Genj Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Anyone else using this salt? tonight I mixed my first batch with my newly created RO/DI MaxCap water and my test strips came out showing my Alkalinity to be around 60 ppm. PH was 8.1, P = 10 ppb, everything else was zero. I tested it at about 75 degrees after about 1 hour of mixing. Am I testing at the wrong time, is this normal for this salt, or is something off? Link to comment
ulver982 Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Anyone else using this salt? tonight I mixed my first batch with my newly created RO/DI MaxCap water and my test strips came out showing my Alkalinity to be around 60 ppm. PH was 8.1, P = 10 ppb, everything else was zero. I tested it at about 75 degrees after about 1 hour of mixing. Am I testing at the wrong time, is this normal for this salt, or is something off? I'd try to test the alk using a liquid test kit, not test strips. Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Yes, this salt has low Alk. It's made that way cause it's meant to be used with a CA Reactor. If you read the back of the box, it will tell you this. Link to comment
BLoCkCliMbeR Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Yes, this salt has low Alk. It's made that way cause it's meant to be used with a CA Reactor. If you read the back of the box, it will tell you this. reading is over rated Link to comment
hayseed777 Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Yes, this salt has low Alk. It's made that way cause it's meant to be used with a CA Reactor. If you read the back of the box, it will tell you this. I failed to read the back of the box, got frustrated over the jacked up numbers, asked for help on here and ended up being told in similar fashion to read the back of the box. I switched to the Bio-Actif and now enjoy perfect numbers after an hour of mixing and happy corals. Link to comment
Genj Posted October 23, 2010 Author Share Posted October 23, 2010 Alright, what is says is that it's designed for use with calcium reactors, which to the noob, aka me, doesn't translate: You are going to have low Alk if you use this salt. I could switch to Bio-Actif, or drop back to the regular salt. Link to comment
Captain Billy Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Just use regular Tropic Marin. It works fine to grow anything you want. Link to comment
gabe_j Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 i use it and yeah you need to bring that up but other than that i love this salt. Link to comment
ulver982 Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 I used the bio activ salt, and that salt has really low alk too. I was running at 6-7 with it. I didn't like it, so I stopped using it. Link to comment
Genj Posted October 23, 2010 Author Share Posted October 23, 2010 Well, the LFS says to just buffer it with the 2LF PH Balance, and that it tops out at 8.3 PH. pH-Balance® Our new buffer for marine and reef aquariums, pH-Balance, raises both carbonate alkalinity and pH and won’t overshoot the pH too high, making it easy to maintain a pH of 8.3. Packaged in 225g, 450g, and 1kg jars. I'm confused about alk anyway, because people are running a huge range. Reefkeepers says seawater is 7 dkh or 120ppm; however it's not unusual to see others running in the double digits. I've still got about 50 lbs to go before I can switch, so I'll just have to deal with it for now. Link to comment
davidncbrown Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 I love regular Tropic Marin salt, it has changed our reef tank in nothing but good ways... but people confusing it with the Pro version has been a big issue as I've heard lots of people bash on TM salt "not having the right Ca, or KH." Even standing around at the LFS I have heard people bashing it. I guess "pro" makes it sound better so people just go for the pro instead of reading about the product before buying it... Unless you are a professional illiterate, I'd recommend going with the regular salt Link to comment
amnestia Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 Well, the LFS says to just buffer it with the 2LF PH Balance, and that it tops out at 8.3 PH. I'm confused about alk anyway, because people are running a huge range. Reefkeepers says seawater is 7 dkh or 120ppm; however it's not unusual to see others running in the double digits. I've still got about 50 lbs to go before I can switch, so I'll just have to deal with it for now. At the minimum you want about 8dkh or more. Anymore will give you a safe "buffer zone" in case your levels drop it won't drop below the "minimum zone". People that run it in the double digits do so to try to promote sps growth, unless you're very experienced, keeping levels closest to seawater is the best. Link to comment
Genj Posted October 27, 2010 Author Share Posted October 27, 2010 Thanks for the input amnestia, glad you were able to remember it! *grin* Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Used to use the regular stuff. Low alk, Ca, and Mg, but especially low Alk. Really low. I'm thinking it was designed more for FOWLR tanks. My LFS only carries this, IO, and IO Reef Crystals. I'm not about to pay for shipping on ordering salt online. So, I was forced to go with IO Reef Crystals. It doesn't advertise all of the minerals in TM, but has better Alk, Ca, and Mg numbers than TM when I tested it. If I were to order salt online, I'd go with DDH2Ocean Mg salt. Awesome numbers and reviews on that stuff. Just wish my LFS would carry it. Link to comment
Genj Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 with dosing of 1 tsp of ph buffer per water change, I'm sitting at: 9dkh 1230 Mg 440 Ca 8.3 PH 0 NO3 .01 ppm P So I'll just stick with it and keep up the ph buffer usage. It's cheap, and requires very little. Link to comment
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