I Tested a New Batch of Water Made With Fritz Blue Box

joeyprice

joeyprice

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I'm trying to get my Ca and Alk in balance before setting up a doser. I have been bringing it up about .5 dKh per day. Its now at a level I am happy with (8.8 - tank uses anywhere from .5 to 1 dkh daily).
I mixed up some water yesterday to do a water change and tested it this AM just out of curiosity and its at 6.5. Fritz says it should be 8-9. Couple of questions:

1. Has anybody else found this salt to be on the low side alk wise?
2. Should I bring the alk of the new water up before the change, or dose the entire tank after?
3. Should I switch to the Red Box salt?
 
Fwiw, I chose to use a salt that mixes to the parameters I want in my tank.

That will make things MUCH easier for you.
 
ichthyoid said:
Fwiw, I chose to use a salt that mixes to the parameters I want in my tank.

That will make things MUCH easier for you.
Click to expand...
yes, I thought I had done the same. The Blue Box salt is supposed to mix up to 8-9.
What salt do you use?
 
HW Marinemix Reefer, just know that it actually mixes to about 130 gals -

www.bulkreefsupply.com

HW-Marinemix Reefer Salt Mix 160 Gallons

Trusted by Professionals, Perfected for Your Reef Aquarium! Synthetic Blend for Superior Reef Health Clean and Dissolves Quickly Proven and Trusted Choice for Over 50 Years Makes approx. 160 Gallons of solution at 1.024 specific gravity Discover the superior quality of hw-Marinemix Reefer...
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ichthyoid said:
HW Marinemix Reefer -

www.bulkreefsupply.com

HW-Marinemix Reefer Salt Mix 160 Gallons

Trusted by Professionals, Perfected for Your Reef Aquarium! Synthetic Blend for Superior Reef Health Clean and Dissolves Quickly Proven and Trusted Choice for Over 50 Years Makes approx. 160 Gallons of solution at 1.024 specific gravity Discover the superior quality of hw-Marinemix Reefer...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
Click to expand...
I use this salt too. It has been very consistent.
 
What is the alk of your purified water? And to what salinity are you mixing your water? Both of these affect your results, and its also important to consider their answers to these when comparing your results to theirs.

FWIW, we were using fritz blue box at the old LFS and they were having high alk issues (mixing at 12-14 dkH). Turns out their water supply was bad. Once addressed, the issue was resolved and mixed normally.
 
ActiveAngel said:
What is the alk of your purified water? And to what salinity are you mixing your water? Both of these affect your results, and its also important to consider their answers to these when comparing your results to theirs.

FWIW, we were using fritz blue box at the old LFS and they were having high alk issues (mixing at 12-14 dkH). Turns out their water supply was bad. Once addressed, the issue was resolved and mixed normally.
Click to expand...
Alk of the RODI water reads 0.0
Salinity 1.025
 
The numbers they advertise are at 35 ppt (1.0264 sg) Might explain some of the difference
 
1.026 is normal. Did you get your magnesium figured out? Magnesium, Alkalinity and Calcium are all dependant on each other. I know you're testing newly made water now, but I would look at testing procedures and verify test kit accuracy. What kind of test kits are you using? Have you taken a sample to a LFS?
 
joeyprice said:
I never noticed that. Who runs salinity that low?
Click to expand...

ichthyoid said:
+1
I’d take a sample of both (new & tank water) to your LFS
Click to expand...
Misread the salinity level.

I have only tested the tank water and alk on the new batch. The LFS tested alk and Ca on the tank water and got the exact same number on alk and very close on Ca so I'm pretty confident in the accuracy of those test (Hanna). The mag test is a Salifert, which I understand to be a reliable test, but will double check all of them against Premiers results.

Thanks for the help.
 
Also, how fast do you add the salt to the RO and is there very good circulation in the mixing container? Are you seeking any residue on the bottom of the container after the water clears?

If the salt is added too fast and it settles on the bottom it can precip there before you even add it to the system.

I'm not going to rule out the salt being bad but it's further down the list of possibilities for me at this point. If none of the things mentioned so far are the cause it could be settling in the box. Before I was using an entire box mixing batches I would pour the salt in a bucket so I could roll it and keep settling to a minimum.
 
I mix the salt water in a brute can with a big ass Sicce pump. I add a couple cups of salt, let it mix for an hour or so and add another couple cups. I do this untilt the salinity is at 1.025. Then I plug in a heater to get it to tank temp and let it mix over night. I do not see anything on the bottom of the can, and no, I did not mix the salt up before. I have heard of this, but I forgot all about it. It would be unusual for the water not to get used within a day or two.
 
I mixed up some more water yesterday and the alk is reading even lower. I'm going to take the water to a shop for testing/confirmation, but I'm going to switch brands as well. Regarding the salt settling issue - wouldn't the readings come in higher at end of the box? I'm down to stems and seeds on this box and the alk is REALLY low - < 5. I guess I'm going to flush it all and make a new batch with whatever I decide to replace it with.
 
OK, for anybody still interested I think I've narrowed it down to bad reagents.

I took a sample to Premier a week or so ago and had it tested for Alk to see if it matched my Hanna. Their test and mine were spot on, very low (5.3). The reagents I used for that test were the last of the bottle. Since then I've been using a new bottle, and that is where the trouble started. I think the Hanna is reading correctly, the vials from the Fritz water are very pale and the numbers are correspondingly low. I took a sample of the Fritz water and my tank water to Premier today and had them test both. My tank water was stupid high in alk from my dosing it based on my Hanna tests and the freshly mixed water tested at 8. I've ordered some new reagents and will post results here.
 
joeyprice said:
Tested my water with a new bottle of reagent - Alk came in at 8.5 vs 6.4 for the old batch, so I guess I have found the problem.
Click to expand...

I have also found as you get to the bottom 3rd of the Alk reagent for Hanna the results of the test are untrustworthy.
 
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