Instant Ocean

[sjimmyh]

Did my water change today. Water changing more than normal as I am trying to lower my disolved organic level from my uncured live rock that I talked about in a recent post.
Anyhoo, Thought I might pass on some stuff about instant ocean. I am currently using up a bucket of the stuff I have left over from tank set up before I bought some thats a bit better for a reef system.
5 Gallon bucket mixed to 1.026 SG at ~79 degrees.
Alkalinity 10 dKH
Calcium 340 ppm
Magnesium ~900 ppm
To treat this 5 gallon bucket with Kent Turbo Calcium and SeaChem Magnesium (which I bought prior to finding out this is pretty easy to DIY) to get decent levels, I had to:
One teaspoon of SeaChem Mg will raise that 5 gallon bucket by ~20 ppm. So, I added 15 teaspoons (wow, lots, huh?). End result was about 1400 ppm.
One teaspoon of Kent Turbo Calcium will raise a 5 gallon bucket by ~100ppm.
I added two teaspoons to test it and came up with 540 ppm. The next bucket of new salt water, I added no Calcium to make up for it.
Alkalinity was pretty good as is. I left this alone.
I didn't bother with anything else since there are too many variables associated with pH to say my new salt water would have the same pH as you would if you made the same amount of water with the exact same bucket of instant ocean salt. Iodide/Iodine, strontium, etc. weren't really my concern since most people deal with these under there own liking.
The big reason was to let people know how much calcium and Magnesium from large name brand products was required to raise levels in your new water since some of these products do not give approximate level increases per measure of dose to measure of water. I know Kent Turbo Calcium has come up a few times.

 

[aztec reef]

thanks, what we have here is IO. which should be used for fish only imo..have you tryed this test with reefcrystals??? if so i would like to see your results...

 

[larryndana]

so basically never use IO for reef keeping and by a good salt so you don't have to dose with that much stuff.

 

[anonome]

Originally Posted by larryndana
so basically never use IO for reef keeping and by a good salt so you don't have to dose with that much stuff.
You hit that nail on the head.....Instant ocean is an excellent salt for fish only systems, but not good enough for coral. This is why they have Reef Crystals.

 

[sjimmyh]

Your both right, but when I set up my tank this is all that was in stock locally. I ordered salt online, but had to wait for it to come in. Meanwhile, I have good salt, but I also have half a bucket of IO I still need to use up.
Usually I just mix the IO with the Red Sea Coral, but I figured I would find out just how much additives would really be required if I just used IO alone.

 

[larryndana]

Originally Posted by SJimmyH
Your both right, but when I set up my tank this is all that was in stock locally. I ordered salt online, but had to wait for it to come in. Meanwhile, I have good salt, but I also have half a bucket of IO I still need to use up.
Usually I just mix the IO with the Red Sea Coral, but I figured I would find out just how much additives would really be required if I just used IO alone.
I understood that, i was just making a point for anyone who reads this. It kills me everytime i see someone at a lfs buying IO and i know they have a reef tank.

 

[ghettotang]

Originally Posted by Anonome
You hit that nail on the head.....Instant ocean is an excellent salt for fish only systems, but not good enough for coral. This is why they have Reef Crystals.
How about the Kent Marine salt that what I've been using since I start expericen the reef. Is that good salt to use because I've read that it give more tace element, raise calcium, mag, and other element other than any other salt.

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by GhettoTang
How about the Kent Marine salt that what I've been using since I start expericen the reef. Is that good salt to use because I've read that it give more tace element, raise calcium, mag, and other element other than any other salt.
If you talk to 5 dealers or reef tank owners you will get 5 different answers. The answer is, if it works for you and you feel that any tampering on your part to make the new water what you want is within reason... its good.
The differences come in the opinions of whats tolerable tampering.
I have never used Kent. More trace elements is a sales gimic, IMO, as all the synthetic reef salts have trace elements and routine water changes replenish them. Having more is not necessarily any better, since as long as you have them the livestock will use them as required. There are plenty of products out there to replenish anything you need to in between water changes.
Besides, many trace elements are toxic when in too great a concentration. Since I really doubt that Kent would make a toxic salt (as verified by the fact your tank is doing okay), I think the amount of trace elements that they excess is most likely limited and not exactly some huge amount more than any other salt.

 

[sjimmyh]

Originally Posted by larryndana
I understood that, i was just making a point for anyone who reads this. It kills me everytime i see someone at a lfs buying IO and i know they have a reef tank.
What kills me is that the staff isn't asking the question of the salts use to ensure the customer is getting what they really want. I bought my IO at Petsmart... wanna talk about some saltwater clueless people... sheesh.

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by larryndana
so basically never use IO for reef keeping and by a good salt so you don't have to dose with that much stuff.
IO + a dash of Turbo Calcium + a cup of my DIY magnesium brew = good salt.

 

[indyws6]

MONEYMAN - Greetings

What, exactly, is your DIY magnesium brew? What brand of test kit do you use to monitor the levels? Thanks in advance...

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by indyws6
MONEYMAN - Greetings

What, exactly, is your DIY magnesium brew? What brand of test kit do you use to monitor the levels? Thanks in advance...
Hi,
I use salifert for testing my mag, calcium, and alkalinity.
You can do a simple DIY mag by just using epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). A more balanced version is to combine epsom salt with Magnesium Chloride.
Read "An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System" by Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[indyws6]

MONEYMAN - Thanks for the information...
Where can I find the article you referenced?
Take Care...

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by indyws6
MONEYMAN - Thanks for the information...
Where can I find the article you referenced?
Take Care...
I cant paste the link on this site. So, you'll have to google it.

 

[indyws6]

Will do - thanks...

 

[larryndana]

Originally Posted by MoneyMan
IO + a dash of Turbo Calcium + a cup of my DIY magnesium brew = good salt.

good luck with that.

 

[rbrockm1]

i like tropic marine myself.

 

[tx reef]

Originally Posted by larryndana
good luck with that.
What is wrong with what MoneyMan posted? Sounds like a winning combination.
I see no reason to pay big money for salt when you can use additives to boost calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity for less cost. Some people can't afford the more expensive salts. I personally use Reef Crystals and add a touch of calcium (1/4 teaspoon to be exact). This is the only salt that I have ever used that all I had to do was add a little calcium. I had to add calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity buffer to Tropic Marin, Tropic Marin Pro Reef, and regular Instant Ocean. I used Oceanic when I first started. I quit using it when I went reef because the calcium in a fresh mixed batch was off the charts with my salifert test.
I understand that NSW is far superior to synthetic, but you definately do not hve to use it. I would be willing to bet the percentage of people that actually use NSW in the hobby is pretty small.
Here is a picture of my tank..........

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by TX Reef
Here is a picture of my tank..........
Very nice tank TX! How long have you had it going for?

Oh, yeah, I use Seachem's Reef Salt with RO/IO, and I don't have to add anything. I haven't tried anything else so I don't know about the rest but as long as this keeps working for me, I'm sold!