Reef crystals

[Nor'easter Reefer]

So, I saw a post about reef crystals that prompted me to make this unrelated post. As I'm using up the last of a box, I'm considering changing salt mixes from reef crystals. My question though, is how do people use it? Obviously I know the obvious answer, but my thought process is, alk seems really really high. Now if your not maintaining your alk at the approximately 12dKH, how can you possibly match your saltwater? Am I overthinking this? I like to be in the 8-8.5dKH range, and sometimes i like to do a bigger water change to just use up whats left in the barrel. Thats a noticeable swing if i do a big enough water change. Granted, i dont do massive water changes in my 120g often/ever, but if i setup the clownfish prison that i'm planning, it wouldnt be expensive or difficult to say "well, rather use this last 10 gallons vs letting it sit for the week" and do a 50-30% water change. Hence why I might change salts. Just curious what others thoughts were. Am i being overly paranoid?

 

[tbrown]

So, I saw a post about reef crystals that prompted me to make this unrelated post. As I'm using up the last of a box, I'm considering changing salt mixes from reef crystals. My question though, is how do people use it? Obviously I know the obvious answer, but my thought process is, alk seems really really high. Now if your not maintaining your alk at the approximately 12dKH, how can you possibly match your saltwater? Am I overthinking this? I like to be in the 8-8.5dKH range, and sometimes i like to do a bigger water change to just use up whats left in the barrel. Thats a noticeable swing if i do a big enough water change. Granted, i dont do massive water changes in my 120g often/ever, but if i setup the clownfish prison that i'm planning, it wouldnt be expensive or difficult to say "well, rather use this last 10 gallons vs letting it sit for the week" and do a 50-30% water change. Hence why I might change salts. Just curious what others thoughts were. Am i being overly paranoid?

Mine only mixes up at 12 dKh when I'm using tap water... I tend to run my Alkalinity around 10.5 anyway so high alkalinity salt mix doesn't bother my tank much.

One thing you can do, add a couple of drops of Muriatic acid to drop the Alkalinity to where you want it, then add air to stabilize the pH before doing a water change?

I've had tap water mix to 15+ with Reef Crystals and added 20 drops to bring it down.

 

[Troylee]

Only salt I use and my alk stays 9-10 even after a 40% water change.

 

[seahuy]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/oceamo-icp-ms-results-for-instant-ocean-batch-23108.992762/
This RC ICP have ALK at 9ish, this is also what i see on my end at 35ppt

 

[Greenycrew]

I’m the same. Run around 10 at 35ppt with ro consistently. Mag always mixes high over 1500.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

You can drop it with muriatic acid. I use IO Purple box and drop my water change water to 7.5 to match my tank. It’s easy, just make sure to aerate afterwards to raise the pH back up.

 

[rtparty]

IORC is supposed to mix higher alkalinity. Like 11-12dkh. It goes to show how inconsistent they are when some claim they get 9dkh.

I run salt that matches what I run my tank at. 7.5-8dkh. NYOS, HW, TM Pro Reef and even ESV are my go to salts. Aqua Forest is good as well. BRS will have AF salt on crazy sales at times. I grabbed 2 boxes last time for less than $70 or so for both. Couldn’t pass that up

 

[FishLvR]

I was using Nyos which is the cleanest clearest salt I have EVER used. But they were out of stock for AGES everywhere and that led me to Aquaforest in the box which is an amazing price if you can handle a box. It's alk 7.1-7.3 cal at 430, and mag at 1250-1330. It is not as clear, just a hint of yellow, but clean. No residue and can be stored which is great.

My point, I swear I had one, is pick a salt that mixes to what you want your tank to be at. This is what I want to keep my tank at so it is what I use.

 

[skiergd011013]

I have a 20 gallon tank and i do 2 gallon water changes, so it barely effects the alk with such a small change. I also dose all for reef. My target alk is 8.5. So, if after a water change my alk is high, i will skip a dose of afr, or do half a dose, and let it drop. If my alk drops below 8.5, i will boost it with liquid sodium bicarb to 8.5. If it was an emergency large water change, id just match salinity and temperature and do it. If im doing that big of a water change, Id be more worried about whatever the emergency was, rather than i would be about an alk swing.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Mine only mixes up at 12 dKh when I'm using tap water... I tend to run my Alkalinity around 10.5 anyway so high alkalinity salt mix doesn't bother my tank much.

One thing you can do, add a couple of drops of Muriatic acid to drop the Alkalinity to where you want it, then add air to stabilize the pH before doing a water change?

I've had tap water mix to 15+ with Reef Crystals and added 20 drops to bring it down.

I didnt know the muriatic acid trick :thinking-face: very good to know. I didn't think it would make much of a difference but since I started doing water changes fairly religiously again my alk has started climbing fairly steadily and it would be nice to match my salinity. Adding alk is obviously easier but I didn't even know you could easily lower it haha

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Only salt I use and my alk stays 9-10 even after a 40% water change.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/oceamo-icp-ms-results-for-instant-ocean-batch-23108.992762/
This RC ICP have ALK at 9ish, this is also what i see on my end at 35ppt

I’m the same. Run around 10 at 35ppt with ro consistently. Mag always mixes high over 1500.

It's wild how there's so much inconsistency with IORC. I've have my alk stable at 8.5 for the last 3 or 4 months once I got my doser running. Did about 35-45gals (I'm terrible at keeping track, which I want to do better at) in a 160ish gallon system and I'm up to 9.1 now. Not terrible but obviously something to embrace or address.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I use regular IO but alk is still higher than I want it, I use sodium bisulfite to lower the alk prior to using the water:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...in-new-salt-water-or-in-display-tanks.362825/

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I was using Nyos which is the cleanest clearest salt I have EVER used. But they were out of stock for AGES everywhere and that led me to Aquaforest in the box which is an amazing price if you can handle a box. It's alk 7.1-7.3 cal at 430, and mag at 1250-1330. It is not as clear, just a hint of yellow, but clean. No residue and can be stored which is great.

My point, I swear I had one, is pick a salt that mixes to what you want your tank to be at. This is what I want to keep my tank at so it is what I use.

I think thats my game plan once this box runs out. Once less thing to have to worry about. Plus, it seems everyone you talk to has RC mix to different alk :thinking-face: 35-45gals (over the course of multiple water changes) raised my alk in a 160ish gallon system up .6 dkH

 

[Troylee]

It's wild how there's so much inconsistency with IORC. I've have my alk stable at 8.5 for the last 3 or 4 months once I got my doser running. Did about 35-45gals (I'm terrible at keeping track, which I want to do better at) in a 160ish gallon system and I'm up to 9.1 now. Not terrible but obviously something to embrace or address.

I could care less about stability! My corals love to guess and it keeps them nice and healthy!

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I could care less about stability! My corals love to guess and it keeps them nice and healthy!

If there was only 1 way to do it then we'd all have the same tanks! I'm more or less trying to make sure i can control my system kinda. Like if I want 8.5dKH, how well can I maintain it. That said, I wont chase numbers within .5-1dKH but I also don't think I'll let it keep trending up and up and up. Basically, testing myself :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: im not worried about the .6 increase I've had, but know that my salt i currently have is substantially higher than where my tank sits at

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Only salt I use and my alk stays 9-10 even after a 40% water change.

Same here! I only use Reef Crystals, I do a 25% WC ever other weekend, and my alk stays around 9.3. It may fluctuate a bit with WC's, but not enough to make a drastic change in the tank. I usually test the day AFTER a WC and all seems good.

 

[tbrown]

I think thats my game plan once this box runs out. Once less thing to have to worry about. Plus, it seems everyone you talk to has RC mix to different alk :thinking-face: 35-45gals (over the course of multiple water changes) raised my alk in a 160ish gallon system up .6 dkH

What SG are you mixing at? I tend for 1.025. if you're closer to that 1.028 everything is going to mix higher

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

What SG are you mixing at? I tend for 1.025. if you're closer to that 1.028 everything is going to mix higher

My system runs at 1.026. Then I mix my salt at 1.025 or .027 depending on what my system salinity is at.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I use this, then aerate the water for about 8 hours to bring the ph back up. 9 grams per 30 gallons of premixed RC saltwater. Alk is usually around 8.5 dkh after.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

At least some of the “inconsistency” that folks report in alk likely relates to variable amounts of precipitation of calcium carbonate in the mixing barrel. Time of mixing, temp of the water, and CO2 levels in the air around the mixing will all impact that precipitation, which in turn lowers alkalinity.