what salt brand do you use Pro's/Con's

[54seaweed]

I currently use instant ocean reef crystals
and I find my ph fluctuating up and down a lot
it bounces around a lot from 7.6 to 7.9
and its affecting my coral

I do weekly water changes
I really want to avoid using additives since they always add more issues

is there a salt brand that will maintain a stable ph level
I would like to maintain a ph of 8.2/8.4

what brand salt do you use and what are your ph levels

I live in the mountains with a altitude of 9800 feet I dont know if maybe that is what is affecting my levels
thanks for the help

 

[pritchard]

I use tropic Marin pro reef and have never had a problem ! I do dose iodine daily as well !

 

[Lunchbox209]

I currently use instant ocean reef crystals
and I find my ph fluctuating up and down a lot
it bounces around a lot from 7.6 to 7.9
and its affecting my coral

I do weekly water changes
I really want to avoid using additives since they always add more issues

is there a salt brand that will maintain a stable ph level
I would like to maintain a ph of 8.2/8.4

what brand salt do you use and what are your ph levels

I live in the mountains with a altitude of 9800 feet I dont know if maybe that is what is affecting my levels
thanks for the help

How long do you mix your water for

 

[54seaweed]

overnight

 

[Phranque]

What time of day are you testing? Run your test around the same time each day, as the pH can easily fluctuate that much just between morning & evening.

 

[54seaweed]

6 pm everyday I'm like clock work
I checked it this morn at 10am thinking it may change and it was 7.6
lights were on almost 2 hrs before
pet shop said it has to do with the altitude I'm at 9800 ft above sea level
I want to get this stabilized before I lose over a $1000. in coral
I need to get this up to at least 8.2

 

[Gregcoyote]

7.6 won't kill anything at this point. But big swings will. Be sure your PH tester is accurate. Try directing power heads to the surface and use a fan to promote better gas exchange. You can test this idea by taking a glass of tank water, measure it's PH, then use a air pump and stone to aerate the water for an hour, then retest the PH. If it has gone up, your problem is retaining too much C02 in the water. The additional choice is to measure Alkalinity, if it is low, then add a solution of soda ash (sodium carbonate) as that will both build up alkalinity (reducing ph swings in the process) and raise PH. Just do it over a couple of days or a week. Or use a Alkalinity buffer that is premixed. But most of those store bought buffers use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda that has been prepared) to reduce raising ph.

A build up of detritus, or dead things hidden, will also reduce PH and make the tank more acidic. Since you are at altitude, the water will not hold as much dissolved gas as it does at sea level, that is both oxygen and C02.

Many folks use a refugium or algae scrubber running at off hours to the display tank to reduce the swing lights on and off create.

 

[SeanMonster]

7.6 won't kill anything at this point. But big swings will. Be sure your PH tester is accurate. Try directing power heads to the surface and use a fan to promote better gas exchange. You can test this idea by taking a glass of tank water, measure it's PH, then use a air pump and stone to aerate the water for an hour, then retest the PH. If it has gone up, your problem is retaining too much C02 in the water. The additional choice is to measure Alkalinity, if it is low, then add a solution of soda ash (sodium carbonate) as that will both build up alkalinity (reducing ph swings in the process) and raise PH. Just do it over a couple of days or a week. Or use a Alkalinity buffer that is premixed. But most of those store bought buffers use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda that has been prepared) to reduce raising ph.

A build up of detritus, or dead things hidden, will also reduce PH and make the tank more acidic. Since you are at altitude, the water will not hold as much dissolved gas as it does at sea level, that is both oxygen and C02.

Many folks use a refugium or algae scrubber running at off hours to the display tank to reduce the swing lights on and off create.

+1 agreed. Also, how long are your lights on? I saw you said yours were on 2 hours prior to a 10 am test. My lights are on at 2 pm and off at 10 pm. Do you test for calcium and alkalinity? I test for them and then dose with B-Ionics two part system. As long as you have good gas exchange, keeping the alkalinity up will help to stabilize pH (since pH and alkalinity are directly related).

 

[tonedogz]

I've used both instant ocean and reef crystals and never had a problem.

 

[bonniewoodruff]

I use instant ocean and when it gets under 8.0 I add a little Kent buffer, brings it back up and seems to hold it.

 

[Holygral]

its that time of the year when the house is closed up, this leads to much lower PH readings. My first recommendation is to get a Pinpoint PH monitor rather than all the testing. By watching it thru-out the day you will get a better grip as to the changes. If you get the chance to get fresh air in to the house, take advantage of it.The swing you are getting should affect your corals and I dont believe it is a issue with your salt either. My PH always swings from 7.7 to 8.2 in the winter. But since I have a ph monitor, I know it is normal in the winter and affects nothing.

 

[54seaweed]

well just got off phone with instant ocean/pet group inc

and apparently theirs a recall on reef crystals

they advised me to stop using it
they said they had a bad mix that has something in it that drops ph drastically
there going to send me a refund for the cost of the tub of salt

 

[Holygral]

well just got off phone with instant ocean/pet group inc

and apparently theirs a recall on reef crystals

they advised me to stop using it
they said they had a bad mix that has something in it that drops ph drastically
there going to send me a refund for the cost of the tub of salt

You said your ph was 7.6-7.9, thats not a drastic drop. I still do not believe it is the salt. It is in the range of winter time shut up house swing.

 

[54seaweed]

last night I droped to 6.0


thank god I have a neighbor I was able to borrow some salt mix from he uses kent marine reef salt

After a long night finally have it under control
now I have a stable 8.2
all my fish are still in qt tank getting ready to acclimate into dt tank glad I didn't do water change in my qt tank with bad mix
this was a new tub of salt before issue started can't read lot # since its scuffed off but its dated JUNE 2012

 

[Gregcoyote]

last night I droped to 6.0

thank god I have a neighbor I was able to borrow some salt mix from he uses kent marine reef salt

After a long night finally have it under control
now I have a stable 8.2
all my fish are still in qt tank getting ready to acclimate into dt tank glad I didn't do water change in my qt tank with bad mix
this was a new tub of salt before issue started can't read lot # since its scuffed off but its dated JUNE 2012

I also use reef crystals, will certainly check to see if my batch is off or not.

 

[Gboy66]

well just got off phone with instant ocean/pet group inc

and apparently theirs a recall on reef crystals

they advised me to stop using it
they said they had a bad mix that has something in it that drops ph drastically
there going to send me a refund for the cost of the tub of salt

How do we know if ours is bad??

 

[54seaweed]

discard it if it has a production date of june 2012

 

[Gregcoyote]

Great info, why I am on this forum. I use reef crystals and will check my buckets date.

 

[54seaweed]

lfs had a big pile in back of returned salt looked like 2 pallets of it

 

[Lunchbox209]

Where on the bucket is the date located