Interesting Article

http://www.aqcraft.com/w0023.html

^^^
Its real long so Im not gonna post it.. Im usin Instant Ocean but I have read some people in these forums using Marine Environment.. Iv had my tank for almost a year with the IO.. Iv had to many problems though so Im scared to make any changes!!

 

the statement "I've had too many problems so I am afraid to make any changes" might indicate that a change is in order...perhaps ;D

PS....I use ME2
Love It!

 

[quote author=birdlady link=board=Salt;num=1101086871;start=0#1 date=11/21/04 at 17:33:10] the statement "I've had too many problems so I am afraid to make any changes"  might indicate that a change is in order...perhaps ;D

PS....I use ME2
Love It![/quote]


Haha.. Yeah I dont know.. Im just not very smart sometimes and make stupid mistakes.. I need to read alot more!! Have you used any other salts?? Can you give me somethin to compare to..

Thanks

 

I personally have never had any problems with any of the Aquarium Systems salts(I.E. Kent, Instant Ocean, and Reef Crystals) but I personally use Tropic Marin

 

I've used Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, and Coralife. That was quite a few years ago tho.

I can't say that I noticed a difference (my tank was last set up about 6 or 7 years ago, so my memory may be a bit foggy!) I have only used the ME2 this time around. I like it.

From what I understand, Oceanic is having some problems with some of their salt, low alk with high Ca. I would stay away from that one right now.

 

I am using Oceanic right now and BL is right about the low ALK but I am not having any problems with Calc. I am dosing with bicarbonate regularly and am able to keep the ALK up to 2.5 or 3 but I am also dosing with 2 part Bi Ionic.

My tank is so new that it is using a lot of Calc because of the Coralline growth starting right now. The Calc was high in the first month but I attribute that to new Aragonite sand that is high in calcium and other minerals. When the Calc started dropping so did the ALK and now I have to pretty much daily take readings until I figure out average dosing quantities.

I here a lot of conflicting information about magnesium levels contributing to the problems of keeping the ALK Calc levels balanced, along with Ph of course. But that is for a different thread. :

What is the skinny on changing horses in mid stream, so to speak. Would I have any problems switching to a different brand of salt? :-/

Drew

 

Hi Drew! I am glad you are not having problems with the salt. I was reading some pretty bad stuff....but perhaps they have begun to remedy them ;D

I believe it is recommended that you switch over slowly, like 10% at a time....I don't understand all of that tho, with ionic imbalance and the like when we are dumping extra ions into the water nearly daily! Over my head at this time ;D

BTW, your new tank is Sweet! Love the rock and the aquascaping!!!! Plenty of room for corals up ther!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

BirdLady,

I found the Marine  Mix online at the source ($75 for 150gal delivered). Are you using the two part (with the little bottle) or the Bio Mix?

The stuff is produced out here in Cal you would think some of these lame brained LFS guys here in San Diego would carry it but I have yet to see it.  : It is a little pricey but that is with shipping. I think it might be well worth it.

I have heard all the same things that the article was talking about. Uneven batches, and even very deficient batches with very little of what is claimed to be included in the various mixes.  They did fail to mention that the reason Kent and IO tested so similiarly is that they are manufactured at the same place. I think one bought out the other one.

THe Oceanic dissoves very nicely, however, if I can use a mix that is closer to NSW I want to. And it just might stop the need for all the dosing. When you first mix Oceanic the PH is 8.2 and the ALK comes out to 2.5 Meq/L consistently but I would like to run the ALK over 3 and closer to 4Meq/L. The Calc will need to be dosed anyway.

I noticed Marinemix suggested a 25% WC every 4-6 weeks. Right now I am using my CPW array to drain out 1 liter of water per day and replace with prepared RO/DI water. Not conventional, but hey, I haven't read anywhere that you have to change it all at once.

Besides my CD works so well that I am not accumulating any Nitrates anyway.  [smiley=2thumbsup.gif] Of course I don't have any fish yet to add to the nitrate level. That will happen soon enough.

Thanks for your comments on the tank. It came out pretty nice. I also built a new 38gal sump/fuge that came out great!!

Drew

 

I have been using IO for years and haven't had any problems with it. But being one who like to throw gasoline on fire, I found this article in Sea Scope. http://www.marineland.com/seascope/ss_Issue3_04.pdf Here to, the article is quite lengthy. Enjoy.


phil

 

Phil, I don't even understand that article a little bit :-/


Drew,

I use the ME 2 part....but.... the little bottle cannot be measured out. You need to mix the whole bag at once. You can put it in a 5 gallon bucket and then just dilute what you need to the correct specific gravity and use. I am not sure how long you could store it that way....a while I would guess.

Doing a liter per day is probably better that doing a large change less often. ;D