" Those are the same stats that surprised me as well. It is frustrating to think that by doing a water change you could be adding harmful things to your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
versace Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 What is best if that's true ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 That is a great question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I think that's the whole point. There really isn't one that is head and shoulders above the rest. That's one of the things they didn't do is draw a conclusion, they just said, "here's the data, so pick a salt that best suits your needs." I'm sure there are those that will draw their own conclusions and swear up and down that x salt is the best based on the data presented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I think one thing to be looked at is the consistency of the salts. Some had huge swings between the 2 different buckets. That to me would be the most important thing. Also don't get caught off by some of the graphs. Some of those numbers were such small amounts that a slight difference looks huge on the graph. I have just switched from Tropic Marin to Red Sea Coral Pro. So far I am very happy with the Red Sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I agree - no one salt is consistent from bucket to bucket. We've witnessed swings in the various salts we've used. (we test, but since we don't have fancy HACH meters we don't really post results as nothing we have is traceable to standards, etc.) I like that online testing site - I might get some water tested from them as a "reference" to also see how well our cheaper test kits stand up. I know some test kits out there are way off on Calcium readings compared to others. So this is a bit of a "black art". We watch the corals - they seem to "talk" (really slowly) - but they do! eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I wonder how hard it would be to make your own salt. I was talking to the people at Seaworld on my trip there last month and they said they make their own seawater on site. I was looking around for their salt bucket, but it turns out they make it themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 My guess is it would be quite expensive on a small scale, in getting the purity you need in smaller quantities. Granted, you could probably physically put together the mix, but it would likely be way more expensive than anything you could find in the stores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 That was my guess as well, but I know a lot of the additives and supplements used in our hobby turn out to be readily available for some other industry for much less cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.