The Seachem Aquavitro Salinity thread

[cparka23]

I wanted to collect users' impressions of Aquavitro Salinity salt in one thread, so it is easier for people to find out what the pros and cons are. Whenever someone has questions about what salt to use, the responses are usually "I use this," or "I used that and switched to something else." It doesn't give much of an idea of what a new user of the salt should expect to see.

So this is an open invitation to everyone who's used Aquavitro Salinity. Please post your impressions - good and bad.

 

[cparka23]

I'll start. I've been using this salt for about 3 months (~60 gallons worth) after being impressed by a review at AquaNerd. The fact that there's a guaranteed analysis printed on each bucket also made for a great selling point, and I've found that the salt matches the label very well. I've even stopped testing my new saltwater except for salinity.

Now for the bad. Even with the salt fully mixed in, the water stays slightly cloudy. A little salt residue remains in suspension and a lot accumulates on the sides of my mixing containers. I'll let my salt mix 24 hours in a 20 gallon aquarium with a powerhead in it, but it just won't clear up. I've thrown in a heater, tried adding the salt slowly, and given it an extra day or two, but it just won't clear up. Despite this, the measurements work out alright. I just remove the powerhead and let it settle out before the water change.

Overall, the residue is annoying, and it gives me pause when I think of getting another bucket. Still, I can't argue with the fact that my aquarium seems to be healthy and thriving. Maybe it's just a bad batch, but I'm going to ask the LFS if I can exchange it for another brand if the next bucket does this as well.

 

[Tinola]

I like it. It's what I use

 

[buddythelion]

I'm using it and like it. It maintains my few sps frags in my nano without dosing. As for water clarity, mine's been crystal clear. I just slowly add the salt over a period of time rather than all at once.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

Great salt, I won a bucket in a raffle but like the price of my IO

 

[CJO]

I've been using it since it first came out. I'm on my 4th bucket. That said, I think I'm going to change after this one. I do like the guaranteed analysis that is printed on the side. What I don't like is that there is a bit of residue after mixing.

I I'll let my salt mix 24 hours in a 20 gallon aquarium with a powerhead in it, but it just won't clear up. I've thrown in a heater, tried adding the salt slowly, and given it an extra day or two, but it just won't clear up. Despite this, the measurements work out alright.

FYI, they recommend that you don't mix it too much and also that you don't heat the water before you mix it.

CJ

 

[kuyatwo]

what results are you getting magnesium, calcium, alkalinity. i run a ulns and i cant have a salt that runs too high in alkalinity. i currently use a mixture of instant ocean and reef crystals.

 

[myzislow]

I use this salt, and while it does leave a bit of residue behind(most salts do, no big deal IMO), my water mixes clear as can be every time. I heat my water as well being my mixing bin is int he garage. Not sure why you are not supposed to heat it or mix it well? That makes no sesne and goes against everything I've read/been told over the years. If you dont bring it up to temp your salinity reading will be skewed and on top of that why would you want to dump water into your tank that is a good bit off in temp compared to your system?

 

[RalphsReef]

For those that have used more than 1 bucket, have you found that the numbers are consistent from bucket to bucket?

 

[kschweer]

I have been using this salt for about a year and I really like it. As stated above the analysis on each bucket is nice and pretty spot on. I do get some residue in my mixing containers but it really is not a big deal to me. I had previously used brightwells neomarine salt which also left a residue in my containers. I also like the fact that the bucket will make 225 gallons at 1.026 as opposed to some other salts that make "x" amount of gallons but at a lower salinity than I keep mine at. I don't see myself changing salts in the future I like the product and more importantly my tank likes it.

 

[dwilliams87]

I hate to be the one guy that has anything bad to say about it, but I had a bad batch. I started loosing my SPS's and couldn't figure out why. My final check was the saltwater mix itself and the alk. mixed at 6 while the bucket said 11.2. Everything else checked out nicely, but my personal experience will make me find something different. Loosing 500+ bucks on coral will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

 

[ckozma]

I have been using this salt mix over a year now with no problems at all. Levels are always spot on if it is mixed correctly. It does leave a salt residue when mixing, but it mixes clear and I have never noticed any ill effects from it.

 

[myzislow]

You know that is funny, I have a bucket that is testing really low in Alk as well. I mix my salt half n half with IO and I thought it was the IO that was brining it down. It is a whole point or 2 off from where it supposed to be. I've never had bucket of salinity test out at around 11dkh, though. Always right around 8-9 on my elos kit.

I am going to mix up nothing but salinity and see what I get

 

[buddythelion]

Bringing this thread back. I've been trying to make a batch of saltwater and lately the water is this murky grey color... pretty gross and it attaches onto the heater and pump as well. Any thoughts?

And did you ever check on the Alk?

 

[myzislow]

I'm pretty much over this salt I think. I've been having some issues with my acros and this current bucket is sooo far off parameter wise it's disgusting. I called the company today and I will be sending them a sample for their "scientists" to test.

My Alk is reading 4.5 on my elos and 5.5 on the hannah @ 35ppt at 77* mixed for well over 48 hours....Carson said a lot of his customers are switching away from it as well. Makes you wonder..

 

[M@!]

So any news? I was thinking about giving this salt a try but I'm now having second thoughts.

 

[Knuckles33]

I've been using it for a little while as have others in my area. I checked the parameters off the side of the bucket and they were spot on. Others in the area seem to like it too. My zoos have been doing great since switching. Sps haven't been doing as well, but may be a lighting issue. I haven't noticed residue o. The buckets but that's cause I haven't checked. I mix first and then hear before placing in tank. Always mixed to 1.026

 

[dwilliams87]

I switched to Reef Crystals. I'm not paying more money for salt that I feel less secure about even if it is supposedly tested!

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Reef2Reef Aquarium Forum mobile app

 

[CmacLD]

here is a interesting read that i found the other night... Who has given up Aquavitro Salinity? WHY? - Page 5 - Atlanta Reef Club Forums

I also have been using Salinity for almost a year now. Im on my second bucket. I do enjoy the salt... however i have noticed that my ALK will drop drastically after 24-48hrs.
I run a continuous waterchange and mix up 40 gallons at a time, which i use over the period of a month. Since my ALK isnt remaining ideal in storage i also am looking to change salts.

Here is a reply from Seachem in regards to many of the issues found with the salt.

"Alright, we are finally going to chime in on this thread and we apologize for taking so long.

First and foremost, if anyone ever has trouble with any of our products, please don't hesitate to call or email us regarding the issue. We take these things very seriously and sometimes do not come across these posts for a while, which makes it hard to address the issues at hand. We want our customers to be 100% satisfied and will do everything in our power to make that happen. This is not only our job, but also our passion.

As for the Salinity, it is a little disconcerting that so many of you are having difficulty with the salt. This is the highest quality salt on the market right now and we go to great lengths to achieve that.

The Salinity is not an out sourced salt like other salts on the market, including our Reef and Marine Salts. We batch Salinity right here in our facility in GA in very small batches. This allows for us to have much greater quality control over the salt itself. The elements used in this salt are anhydrous materials, meaning they do not contain unneeded water molecules that can cause variance in the weight of the compound. This is what accounts for its high concentration and the burn that some of you may have experienced as the materials can produce quite a bit of heat when they react with water. Once we have tested the salt in our labs and it meets our standards, we then send it to an EPA registered lab where it gets tested with high quality laboratory grade testing equipment. Those results are printed on a label for each batch and sent back to our facility. Not only do we include the exact numbers that you will find in each bucket, we have also include average numbers from different oceans around the world, in addition to a maximum and a minimum that surround those ocean values. The numbers in each bucket will never fall outside of that min/max range. Furthermore, those numbers are guaranteed at a SALINITY of 35ppt or SG of 1.026, which is determined with a laboratory-grade digital refractometer.

When mixing this salt, we have found that 24 hours or less is ideal. The longer you let the salt mix, the more C02 it will take on and the more precipitation you will encounter. C02 --> water --> carbonic acid --> bicarbonates/carbonates. Mixing the salt for more than 24 hours can cause a decrease in alkalinity and pH, resulting in a precipitation of calcium and carbonates. When we mix it here at Seachem, we mix it in 50 gallon drums with one powerhead at room temperature (22-25 degrees Centigrade). There is no need to use a heater. Typically the water is clear within a few hours but sometimes we have to use it within an hour of mixing, when it is still cloudy. This cloudiness clears rapidly once introduced to the tank, generally within 30 minutes, and will not cause any harm to the inhabitants. Furthermore, cloudiness seems to persist more with buckets that have calcium and alkalinity levels on the higher end of the range. This is really inevitable when you have such high levels of those particular components.

The odor that may be experienced is quite normal. Again, because of the anhydrous materials used in Salinity, it can take on a little moisture from the atmosphere, causing an unpleasant odor not evident in other salts that use hydrous components. Not only that, but we also match the sulfate content of natural sea water, which means we add more sulfates than other salts, giving it an unusual odor.

The residue that is left in the container is a direct result of 1. the highly concentrated materials used in the salt, 2. letting it mix too long 3. a natural occurrence when mixing a high quality salt. We do an acid wash on our buckets about once a month. This can be done at home simply using Acid Buffer and water. Your bucket will be clean instantly and easily.

Those of you that have mentioned losing colonies in your reef tank, I'm terribly sorry to hear that. It is hard to say exactly what may have gone wrong in that instance. Unfortunately, those things can happen for unknown reasons when dealing with a reef tank. I hope that this information has been helpful to you all and please, don't ever hesitate to give us a call when something is wrong. Even when you are getting low numbers on salt, whichever salt of ours that may be, call us and tell us about it and we will look into it. We want you to be successful in the hobby and would never produce a product that would intentionally harm your animals.

Sorry for such a long, elaborate post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible and hopefully answer all of your questions. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thanks!"

 

[turfster26]

I've been using Salinity salt on a high end (and success) 180-gl sps tank for almost two years. And can honestly say I have never had any issues. I do mix per SeaChem's instructions: I do not use a heater and use with 24-hrs of mixing. I use (1) powerhead and (1) Mag 3 pump in a 44-gl Brute drum. I never have any major setiment and never experience the cloudiness that others have experienced/stated.

To that end, I am very happy with the salt and feel it is the most UNDERRATED salt on the market. Now I must admit that I have been a SeaChem salt users for many years, I used their Reef Salt previously, and really enjoy their products and customer service. The Salinity salt has lived up to its' billing since day one for me. I do 20% WC every 2-weeks and do not find any Alk spikes that others have found.

Maybe I'm lucky or maybe my system is simply used to SeaChem's salts overall. All I can state is my experiences and I have been very happy with AquaVitro Salinity.

HTH