Question on Sea Salt selection

JHelton · Aug 11, 2021

I have a 5 gallon reef nano-tank, change the water weekly and have been using Tropic Marin Pro-Reef Meersalz/Sea Salt to mix with distilled water to make my salt water. I am having problems with the alkalinity dropping too low & have now gotten to the point where I'm having to dose to maintain a dKH of ~8. When I looked up the composition of the Tropic Marin I found it is designed to maintain a dKH of 7-8; I tested the freshly mixed change water before the exchange and the dKH was only 7.0. I feel like the change water solution is dragging the dKH down because I do a 2 gal water change & is possibly the cause for having to dose the tank. I heard about Fritz Pro Aquatics Reef Pro Mix which is designed for a dKH between 8-9. What are other people using to mix their salt water for changes in nano-tanks? Is the Fritz Pro product a better option which may eliminate dosing or is there a better product??
Thanks so much for your help!

LuizW13 · Aug 11, 2021

I don't think there is a direct answer to which is a better product. Better in what sense, higher dkh? If that is what you want to categorize as better, then yeah, in your case the Fritz is better? I suppose if you want to keep your dk at 8, then maybe you'll have to switch to a higher dkh salt or dose.

I use Tropic Marin on my 25g and do a 5g water change every two weeks or so- I like the levels in their salt and it's been working for me.

JHelton · Aug 11, 2021

Okay, thanks for your input. The dKH in my tank has been getting & staying below 7 so I guess I will need to change my salt product.

Little c big D · Aug 11, 2021

How often do you do waterchanges? that's 40%. The current salt you have is designed to be at 7dkh I believe

Billldg · Aug 11, 2021

I use HW Marine Reefer mix. It mixes to 8-9 DKH, 420-440 Cal, and 1380 Mag. These are the numbers I am looking for. It mixes easy, but has a draw back over time. I noticed this in my Brute mixing trash cans before, and now, see it in my 200 gal mixing station...Brown crud build up. Having to clean out a Brute trash can was easy as I just carried it out, but in a mixing station, with 2 100 gal containers, I will have to disconnect it and drag it out to clean. Their is always a draw back to any salt mix.

I am looking to go to the salt mix you are using, TP Pro, as it will at least give me the Cal and Mag close to where I want it. I may simply have to raise the Alk. I am not sure if you dose, but, I will just raise the Alk with the dosing.

JHelton · Aug 11, 2021

Little c big D said:
How often do you do waterchanges? that's 40%. The current salt you have is designed to be at 7dkh I believe

I do water changes weekly. Yes, it is 40%. It's harder to do a 1 gal change with the set up I currently have. Maybe I should move the water changes to biweekly & just spot clean as needed. Thank you for your response.

Softhammer · Aug 11, 2021

Any non reef blend should be fine. They are designed to have the Alk supplemented as most reef tanks do, whether it be dosing or reactors. I personally will never touch fritz salt. I’ve read anecdotal problems with it and didn’t believe them until COVID forced me to use it due to tropic Marin being unavailable. lost an 11 year old derasa clam during that period. I can’t definitively blame the salt but it’s literally the only variable during that time. Regular Tropic Marin is fabulous and should give you an Alk between 9-10 and should suit you better.

Bouncingsoul39 · Aug 11, 2021

Tropic Marin Pro has low alkalinity purposely. It’s meant for a high tech tank running a calcium reactor. If you want to stick with that brand, use the regular Tropic Marin salt. Not the pro one. Nano tank or not, size doesn’t matter when it comes to salt mix at all.