Mixed up 10g of Instant Ocean for a water change prior to heading out of town. I always test the water in the tank prior to doing a water change and was going to skip it today since I just tested it on Sunday but decided to go ahead and do it regardless. To my surprise, the magnesium was 1500 (I generally keep it in the 1350 range but it has been creeping up), up from 1440 on Saturday. Salinity in tank was a bit low (on Saturday) so I mixed up a gallon of Instant Ocean and added it to the ATO to bring it back up gradually over the course of a few days.
After testing the display, I check the freshly mixed water that has been circulating for about 14 hours.
Salinity - 34.5 (1.026)
Alkalinity - 7.3 dKh (3ml muriatic acid to 5g bucket)
Calcium - 500+ (full color change was a few drops away so I didnt bother taking it to full color change, estimate 510-515)
Magnesium - 1695
I mixed up approx 3/4 gallon of water after thoroughly mixing the bucket of Instant Ocean (rolling it around the floor for a while) and used it as a control of sorts.
Salinity - 34.5 (1.026)
Alkalinity - not tested as it was within normal range
Calcium - 410
Magnesium - 1680
With the large delta, I decided to test the 5g bucket that I had mixing again.
Calcium - 500 (close enough to the results I had initially)
Tested the freshly mixed 3/4 gallon again.
Calcium - 500
Ok, I have a large delta on one of the tests for some reason (likely user error) but of note, the calcium and magnesium are considerably higher than I've ever had with Instant Ocean. Over the past year and a half (give or take some months...), it has typically been:
Alkalinity - 10.8 dKh (prior to addition of muriatic acid)
Calcium - 435-445
Magnesium - 1365-1380
It looks as though I've been mixing it well enough in bucket to mitigate any separation but the levels of magnesium are way out of the typical range and well beyond anything I've ever measured in my tank (I'm usually pretty consistent though the test above certainly illustrates something wonky).
Here are some historical plots from my Aquatic Log entries:
Calcium
Magnesium
Both had been trending upward but I didnt pay much attention to the calcium because I'd mixed up a new batch of two part around the same time I purchased the bucket of salt; I figured it was likely I mixed it up slightly different from the last batch so I was just going to adjust the dose to offset it. I didnt have a theory on the magnesium but the results were so much higher today I had to investigate further.
ATI ICP results from sample taken 27 Jun 2018. Below are my results followed by ATI's; samples were taken at the same time.
Salinity - 35ppt ATI - 35.91
Alkalinity - 7.4 dKh ATI 7.18
Calcium - 395ppm ATI 428
Magnesium - 1350ppm ATI - 1426
ATI ICP RO/DI results from the same sample.
I'm on the phone with Instant Ocean (Tetra) trying to track down the lot number to see if we can figure something out. I'll update if/when they're able to provide any information.
Lot # 18081
Edit: Just got off the phone with customer service. They were pleasant to deal with and noted the lot number but did mention they would not contact me regarding any results they found in house unless it was something recallable. They asked a few questions and are sending out a bucket of salt (said to expect arrival in 7-10 days). Also, they advised hanging onto the receipts for salt purchases.
The lot # is printed on a small tag on the lid of the buckets but may be different for bags/boxes.
After testing the display, I check the freshly mixed water that has been circulating for about 14 hours.
Salinity - 34.5 (1.026)
Alkalinity - 7.3 dKh (3ml muriatic acid to 5g bucket)
Calcium - 500+ (full color change was a few drops away so I didnt bother taking it to full color change, estimate 510-515)
Magnesium - 1695
I mixed up approx 3/4 gallon of water after thoroughly mixing the bucket of Instant Ocean (rolling it around the floor for a while) and used it as a control of sorts.
Salinity - 34.5 (1.026)
Alkalinity - not tested as it was within normal range
Calcium - 410
Magnesium - 1680
With the large delta, I decided to test the 5g bucket that I had mixing again.
Calcium - 500 (close enough to the results I had initially)
Tested the freshly mixed 3/4 gallon again.
Calcium - 500
Ok, I have a large delta on one of the tests for some reason (likely user error) but of note, the calcium and magnesium are considerably higher than I've ever had with Instant Ocean. Over the past year and a half (give or take some months...), it has typically been:
Alkalinity - 10.8 dKh (prior to addition of muriatic acid)
Calcium - 435-445
Magnesium - 1365-1380
It looks as though I've been mixing it well enough in bucket to mitigate any separation but the levels of magnesium are way out of the typical range and well beyond anything I've ever measured in my tank (I'm usually pretty consistent though the test above certainly illustrates something wonky).
Here are some historical plots from my Aquatic Log entries:
Calcium
Magnesium
Both had been trending upward but I didnt pay much attention to the calcium because I'd mixed up a new batch of two part around the same time I purchased the bucket of salt; I figured it was likely I mixed it up slightly different from the last batch so I was just going to adjust the dose to offset it. I didnt have a theory on the magnesium but the results were so much higher today I had to investigate further.
ATI ICP results from sample taken 27 Jun 2018. Below are my results followed by ATI's; samples were taken at the same time.
Salinity - 35ppt ATI - 35.91
Alkalinity - 7.4 dKh ATI 7.18
Calcium - 395ppm ATI 428
Magnesium - 1350ppm ATI - 1426
ATI ICP RO/DI results from the same sample.
I'm on the phone with Instant Ocean (Tetra) trying to track down the lot number to see if we can figure something out. I'll update if/when they're able to provide any information.
Lot # 18081
Edit: Just got off the phone with customer service. They were pleasant to deal with and noted the lot number but did mention they would not contact me regarding any results they found in house unless it was something recallable. They asked a few questions and are sending out a bucket of salt (said to expect arrival in 7-10 days). Also, they advised hanging onto the receipts for salt purchases.
The lot # is printed on a small tag on the lid of the buckets but may be different for bags/boxes.
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