Red Sea Coral Pro Salt users...

Yeah I use a hanna for the other major stuff (Ca, Alk Ect) but haven't bought the one for PO4 yet. I noticed the salifert is majorly off with Ca too. Sometimes as much as 50ppm.

I'll have to check into it though, I don't wanna move to a new salt that is not consistent. I'll just go back to RC if that is the case, so I am glad you brought it up.

 

I know some people like to criticize AWT, but FWIW, they got about the same result as you:
http://www.aqua-medic.com/aquariumwatertesting/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf

FWIW, most salts have some PO4, just another reason to run GFO IMO. However, that said, compared to the PO4 input from food, it is still low really.

 

Be careful there; the discrepancy on your CA testing is probably due to the extreme sensitivity the Hanna has to the amount of RODI you use per test. If it's not 1ml exactly, the test will be off.

Those test results will be with the old RSCP recipe, but point taken.

 

LOL Yeah, I learned that one, when the 1st test I did read 700 CA. I usually do a couple in row to be sure now. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

I agree about the PO4 in salts...and other products that claim to not add any. I also understand that 0.07 is a low amount...but a readable amount nonetheless. Food levels may be high, but the amount of food you add vs. a 20% water change could become detrimental to your reefs health and overall aesthetic appearance. Other than this problem, this is a great salt mix, and the fact that I don't have to dose with it is a huge plus!

 

Yeah, all reviews I have read about the Ca Hanna Checker have been poor due to the way the test has to be done. Since this product did just come out, I assume with all the same complaints, Hanna will try to resolve this issue. These little testers are worth every penny!

 

LOL, sorry, I forget which salts have and haven't been changed since the AWT analysis. Still it likely has PO4.

As to food, if you know how much PO4 is in the food and how much you add, you can calculate it.

I don't have any in front of me, but from this article (Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com), regarding flake food for example, Randy states:

"Flake fish food is typically about 1% phosphorus (3% phosphate equivalent) by weight (and many products have such phosphorus data on their labels). Consequently, if five grams of flake food is added to a 100-gallon aquarium, there is the potential for the inorganic orthophosphate level to be raised by 0.4 ppm in that SINGLE FEEDING!
"

I don't know who would add 5 grams in a single feeding, that seems a bit absurd, but maybe 5g over the course of a week is more reasonable?

So, if we have 5g over a week, without export, we could potentially raise the PO4 in our 100g system .4ppm.

If our salt has .06ppm PO4 and we do a 10% water change per week, we'd only expect to raise PO4 about .006ppm.

So, the food would be ~67x worse.

I don't think either the .4 or .006 is an issue with good filtration though.

 

Yes, I just switched to this salt, and just tested the water last week. I measured something below 0.03, but not 0. I'm not too concerned, as I agree with m2434, the PO4 we introduce to our systems is much, much greater than the salt does.

 

hmmm intrestin topic i recently started useing rscp from using tmp before and too be quit honest i loved it didnt notice much difference in my tank besides the wallet stayin a bit healthier lol but now im curious and will be checkin my water params this weekend

 

I have been having a bad HA problem and have been using Red Sea salt, a google search led me to this thread. It seemed like the more I change my water, the worse it gets, and this is the first time I used this salt. Ordered it within the last month.

Its coral pro as well