switching salts..any possible problems?

[hammcd]

I have been using red sea salt for the past 6 months and have loved it..have had good coral growth and fish seem healthy...they now have a salt called coral pro salt which has higher alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, etc...ito date i have had mostly lps but have begun to add more and more sps
my question is should i worry about switching salts..these r the values from the companys site:

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thanks

 

[cr500_af]

No worries at all. IMO it is cheaper to buy "good" reef salt than it is to dose cheap salt to get it to the same levels.

 

[cr500_af]

Big question: Are you getting the same values when you test that they publish?

If they are accurate, the numbers for the Coral Pro at 35ppt are outstanding.

 

[rjrgroup]

I had no idea that there was that big of difference. I have been just using reef crystals with good(i guess) success. What changes could I expect with upgrading to a better formula? I do not dose any supplements or nutrients unless levels are off. I just do R/O WC @ 10% 3 times a month.

 

[rjrgroup]

Thank you in advance.

 

[cr500_af]

rjrgroup;606607 wrote: I had no idea that there was that big of difference. I have been just using reef crystals with good(i guess) success. What changes could I expect with upgrading to a better formula? I do not dose any supplements or nutrients unless levels are off. I just do R/O WC @ 10% 3 times a month.

I've used Reef Crystals for a while and have no complaints. However, I only get about 380 Ca @ 1.026 with it.

I am going back to Seachem Reef Salt, which is good in Ca numbers but low on alkalinity. Reason for the change is simply that it is cheaper to dose alk than it is to dose calcium.

 

[rjrgroup]

cr500_af;606610 wrote: I've used Reef Crystals for a while and have no complaints. However, I only get about 380 Ca @ 1.026 with it.

I am going back to Seachem Reef Salt, which is good in Ca numbers but low on alkalinity. Reason for the change is simply that it is cheaper to dose alk than it is to dose calcium.

I know I have a lot of dumb Q's but how much does temp have to do with these specific levels and does the time of day/light cycle effect results?:unsure:

 

[cr500_af]

Temp and lighting won't affect trace elements, like the ones above, but they DO affect specific gravity and pH. Warmer water is less dense than cold water (many "lab" hydrometers are calibrated significantly cooler than we keep our tanks). It only matters to us hobbyists to the extent that we need to make sure our equipment is calibrated at the temps we use, or else we correct for the temp difference.

Light raises pH, and it drops slightly during lights-out. I don't remember why, frankly.
It isn't anything that is a big deal, but some people run their sump or refugium lights on a reverse light cycle from the main lights to help balance out the effect on pH.

Do you test routinely? IMO if you are keeping corals, testing Ca, Mg and alkalinity are a must. Those are being depleted constantly by growth of corals, and without testing you don't know if your water changes are replenishing them fast enough. They could be, depending on how heavy your coral load is, but you may be slowly dropping in one or more as time passes.

 

[rjrgroup]

cr500_af;606619 wrote: Temp and lighting won't affect trace elements, like the ones above, but they DO affect specific gravity and pH. Warmer water is less dense than cold water (many "lab" hydrometers are calibrated significantly cooler than we keep our tanks). It only matters to us hobbyists to the extent that we need to make sure our equipment is calibrated at the temps we use, or else we correct for the temp difference.

Light raises pH, and it drops slightly during lights-out. I don't remember why, frankly.
It isn't anything that is a big deal, but some people run their sump or refugium lights on a reverse light cycle from the main lights to help balance out the effect on pH.

Do you test routinely? IMO if you are keeping corals, testing Ca, Mg and alkalinity are a must. Those are being depleted constantly by growth of corals, and without testing you don't know if your water changes are replenishing them fast enough. They could be, depending on how heavy your coral load is, but you may be slowly dropping in one or more as time passes.

Yes but admittedly, I use a notoriously bad kit. In my defense, all three of my LFS use it as well(api). My Ca is always right at 500 and my Mg is in the 1300+ range. I run my fuge 24/7 and skimmer at night. I have never seen anything other than 8.4 , no matter the day or night. The only thing I have detected is a 5-20 nitrate. I like to feed...

 

[rjrgroup]

Oh and thanks man, great stuff!

 

[cr500_af]

I feed heavily too... I will say this, at the risk of sounding like an API basher.
I used them too when I first started out... at the recommendation of an LFS. My first real, verifyable issue came when I made the comment to Tim at Keen Reef that my alk was running 8-9dkh. He knew what salt I used (Seachem) because I bought it from him. He said, "not if you are still using Seachem Reef Salt it isn't".

I tested my results with two better kits owned by other friends and members. Both showed the same thing... I was very low on alk, the real number was less than 5 dkh.

Since then I've replaced all my test kits with better ones except ammonia and nitrite. If I ever set up a new tank from scratch, I'll replace those too.

So as not to mislead, Tim was NOT the person who recommended API kits... but I bought an Elos phosphate kit from him last night.

 

[rjrgroup]

I just added my first real sps in the last few weeks and I think it's time to make the change. Ugh...I was hoping to pay for membership but an elos test set up sounds nice too.:lol2:

 

[rjrgroup]

Oh poop, I just realized how badly I high jacked this thread, sorry, continue.

 

[hammcd]

u didn't hijack..im gonna make the switch if i can find this stuff locally