SW mixing question

[usmcmarc]

As I undrstood, from reading other posts and articles, 1.023 was the accepted "norm" for SG in SW tanks. Am I wrong about this?

 

[austinsdad]

Not wrong IMO. I believe that you're well within acceptable and preferred ranges. I do 1.025.

 

[usmcmarc]

OK..I'm glad that it's acceptable, but you are well above that SG as well. Is there a reason? Do corals & fish do better in higher SG? I have no problem creeping the SG up little by little till it's 1.025 or 1.026. I just want to know what the benefits are vs. 1.023. I have not found any articles that specifically address what higher or lower SG's mean biologically to the animals.

 

[austinsdad]

http://www.timstropicals.com/Saltwater/fishcare/Salinity.asp

I've read (forgot where) that reef tanks are higher. Check out the above article I just found.

 

[usmcmarc]

Great info...Thanks. I'm gonna start bummping it up little by little.

 

[usmcmarc]

I just whipped up a 5 gal batch using reef crystals and water from my new RO/DI unit. This batch was about the 50th gal I made with the unit.

SG - 1.026
Alk - 11 dKH
Ca - 400

So IMO, Reef Crystals just do not provide enough calcium. And I dont want to use supplements. Oceanic gives me a 440-460ppm.

 

[cmor1701d]

If you're getting consistent results with Oceanic, then stay with it. I tried it and found it be low and quite variable from batch to batch. It may due to mixing 20-30 gallon batches from a 200 gal bucket. If the particle sizes are not uniform there would be uneven settlement during shipping.

 

[melosu58]

Oceanic gives me a 440-460ppm.

Same here with me. It`s why I use Oceanic.

 

[fijiwigi]

with all the work and money involved in making saltwater sometimes I debate making the 2 hour drive to seattle and loading up a truck with containers of saltwater. At the seattle aquarium there is a hookup that dispenses conditioned Saltwater straight from the Ocean that they use in there Aquariums. It costs 5 cents a gallon. You Put like 40 dollars down to become a member and swipe your member card and it deducts from your account based on how much water you take. The part that stops me is having to buy the containers for transport. And I only go to Seattle like 4 times a year. Id have to load 30 5g jugs every 4 months if only I lived a little closer. You can't get much better than real ocean water.

 

[usmcmarc]

Wellllll.....Real ocean water straight from the ocean is actually a BAD idea. Too many pathogens, and toxins in ocean water these days.

Now...water from the aquarium that has been conditioned...thats a different story...I would do that in a heartbeat. And 5 cents a gallon is so cheap it's insulting. I cant get plain RO water for less than 50 cents a gallon. Thats why I bought my own RO/DI unit.

Too far away though. It would be awesome if it was closer.



melosu58 - In what quantity do you buy the oceanic salt? 200gal bucket? Just curious if you had the same problem cmor1701d mentioned.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Uh... that aquarium water isn't straight from the ocean. It's straight from Elliot Bay where the aquarium is located, which is many many nautical miles away from the ocean. Y'know... the same Elliot bay that's at the outlet of the Duwamish where some of the worst toxic waste dumps are from the good ol' shipbuilding days?! Granted, it's filtered, but that just means it gets the nasties out. You can read more here on this thread, but you might have to register to see it...

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25143

I've cut and pasted a person's test results of the water below:

salinity 1.022
ph8.0
alk 6.7
calc 320
mag 1250

In addition, there is a post on that thread from a person that works at the aquarium. He points out that they don't use the water in the aquarium in the same form that they sell it. Their exotic tanks start out with the water from the bay, but then goes through multiple processes before it's deemed good enough for their own tanks. They primarily sell the u-haul water to seafood companies and restaurants for their holding tanks.

In my opinion, stick with your premixed saltwater using RO/DI water. Can't get much more consistent than that.

 

[usmcmarc]

8O :?

 

[ccCapt]

SG - 1.026
Alk - 11 dKH
Ca - 400

So IMO, Reef Crystals just do not provide enough calcium. And I dont want to use supplements. Oceanic gives me a 440-460ppm.

You are aware natural sea water is about 410 ppm.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2002/chem.htm

You won't have to add supplemental calcium if you don't have calcium consuming corals regardless if you use Oceanic or RC. But, if you plan on keeping SPS or other high demand calcium corals, you will need to supplement using either salt.

 

[fijiwigi]

Not that I am going to go to seattle to get the water for my tank I was a little curious about the post Kurt Nelson posted so I e-mailed the aquarium and this was their response below. Also I am using instant ocean and I tested my calcium and it read 440 ppm I think that the sg level affects the calcium where if you keep it at 1.026 you would have a higher calcium level than if you kept it at 1.023 since the calcium is in the salt. in case that benefits the topic

>>> Robert Kiel 10/22/2007 1:04 PM >>>

The water we sell is the same water we use in all our exhibits. The salinity of Puget Sound is slightly lower than the open ocean but close enough it does not present any problems. We send the water through sand filters to remove some particulate matter then through a UV sterilizer to kill pathogens. I recommend you run the water over the side for ~ 30 seconds prior to filling your container to get rid of the stagnant water in the hose. We do not begin tallying your use right away to allow for flushing of the line.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Regarding Mr. Kiel's response to you, he's not contradicting anything that I read in that other thread I linked to. The water they sell, they do indeed use for all their exhibits. They use the same exact water for their cold-water exhibits since they're basically exhibiting things that can be found right outside their door.

However, they do not use that water "as is" for their "exotic" displays... which are more or less what we all have for aquariums. For their exotic displays, they start with the water they sell, then run it through another set of particulate and sand filters, carbon, ozone, another UV filter, and finally a protein skimmer, before they even use it.

 

[fijiwigi]

Thanks Kurt for the info. Sounds like you have definately done your research. you must live in my neck of the woods and contemplated the same idea at one time? If only the Seattle aqurium sold water that was ready to use they could probably make some money off of the local saltwater aquarists.

Anyway back to the topic of which salt is better. I am using instant ocean because it is the cheapest. All of my levels appear to be fine. I use more salt per gallon then what they recommend on the bag. Like 6 scoops in about 4.5 gallons of water mixed in a 5 gallon bucket. They recommend 1 scoop per gallon. Even though instant ocean is cheaper I am wondering if I bought oceanic or reef crystals or anything else if I would spend less money on salt because it would take less salt to reach the desired SG of 1.025? I am new at this and have been using instant ocean pretty much since I started saltwater 10 months ago. And on most websites that sell fish they recommend salinity of 1.023 or so and a temp of 73-78 for most fish. I keep my SG around 1.026 or so and temp around 79-80. Am I putting my fish at risk?? ( I still have no fish by the way ) died from lack of knowledge I am planning on a fish sometime around the first of the year.

 

[usmcmarc]

I am running 1.025 SG now, and my temp range is 78 - 80. My fish have been doing fine.

No casualties yet!!! (Knock on wood!!!!)

I was going to run 1.026 SG, but I dont have an ATO and I was worried about evaporation and the SG getting too high. So I figured 1.025 SG would be better. That way when I get evaporation it shouldnt get above 1.026 SG by the time I get to top it off.

 

[chase33]

I've got to use Oceanic salt. I have 2 5 gallon containers of reef crystals left. Once finished...