Fritz's RPM reef salt low dKH

[TastesLikeChicken]

If one has to worry about not heating the water before mixing, using it in 2 hours, etc then the salt is not worth using. The last thing I need in life is a high maintenance salt. My suggestion is that if you don’t like it, don’t over think it. Just move on. Many other brands on the market to worry about what someone has used for years.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Just to clarify, why not heating the water?

 

[ariellemermaid]

If one has to worry about not heating the water before mixing, using it in 2 hours, etc then the salt is not worth using. The last thing I need in life is a high maintenance salt. My suggestion is that if you don’t like it, don’t over think it. Just move on. Many other brands on the market to worry about what someone has used for years.

To each their own. I think it’s the best bang for the buck. There are plenty of salt threads and I’ve read through them. My only conclusion, much like this thread, is that no matter the salt brand some people report no problems and some people have strong feelings against. And BRS found in testing that every salt brand has sediment just some more than others (Fritz was never tested because they don’t sell it). So is the sediment I’m finding better or worse than Brightwell or Red Sea or IO Reef Crystals? I have no idea, and us talking about subjective experiences under different conditions is apples to oranges. Keep in mind the sediment in the above picture was filtered from mixing just 20 gallons. They did find….

Just to clarify, why not heating the water?

…that some salts mixed cleaner when adding heat. What I can definitely say is that the longer Fritz sits around and the longer it’s heated the more sediment I see. But then I’ve left the heater in for a week or more at times. That’s probably extreme and not what most people are doing. That was the case with the first photos I posted where the sediment was the worst I’ve seen.

Maybe my opinion will change in the future. I don’t have any stock options in Fritz. But based on R2R reports I may have similar issues with another brand too. And I’m sure some folks are ignoring the sediment and not being as OCD about cleaning their mixing tanks. So, we’ll see what cold mixing and cold storage for 2 weeks looks like. In the end, the sediment is super easy to clean with a little vinegar, a quick brush, and rinse. It’s really not the end of the world and doing it every 2 weeks rather than every week plus adding AWC will already be a huge bump in lifestyle for me. As for the alk, my experience above was after heating for a week (I made the water expecting to buy a used tank but the seller backed out), and I didn’t actually test the Alk before adding it to the tank. So we’ll see how it does with longer cold storage and rigorous testing. It’s also possible the salt had settled and wasn’t mixed up well enough in the bag. It’s not exactly easy mixing around a 50lb bag. We’ll just have to see. Just my 2 cents; the sediment I’ve had in the past is an annoyance, but not a dealbreaker.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Got you. Usually I use most of the freshly mixed saltwater within couple of days. Again, one of the reasons why I want to switch is that the current salt I am using supposedly has an alk at around 9 but once I checked it was 11!

I had about 5 out 12 buckets that were off and I questioned how did the salt pass quality control and the question was vaguely answered? The company customer was good but I try not to use them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just to clarify, why not heating the water?

All high alk mixes, such as Red Sea Coral Pro, are prone to precipitating calcium carbonate. Heat accelerates that process because calcium carbonate solubility declines as temperature rises.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

All high alk mixes, such as Red Sea Coral Pro, are prone to precipitating calcium carbonate. Heat accelerates that process because calcium carbonate solubility declines as temperature rises.

So mix with cold water and heat it up? Then add it to the tank?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So mix with cold water and heat it up? Then add it to the tank?

If you store it, don't heat it.

if you must heat it, don't heat until needed. I never heated my salt water since I used it for AWC.

Add salt to rapidly mixing water, and add slowly so you don't get a big pile on the bottom.

Do not try to raise its pH, and mixing in a high CO2 room will minimize precipitation.

 

[ariellemermaid]

Got you. Usually I use most of the freshly mixed saltwater within couple of days. Again, one of the reasons why I want to switch is that the current salt I am using supposedly has an alk at around 9 but once I checked it was 11!

I had about 5 out 12 buckets that were off and I questioned how did the salt pass quality control and the question was vaguely answered? The company customer was good but I try not to use them.

If you’re getting different results from the exact same box then I would say probably one of two things is going on. Either the salt box/bucket itself isn’t mixed around well enough (settling during shipping, etc.), or I would attribute this to mixing procedures. Maybe the water temp/ambient was a little different, maybe the mixing time was a little longer or shorter, maybe you’re testing before it’s fully mixed, maybe you weren’t testing at the exact same time after mixing, maybe your consumer grade test or testing procedure is inconsistent, etc. If you really want to dive into into it further I would start with a really dedicated strict protocol on how you mix, what temp you mix at, the exact same PPT, and the precise time mark you test at. If you want to go further, test 2-3 times and take the average result (and if 2 agree consider throwing out the outlier result). Come up with a strict protocol and stick to it until you feel like you have enough data to draw a conclusion.

So long as the salt is homogenous and the mixing procedure and time is the same, there’s really no reason you should be getting vastly different results from the same mix.

 

[cocoReefer]

I have used fritz for the last year and a half. No issues. I do 30 gallons at a time. Fill my brute, pour in salt with a large pump running, do a water change as soon as its clear. Always tests what i expect it to, and i havent ever had residue. I was actually impressed with fritz compared to other salts of the same price point.
No heating and no letting it sit around may be a key factor.
Ive used red and blue box. Just dont need the extra kh anymore....

 

[Fishingandreefing]

If you’re getting different results from the exact same box then I would say probably one of two things is going on. Either the salt box/bucket itself isn’t mixed around well enough (settling during shipping, etc.), or I would attribute this to mixing procedures. Maybe the water temp/ambient was a little different, maybe the mixing time was a little longer or shorter, maybe you’re testing before it’s fully mixed, maybe you weren’t testing at the exact same time after mixing, maybe your consumer grade test or testing procedure is inconsistent, etc. If you really want to dive into into it further I would start with a really dedicated strict protocol on how you mix, what temp you mix at, the exact same PPT, and the precise time mark you test at. If you want to go further, test 2-3 times and take the average result (and if 2 agree consider throwing out the outlier result). Come up with a strict protocol and stick to it until you feel like you have enough data to draw a conclusion.

So long as the salt is homogenous and the mixing procedure and time is the same, there’s really no reason you should be getting vastly different results from the same mix.

No. I got different levels of alk from different bucket.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I have used fritz for the last year and a half. No issues. I do 30 gallons at a time. Fill my brute, pour in salt with a large pump running, do a water change as soon as its clear. Always tests what i expect it to, and i havent ever had residue. I was actually impressed with fritz compared to other salts of the same price point.
No heating and no letting it sit around may be a key factor.
Ive used red and blue box. Just dont need the extra kh anymore....

You’re another person stated no heating. So you don’t put a heater in the mixing bucket to heat up the freshly mixed water to match the tank temp? It can be off 10-15 degree.

 

[ariellemermaid]

You’re another person stated no heating. So you don’t put a heater in the mixing bucket to heat up the freshly mixed water to match the tank temp? It can be off 10-15 degree.

Most people don’t really need to heat. With a 10% water change if the tank is at 78 degrees and the 10% WC is at 68 degrees ambient the resulting temp would be 77 degrees. A 1 degree swing is a pretty normal intra-daily occurrence; 1 degree is the minimum I can set my inkbird to. Same conditions but 25% you’d be looking at 75.5; that’s a bit more significant but still just 2.5 degrees.

In my case I do more like 30% minimum and up to 70% at times depending on the tank and issues, so that’s a different story. Formula: WC % (like 0.1) * ambient temp + remaining % (like 0.9) * tank temp= final temp. If it’s a swing more than you’re comfortable with, then heat right before you do the WC.

I’ll also add….ever been swimming in the ocean? The temp is not uniform and has warmer and colder spots with waves and as you move around. So while we try to keep our tanks as absolutely stable as possible, I really don’t think brief temp swings of several degrees are likely to cause problems.

 

[homer1475]

Everyone always posts about BRS videos about the brown sludge, mixing times, alkalinity drops, etc, etc.....

But it seems no one ever states the obvious video where they say to run ALL, yes ALL salts through a sediment filter made for RO/DI filters to keep your mixing stations nice and clean.

Been doing this with regular old purple box IO for a couple years now, and have yet needed to clean my mixing barrels.

 

[ariellemermaid]

Everyone always posts about BRS videos about the brown sludge, mixing times, alkalinity drops, etc, etc.....

But it seems no one ever states the obvious video where they say to run ALL, yes ALL salts through a sediment filter made for RO/DI filters to keep your mixing stations nice and clean.

Been doing this with regular old purple box IO for a couple years now, and have yet needed to clean my mixing barrels.

I did see an article from them mentioning using sediment filters, but my impression was that it was to keep any sediment out of the tank.

Can you explain more about this setup? My RODI systems have sediment filters for the freshwater; I’m guessing that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about clean, zero TDS water being mixed in a container with salt to produce saltwater. The container itself is where people are complaining about sediment. So….how exactly would one apply a filter to remove sediment from the container in which you have to mix salt + water which is what produces the sediment in the first place? I’m obviously missing a step conceptually.

 

[homer1475]

In my mixing station, I have an external pump to mix with. I simply push water through the pump, and into an RO/DI cartridge with a RO/DI sediment filter in it, and back into my barrel.

Probably not quite so easy if using an internal pump.

Let me get my lazy but off the couch and snap a few pics for you......

 

[homer1475]

In this pic you can see my whole mixing station, with external pump.

This pic is the sediment filter attached to my mixing barrel. It just recirculates the water, and is connected to my hose that I drag to the tank. So any water coming into the tank is also filtered through that sediment filter.

This is the filter I use. Same as the one in my RO/DI unit.

And my mixing barrel that hasn't been wiped out, or cleaned in a couple years. Kind of hsrd to see as it was full, but trust me, it's as clean as the day I bought it.

 

[ariellemermaid]

In this pic you can see my whole mixing station, with external pump.

This pic is the sediment filter attached to my mixing barrel. It just recirculates the water, and is connected to my hose that I drag to the tank. So any water coming into the tank is also filtered through that sediment filter.

This is the filter I use. Same as the one in my RO/DI unit.

And my mixing barrel that hasn't been wiped out, or cleaned in a couple years. Kind of hsrd to see as it was full, but trust me, it's as clean as the day I bought it.

Cool, thanks for sharing. So that’s the only mixing pump you use? I.e. undissolved salt goes directly into the filter, and that works out ok? What kind of pump are you using there? Also, after approximately how many gallons do you replace the filter?

 

[homer1475]

Yup straight into the barrel and through the filter. It's salt, anything that doesn't dissolve(it's salt, it's supposed to 100% dissolve in water) will get stuck to the filter, and thats exactly what it's suppose to do.

It's actually way overkill for my mixing station, but I won it here in a giveaway. It's an MRC LP4200(4200gph). I can mix IO to clear in about 10 minutes. lol.

I replace the filter after about 2,000 gallons(about every 100, 200G boxes). Not sure if I need to, but I can see the flow is diminished after about that many gallons through it. Haven't ever really measured how long it takes, but I can see diminished flow through my hose, then I replace the filter. You can actually see the brown sludge it collect(the normally white filter will turn a nice dark brown color).

I can't remember, but I think it was the video BRS did about 10 mixing mistakes most people make, that had the sediment filter idea in it.

 

[homer1475]

I found it!

It was the the video they did on mistakes people make when mixing salt. It start at about 13:20 where they explain a sediment filter.

 

[ariellemermaid]

I found it!

It was the the video they did on mistakes people make when mixing salt. It start at about 13:20 where they explain a sediment filter.

Interesting; he mentions the idea of a submerged reactor too. I will say it sounds like your idea goes beyond anything I’ve seen as I’ve been researching the past few hours. Haven’t seen anyone else running their mixing pump through a sediment filter; even BRS, it sounds like they just use one to prevent sediment on the tank side other than the reactor idea. Nice setup!

This has me re-thinking my whole water changing station. I still don’t think I want or really need all the PVC plumbing and potential for leaks and valve failures, but adding a reactor could be a happy medium.