Weetie's Zen Learning Experiment, Random Stuff

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Thanks for the tip, Weetie.  I tried to take a pic of my 3rd grade classroom tank on Thursday because it was looking good and it was just blue no matter what I did.  

[teenyreef]

5 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

I think that's very possible, cause the new salt they switched to is Red Sea Coral Pro. 

They told me they switched cause it could be used quicker. 

Hey, Salinity doesn't "go bad" (I forgot the super intelligent official Reefer term, lol) if it mixes too long, does it?

Asking cause I just did a WC yesterday with Salinity SW and it had been mixing for 2 days due to life just being busy. 

It's fine after two days. Seachem recommends mixing for 24 hours but they say it can be used as soon as it's well mixed. A lot of people including me have had problems with residue in the mixing container if it's not used in the first day though. I've been reading that some people have better luck by preheating the water, and adding the salt mix very slowly. I may give it another try because the parameters are right where I like them. 

[Weetabix7]

1 minute ago, teenyreef said:

It's fine after two days. Seachem recommends mixing for 24 hours but they say it can be used as soon as it's well mixed. A lot of people including me have had problems with residue in the mixing container if it's not used in the first day though. I've been reading that some people have better luck by preheating the water, and adding the salt mix very slowly. I may give it another try because the parameters are right where I like them. 

 

Ok, thx for the input. 

I had planned on switching to Fritz salt long-term but got the small container of Salinity cause I needed something quick for the Pico when it was going south, it was available, and I knew the corals in there had done well with it. 

5 minutes ago, tashayar said:

Thanks for the tip, Weetie.  I tried to take a pic of my 3rd grade classroom tank on Thursday because it was looking good and it was just blue no matter what I did.  

 

Hope it helps!! Let me know if you find something else in the Flickr editor that works well for pics taken under LED.

[teenyreef]

I've thought about Fritz but haven't tried it and I haven't done much research yet. What do you think of it? 

[gone_PHiSHin]

1 hour ago, teenyreef said:

I've thought about Fritz but haven't tried it and I haven't done much research yet. What do you think of it? 

i am also thinking of switching to Fritz salt for my next bucket.  i currently use RSCP, and have since the start of my tank, but since i've gotten a Hanna checker i've noticed my alk swings quite a bit.  (which seems to be the only complaint with RSCP)

 

i researched it a while ago with good reviews, but would like some more feedback from people that have continued to use it for longer periods.

[Weetabix7]

1 hour ago, teenyreef said:

I've thought about Fritz but haven't tried it and I haven't done much research yet. What do you think of it? 

 

I haven't tried it yet but out of everything I've researched lately it sounds the most promising. 

I've been looking at feedback from quite a few people and places, including other members on here. 

I particularly like that it has a really good Magnesium level, which is something that I have a really hard time finding in a salt, even in ones I've loved, and I really need good Mg levels for my Macro tank since they pull it out of the water. 

[Weetabix7]

22 minutes ago, gone_PHiSHin said:

i am also thinking of switching to Fritz salt for my next bucket.  i currently use RSCP, and have since the start of my tank, but since i've gotten a Hanna checker i've noticed my alk swings quite a bit.  (which seems to be the only complaint with RSCP)

 

i researched it a while ago with good reviews, but would like some more feedback from people that have continued to use it for longer periods.

 

Yeah, and I know there are others on here who use RSCP with good results. 

I almost didn't want to say that that was the salt that caused an issue for me in the Pico cause I didn't want to cause a panic or anything, I know it works well for some. 

I think the key here in this Pico is the Alk swings, in water volume this small, with 100% water changes, I just can't afford that at all. 

 

I've been paying attention to people's comments on the Fritz salt over the last several months and they have been consistently good, plus my LFS can get it for me for a good price, so it seems like a no-brainer.

[Lula_Mae]

26 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Yeah, and I know there are others on here who use RSCP with good results. 

I almost didn't want to say that that was the salt that caused an issue for me in the Pico cause I didn't want to cause a panic or anything, I know it works well for some. 

I think the key here in this Pico is the Alk swings, in water volume this small, with 100% water changes, I just can't afford that at all. 

 

I've been paying attention to people's comments on the Fritz salt over the last several months and they have been consistently good, plus my LFS can get it for me for a good price, so it seems like a no-brainer.

RSCP is the salt Fishfreak's been using and her recently opened bucket mixed to something like 15 alk!

[fishfreak0114]

9 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

RSCP is the salt Fishfreak's been using and her recently opened bucket mixed to something like 15 alk!

Yep, it was higher than 15.  I'm still going to keep using RSCP, but I guess I'll test every new bucket now!  Even if the stuff you used mixed to the label, that would have been a pretty big change for your tank!

[Weetabix7]

1 minute ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Yep, it was higher than 15.  I'm still going to keep using RSCP, but I guess I'll test every new bucket now!  Even if the stuff you used mixed to the label, that would have been a pretty big change for your tank!

 

Yeah, you were actually who I was thinking of and I knew how much stress you were going through with your Alk swings and didn't want to add to it. 

I do mean it when I say that I know plenty of people use RSCP and have perfectly healthy tanks, so don't let it push you into totally changing everything around again. 

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Anyone use Reef Crystals?  That's my fave salt.  I'll have to research this Fritz stuff.

[fishfreak0114]

9 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Yeah, you were actually who I was thinking of and I knew how much stress you were going through with your Alk swings and didn't want to add to it. 

I do mean it when I say that I know plenty of people use RSCP and have perfectly healthy tanks, so don't let it push you into totally changing everything around again. 

Well my tank was totally fine with RSCP for almost 2.5 years, so I don't doubt that one can have a healthy reef with it.  I think it was my crappy dosing that messed it all up  It does suck that I can't do big water changes when they're needed (like to fix what my dosing messed up) because of what RSCP usually mixes up to, but it works fine for my bi-weekly 16l   I love how fast the salt dissolves, within 30 minutes I'm good to go! 

[Lula_Mae]

4 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Well my tank was totally fine with RSCP for almost 2.5 years, so I don't doubt that one can have a healthy reef with it.  I think it was my crappy dosing that messed it all up  It does suck that I can't do big water changes when they're needed (like to fix what my dosing messed up) because of what RSCP usually mixes up to, but it works fine for my bi-weekly 16l   I love how fast the salt dissolves, within 30 minutes I'm good to go! 

I love how quickly my AquaForest salt mixes too.  Never any precip to speak of even if I let it sit for days before I get around to using it.

[teenyreef]

If you want strong mag levels then you can definitely try Aquaforest salt. I loved everything about it, except when I measured mag it was at or over 1500, even though the analysis stated it was 1350. The high mag caused problems for the snails, so after trying multiple batches I stopped using it. 

[Lula_Mae]

Just now, teenyreef said:

If you want strong mag levels then Aquaforest salt. I loved everything about it, except when I measured mag it was at or over 1500, even though the analysis stated it was 1350. The high mag caused problems for the snails, so after trying multiple batches I stopped using it. 

Were you using the reef salt?  I've just got the regular sea salt version.

[teenyreef]

7 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Were you using the reef salt?  I've just got the regular sea salt version.

They only have one version, unless you mean the probiotic version? Just the regular stuff. 

[DAP]

Aquaforest comes in sea salt, reef salt, and probiotic.  

Tagging along....  need to read pages 2 through 32   ????

[teenyreef]

1 hour ago, DAP said:

Aquaforest comes in sea salt, reef salt, and probiotic.  

Tagging along....  need to read pages 2 through 32   ????

Well, dang I learn something every day on N-R, thank you! That's what I get for just searching "Aquaforest Reef Salt" on Amazon. 

I used the Reef Salt. Time to check and see if the magnesium is better in the sea salt, and what other differences there might be...if the mag is a little lower I'd love to go back to Aquaforest, it was a great salt otherwise.

[gone_PHiSHin]

what salt do you currently use teenyreef?

[Lula_Mae]

2 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Well, dang I learn something every day on N-R, thank you! That's what I get for just searching "Aquaforest Reef Salt" on Amazon. 

I used the Reef Salt. Time to check and see if the magnesium is better in the sea salt, and what other differences there might be...if the mag is a little lower I'd love to go back to Aquaforest, it was a great salt otherwise.

Yeah I figured since I don't have a ton of stonies that I'd probably be fine with the regular sea salt version and would not have to worry about too high levels of other stuff lol.

[seabass]

11 hours ago, tashayar said:

Anyone use Reef Crystals?  That's my fave salt.  I'll have to research this Fritz stuff.

I do because it's cheap, and I can get it delivered free with Amazon Prime.  I mix it when I need it, otherwise I get some caking.  I'd prefer to use the original Tropic Marin salt, but it's a little pricey.

 

It seems like there is always some new salt coming out with higher levels of something, probiotics, non-GMO, organic, etc.  IDK, cheap and old school is fine for me.  I'm sure there are some benefits to these other mixes, but some just seem a little too gimmicky for me.  Sticking to one brand does have its merits too.

[Weetabix7]

8 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Well, dang I learn something every day on N-R, thank you! That's what I get for just searching "Aquaforest Reef Salt" on Amazon. 

I used the Reef Salt. Time to check and see if the magnesium is better in the sea salt, and what other differences there might be...if the mag is a little lower I'd love to go back to Aquaforest, it was a great salt otherwise.

 

AquaForest was the other one I was seriously considering if I didn't get Fritz. 

I think the reason I finally settled on Fritz was cause I could get it for a better price. 

I really liked what I read about both. 

 

@seabass, yep, there's merit in what you're saying. 

For myself, the main reason I was checking into was cause I knew I'd need to eventually start mixing my own SW and I wanted to see what was out there after being away from the hobby for a few years.

But I understand where you're coming from, you're never gonna find a "perfect" salt. 

I know, cause I tried the last time I was in this hobby.

10 hours ago, DAP said:

Aquaforest comes in sea salt, reef salt, and probiotic.  

Tagging along....  need to read pages 2 through 32   ????

 

Welcome to the Zen Bus!!

[Lisa166]

I'm happy to see it recovering. I may or may not be still jealous of your knowledge. 

[Weetabix7]

On 8/13/2017 at 2:09 PM, Lisa166 said:

I'm happy to see it recovering. I may or may not be still jealous of your knowledge. 

 

Aw, don't be jealous, I've been accumulating knowledge since 1994!!

And truthfully, I am constantly learning new stuff still, no lie. 

Believe me, in Reefing you never reach a place where you know it all. 

 

Ok, so this next bit is totally random and not Reef-related but I found it interesting so I'm throwing it out there. 

Unless you've met me you probably don't know this, but I'm hearing impaired. 

Most people that meet me still usually don't realize this until I tell them because if I'm talking to you face to face, it's not super apparent. 

Unless you mumble, pls don't do that to me, lol. 

I've known for a long time that my hearing loss was severe but that I could converse fairly well if I'm in front of someone. 

Today I had a hearing test that totally backed that up. 

I have lost 80% of my hearing, which means that I can only literally hear 20% of speech/sound.

However, according to another test they did, if I am looking at you, I can understand 92% of what you say. 

Also, I really hate talking on the phone obvious reasons. 

 

That is all, Happy Thursday!! 

[Lula_Mae]

3 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Aw, don't be jealous, I've been accumulating knowledge since 1994!!

And truthfully, I am constantly learning new stuff still, no lie. 

Believe me, in Reefing you never reach a place where you know it all. 

 

Ok, so this next bit is totally random and not Reef-related but I found it interesting so I'm throwing it out there. 

Unless you've met me you probably don't know this, but I'm hearing impaired. 

Most people that meet me still usually don't realize this until I tell them because if I'm talking to you face to face, it's not super apparent. 

Unless you mumble, pls don't do that to me, lol. 

I've known for a long time that my hearing loss was severe but that I could converse fairly well if I'm in front of someone. 

Today I had a hearing test that totally backed that up. 

I have lost 80% of my hearing, which means that I can only literally hear 20% of speech/sound.

However, according to another test they did, if I am looking at you, I can understand 92% of what you say. 

Also, I really hate talking on the phone obvious reasons. 

 

That is all, Happy Thursday!! 

Wow!  I never would've guessed!  We weren't in a quiet restaurant either lol.  My guess is that your brain/body learned to compensate over the years as the hearing loss occurred, because 92% is pretty amazing!