Mixing Salt

[Rcpilot]

It seams as if every brand has a little hiccup that keeps it from being the best one. Brand A is low on ALK and pH. Brand B is good on the pH but it's low on calcium. Brand C is good on pH and ALK, but it has no magnesium content.

Why not buy a 50g mix of ALL of them and dump it all in a big bucket? Stirred, not shaken.

Do any of these salt mixes contain a chemical or blend that wouldn't be compatible when mixed in a bucket with the other brand? I realize you'd have to be a chemist to answer that, but I'm sure people have mixed brands together in the past. Just wondering if anyone ever heard NOT to mix Brand B and Brand W for any reason.

[Bifferwine]

I've never heard not to mix salts. I mix salts all the time, when I run out of one brand midway through a batch, and I have to finish it off with a second brand. I always stick to these three brands: Kent Marine, Seachem Reef and Oceanic, but I will buy whatever is the cheapest at the time I run out. Especially in the last two months when I've been doing 30 gallon water changes every other day (I've slowed down recently though), I was combining salt batches every week or so.

[Rcpilot]

I'm at the bottom end of a 200g bucket of Oceanic.

I'm thinking of ordering a big bucket of Kent and a few 50g bags of a few other brands. I might just mix it all up from the very beginning and use it. To hell with science!!

OR:

I could go all nerdy and buy 5 different mixes in 50g bags. Then use each bag completely before I open a new bag. I could take a picture every day as a sort of photo diary to document the "performance" of each salt mix.

OR:

Screw it!! Buy the Reef Crystals because they are on sale right now and deal with it. Dose it to the parameters that I want to maintain in the tank.

The total nerd in me wants to do a daily photo diary and see how each salt works in my tank. The lazy part of me wants to buy the cheap salt bucket and just use it.

[RyanG]

Id go lazy and cheap and dose myself but Im lazy by nature, the nerdy part would be cool though!

[Doc]

I found a salt that works the best for me (oceanic) and since I have been using it for a while, I know how much Alk to add to make sure things work for me. Just my style.

-Doc

[reeffreak]

Go lazy and get the Reef Crystal salt since it's on sale.Its a good salt as any.

[Rcpilot]

I ended up getting the Kent salt.

I've spent the last few hours online juggling between 2 Docs and BigAls to see where I get the best deal. BigAls has cheaper prices, but the shipping is more than double 2 Docs. I bought a bucket of Kent salt, a Rapids mini-canister and some carbon from 2 Docs.

[simpleman]

Good choice. I went to the lfs to get kent salt and they were all sold out so I got reef crystals. What do you dose with reef crystals? Just alk. or more?

[Rcpilot]

Originally Posted by simpleman

What do you dose with reef crystals? Just alk. or more?

I've never used Reef Crystals.

Only thing I've used so far is Oceanic. But I'm back in the hobby after a 20yr break. I've only been reefing for about 8 or 9 months. Much more rewarding than FO tanks with 60ppm nitrates all the time and an undergravel filter. Thats how we rolled back in the day. 20yrs ago, when I was a teenage kid, I used Instant Ocean. But back then it had about 0% in trace elements. I'm sure it's 100% different today.

I do know the Oceanic is low in Alk and pH.

[fatman]

Most salt water problems are a result of the water not the salt. Manafacturers are trying to provide a mix for the masses, unfortunately they ae most concerned with the majority of purchasers and again unfortunately the majority of the purchases are made by people using tap water. Most mixes are trying to make good marine water out of water that varies all across the country. It is usually best as Doc says. Get a brand that is affordable and readily available and stick with it. You can dial in easily just what you need to do to make the salt mix work best for you if you use just one mix. Using what ever is cheapest at the time means that you really do not know what you need to do to make it work with your water supply and you therefore have to use trial and error to get just what you want or need. Even the poorest salt mix can be adjusted to your needs and once you find out what it takes through past usage you just adjust it as you already know just what it takes to make the adjustment. Your tanks inhabitants will appreciate the lack of variation that comes from using the same mix always. I myself try to use nothing but Instant Ocean.