Oceanic and IO 50/50? Aged Salt

[Znut Reefer]

Hi Bob,


I checked all water parameters today. I use Oceanic salt only on this tank. All parameters looked great except Cal was 480-490. So I'm going to start using Oceanic and IO 50/50 until I'm out of salt.

My question is do you use separate drums to mix each salt or both in one drum?

Maybe one day these salt co will get it right



Thanks

[prodman]

I have been using IO and oceanic 50/50 for the last few WC. And I like the results so far. But its too soon to say its a complete success. I add equal amouts of eack salt to ro and then mix and heat together.

[Znut Reefer]

Thanks for the reply prodman. I think Bob has been using the 50/50 for awhile now with good results. Maybe he will let us know his experience.

[Aged Salt]

Hi Fonda, yes, the 50-50 ratio works well with my CR. I keep the salts in seperate containers before & after they're made up. Bob

[Znut Reefer]

Thanks Bob for your reply. I thought I had read you mixed them seperate. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

[Aged Salt]

Hi Fonda, YHPM Bob

[prodman]

Bob- Is there a problem with mixing them together as I do?

[Aged Salt]

Hi Paul, probably not, unless one of the salts's batch is too high in alkalinity which apparently happened to IO a couple of years back. I've had cluming years ago with mixing Coralife & Reef Crystals together. I had to throw the dry mixture out Bob

[Spur2]

Bob What do you think about Tropic marin regular and the pro reef. I am using the regular tropic marin salt right now. But i heard the pro reef is better.

[Aged Salt]

Hi Steve, some have reported color-fade of their corals from the "enriched" formula especially in those cases where their waters are very nutrient-poor. If you've had no problems with your current salt, no need to change, Bob

[Znut Reefer]

Bob,

I been thinking about mixing the Oceanic and the IO separate like you do. But how do you know the true readings of the salts if mixed seperate? I would want to know the levels of alk,cal, and mag before adding to the tank.

[Aged Salt]

Hi Fonda, After WC's, I just top up with ~equal volumes of Oceanic & IO. This comboination + my CR, my water composition has always tested within the ZEOvit guidelines. With just using Oceanic, my Ca level was always >450. Using IO only made it difficult for me to maintain KH within the guidelines. Bob

[myusername]

I'm sorry you guys. I don't get it. We spend so much money and so much time to perfect our hobby and what I don't get is how these companies spend millions of dollars in hiring chemists to perfect their salt. If oceanic salt is low in calcium then why not have your calcium reactor address that problem? Unless I don't get it where you guys are all professional chemists and to where you could break it down so that this isn't a guessing game because a little bit of this and a little bit of that....before you know it your tank crashes. I'm not saying all of this to sound harsh towards anyone. I just feel that if there is something wrong with a particular brand of salt then why don't we all together as reefers put pressure on these companies to produce a particular salt that fits into the specs that we are looking for. I am new to using Zeovit only a month now and I happen to be using oceanic salt and by all means I would love to know if Zeovit and oceanic don't get along. Because if they don't then I need to make a change. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and if I offended anyone I am truly sorry.
Merry Christmas and God bless.
Charles

[Aged Salt]

Hi Charles, all of us are at the whim of the companies that produce our artificial salts to be consistent, & reliable batch after batch. History demonstrates that this is not the case. The only solution is to test each new batch's parameters before using. The ultimate solution is Reefer's Salt, made by Korallen-Zucht, which is a 2-part salt that is mixed by the user before use, thereby assuring the proper proportion of the elements each time. Whatever saltmix is used must also be "dialed-in" with our Ca Reactor to produce the necessary, stable parameters used with ZEOvit method, which mirrors NSW levels-->Ca >400<450/Mg>1200<1400/KH 6-8 & narrowly stable/salinity 1.023-.026 & narrowly stable. Bob

[GTR]

At $40.00 for a 200g bucket I guess we assume the role of "Quality Control Inspector". With the influx of inexpensive imported salt mixes and the competition they'll be adding to the market I don't look for the quality to be improving anytime soon.

SteveU