ESV Salt - Tips and Tricks

[rtparty]

First, a little introduction. If you want the tips and tricks, scroll down past the first few paragraphs.

I’m certainly not an expert but I’ve been using this salt since ~2010 and every time I switch to something else, I come back to ESV. It’s never veered from being clean, consistent, and reliable IME. It’s also one of the cheaper salts on the market when you buy the refill option. 200 gallons is usually around $90 on sale. I’ve seen as low as $85 recently but expect the new sale price to be closer to $100 with recent price increases. $0.50 per gallon is a reasonable price IMO but your opinion and wallet may differ.

- Is it for everyone? No
- Is it super hard mixing 4 different parts? No, but there are some tips to know before use.
- Am I involved with ESV in any way? Nope. I have talked to Robert Stark (ESV owner) maybe twice.
So why make this post? Well, most may know about my Ultimate Salt Test but if you don’t here is the thread:

The Ultimate Salt Test

I wanted to get this thread up and going before the holidays soak up all my time. I did a live YouTube with Deven from ReefDudes going over things but it is about 1.5 hours long. I will write up a more detailed explanation here in this first post soon. I am a hobbyist first and foremost. I have...

www.reef2reef.com

Again, that testing does NOT make me an expert and I certainly would never claim that. I just got to see so many salts first hand, use them on my systems, and even learn a lot about each salt and what may or may not separate them from each other.

Tips and Tricks

Get a good kitchen scale. I recommend this for all salts but especially ESV. It makes life so much easier and consistent. Sorry, “scoops” are not a measurement

Start with less water than you need. For example, if you want to make 10 gallons of SW then only add 9 gallons to start. Then add the dry ingredients and then the wet components from ESV. Measure salinity and then top off with RO water to get the correct salinity. This is 100x easier than trying to figure out how much of each ingredient is needed to raise salinity. This may be where you learn the lines on your bucket may not be accurate after all

Make sure to seal it up the dry ingredients right after use. This goes for all salts but especially the magnesium portion of ESV. Magnesium loves to solidify with even smallest amount of moisture or humidity.

That’s it. Super simple really especially after you’ve done it a couple times. Topping off with water to get the correct salinity is the biggest one IMO.

 

[KStatefan]

Good tips.

I really wish I would have purchased a 100 gallon cone bottom tank for my mixing instead of the 55 gallon so I would not have to weigh anything.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

.

- Is it for everyone? No

Who is it not suited for?

If I were to switch to it, from normal IO for 1% daily AWC changes, what do you think I might observe?

 

[rtparty]

Who is it not suited for?

If I were to switch to it, from normal IO for 1% daily AWC changes, what do you think I might observe?

Some people just want to dump in salt and go. They don't like the 4-part recipe of ESV.

I can not definitively say what you would observe. Likely a cleaner mixing barrel. Likely more consistent parameters batch to batch. Almost a guarantee you would find molybdenum with an ICP

That is all outside the scope of this thread though as I was simply making a thread about tips and tricks since I receive a lot of questions about what salt(s) I use and/or recommend. I think it would be nice that if someone searches ESV salt (especially after I recommend it) and decides to go with it that they have some info that may help them

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Some people just want to dump in salt and go. They don't like the 4-part recipe of ESV.

I can not definitively say what you would observe. Likely a cleaner mixing barrel. Likely more consistent parameters batch to batch. Almost a guarantee you would find molybdenum with an ICP

That is all outside the scope of this thread though as I was simply making a thread about tips and tricks since I receive a lot of questions about what salt(s) I use and/or recommend. I think it would be nice that if someone searches ESV salt (especially after I recommend it) and decides to go with it that they have some info that may help them

Thanks. :)

 

[fish_collector]

Do you have any photos of your tanks and corals that are in with this salt?

Sorry just saw your tank thread.

 

[rtparty]

Do you have any photos of your tanks and corals that are in with this salt?

Sorry just saw your tank thread.

My old 250g ran on almost every salt because of my salt test.

The NYOS 440 was started with NYOS salt and Aqua Forest. I only went back to ESV recently when I ran out of NYOS

 

[X-37B]

I ran esv for around 2 years in my old 120. Worked well and I would use it again. I used a digital scale for weight measurement.
I currently run blue bucket/bag. Its close to my parameters and all the lfs carry it.
I have found after many years that salt is salt. Pick one and use it.
I have also reduced WC's to 5% a month but thats another question for another thread, lol.

 

[Peer.Boerner]

First, a little introduction. If you want the tips and tricks, scroll down past the first few paragraphs.

I’m certainly not an expert but I’ve been using this salt since ~2010 and every time I switch to something else, I come back to ESV. It’s never veered from being clean, consistent, and reliable IME. It’s also one of the cheaper salts on the market when you buy the refill option. 200 gallons is usually around $90 on sale. I’ve seen as low as $85 recently but expect the new sale price to be closer to $100 with recent price increases. $0.50 per gallon is a reasonable price IMO but your opinion and wallet may differ.

- Is it for everyone? No
- Is it super hard mixing 4 different parts? No, but there are some tips to know before use.
- Am I involved with ESV in any way? Nope. I have talked to Robert Stark (ESV owner) maybe twice.
So why make this post? Well, most may know about my Ultimate Salt Test but if you don’t here is the thread:

The Ultimate Salt Test

I wanted to get this thread up and going before the holidays soak up all my time. I did a live YouTube with Deven from ReefDudes going over things but it is about 1.5 hours long. I will write up a more detailed explanation here in this first post soon. I am a hobbyist first and foremost. I have...

www.reef2reef.com

Again, that testing does NOT make me an expert and I certainly would never claim that. I just got to see so many salts first hand, use them on my systems, and even learn a lot about each salt and what may or may not separate them from each other.

Tips and Tricks

Get a good kitchen scale. I recommend this for all salts but especially ESV. It makes life so much easier and consistent. Sorry, “scoops” are not a measurement

Start with less water than you need. For example, if you want to make 10 gallons of SW then only add 9 gallons to start. Then add the dry ingredients and then the wet components from ESV. Measure salinity and then top off with RO water to get the correct salinity. This is 100x easier than trying to figure out how much of each ingredient is needed to raise salinity. This may be where you learn the lines on your bucket may not be accurate after all

Make sure to seal it up the dry ingredients right after use. This goes for all salts but especially the magnesium portion of ESV. Magnesium loves to solidify with even smallest amount of moisture or humidity.

That’s it. Super simple really especially after you’ve done it a couple times. Topping off with water to get the correct salinity is the biggest one IMO.

I’ve used ESV once and just thought it was a hassle. But I may try it again after reading your article, test results and tips. Many thanks for sharing those!