Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water

[MatthewN]

I don't have a reverse osmosis system so I bought Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water. I'm getting an sg = 3.1 reading using an ORAPXI tester. Anyone know what would cause this? I started with sg = 1.1 and was hoping this would balance it out. BTW, I'm very new at this.

[Seadragon]

2 hours ago, MatthewN said:

I don't have a reverse osmosis system so I bought Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water. I'm getting an sg = 3.1 reading using an ORAPXI tester. Anyone know what would cause this? I started with sg = 1.1 and was hoping this would balance it out. BTW, I'm very new at this.

 

Hello Matthew, Welcome to the Nano-Reef forums!  I've been using the Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water for the past year and seven months and recently switched over to Nature's Ocean Nutri-SeaWater Natural Live Ocean Saltwater because the Imagitarium didn't include the necessary minerals and trace elements to keep corals alive while the Nature's Ocean did. But, if you're doing a fish only tank or you enjoy testing & dosing, Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water should work fine.

 

To answer your question, I would buy and use a reliable Salinity Refractometer with Automatic Temperature Compensation, calibrate it, and verify your saltwater source and the tank water again.  I was reading the reviews on the ORAPXI salinity tester on Amazon and some of the negative reviews complained of it's accuracy, so that may have something to do with it.

 

ADDED:

Out of curiosity, I tested my batch of Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water vs Nature's Ocean Nutri-SeaWater Natural Live Ocean Saltwater so I have an up-to-date idea on what sg I'm adding to my tank for each water change.  Here are today's saltwater source sg values:

• Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water = sg of 1.0265
• Nature's Ocean Nutri-SeaWater Natural Live Ocean Saltwater = sg of 1.028

 

I strive to get as close to 1.024 as possible, but I don't fret too much if it's 1.025 (which is what my tank is at now).  I'm somewhat surprised Nature's Ocean is that high, but by adding distilled water, I sort of save myself some $ anyways.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Seadragon
Added some data points.

[MatthewN]

Seadragon, thanks for your response. I will find a Refractometer and test with that. I will report back results.

[seth1830]

Is it OK to use Nature'sOcean Nutri-SeaWater Natural Live Ocean Saltwater for every water change?  I was paying someone to maintain my Red Sea max e170 but I want to cut expenses and so t want to mix myself.

 

thanks!