Salt, "organics" and time

[ostrow]

Randy,

So my preferred salt (Seachem Reef Pro) is no more.

In searching for what to use, many I respect recommend Fritz Pro.

I have been reading and some claim you have to use it right away or the parameters degrade. Supposedly die to "organics" in the salt.

Others say salt is salt and if that happens it happens to them all.

I have a 50gl reservoir always full of 35ppm salt ready to go. It can sit in there churning for weeks. Therefore, some clarity would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[EmdeReef]

What kind of organics and what parameters would degrade? I doubt they add bacteria that would eat calcium, mg etc or some heavy metals.

 

[Rpc07]

Interested in this also. I’m currently running fritz blue box and I let it mix in a brute can for 2-3 days sometimes before I’m able to do the water change.

 

[misoldier06]

Ive used the fritz out of the black single bag once because several of my LFS use it. It mixed at 7 dkh at 1.026. I left it mixing and heating to 78 degrees for two weeks. I tested the alk again and it was at 5 dkh. I have heard that the dkh can drop with this salt if you don’t use it right away as well. Now this was just with the single black bag and have no experience with the blue or red box.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

https://reefs.com/magazine/evaluating-synthetic-sea-salts/

http://web.archive.org/web/20030620...m/fish2/aqfm/1998/july/features/1/default.asp

 

[ostrow]

Yeah. There are loads of threads and articles on salt.

My question is pretty specific and to.my knowledge not addressed directly. Not in those links that I could see.

 

[ostrow]

Nobody knows?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What kind of organics and what parameters would degrade? I doubt they add bacteria that would eat calcium, mg etc or some heavy metals.

Most organics will degrade, either by bacterial consumption, modification, or chemical reactions. Some may not, certainly, over the time periods involved, but those commonly added to salt mixes (e.g., vitamins) will likely be changed over a fairly short time in a solution that allows for bacterial growth.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Nobody knows?

What exactly is the question?

I prefer to avoid mixes with organics since I do not aerate my salt mix for the month or two that it sat around. If you aerate it, the concerns are reduced by not eliminated.

These are my reasons:

1. I did not want to risk the water becoming anaerobic and potentially produce hydrogen sulfide as bacteria consuming the organics.
2. I do not want bacterial growth due to organic consumption to take up desirable trace elements and so the salt mix would not longer provide them in the same way.
3. There's no evidence that organics in the raw salt water are useful (a tech rep from a big company that adds it tot heir salt mix even told me that, they add it because customers think it useful lol )
4. Some orgnaics I actually do not want added tot he tank (e.g., metal chelators)

There are no studies on salt mixes that I have ever seen to test my reasons. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ive used the fritz out of the black single bag once because several of my LFS use it. It mixed at 7 dkh at 1.026. I left it mixing and heating to 78 degrees for two weeks. I tested the alk again and it was at 5 dkh. I have heard that the dkh can drop with this salt if you don’t use it right away as well. Now this was just with the single black bag and have no experience with the blue or red box.

Yes, alk can drop in salt mixes, especially those that start very high in alk, due to precipitation of calcium carbonate.

Whether that happens or not depends on many factors, most especially pH (high pH is worse) and possibly temperature (hotter is worse).

 

[ostrow]

Thanks Randy!

I have no clue is the Fritz/Dr's salt adds organics. Seems there is conflicting evidence.

I do aerate it via a pump with air intake on the outlet elbow.

Which parameters would say over three weeks be most vulnerable and what steps if any might one take to mitigate?

Finally wouldn't bacterial growth be possible over weeks regardless of the salt? Instant Ocean or Fritz should both result in bacterial growth over weeks in a slat reservoir no?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Alk depletion is the main thing we can easily measure for depletion.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Salt water will get bacteria in it for sure, but without organic foods they will not multiply much.

 

[dwest]

Randy,

So my preferred salt (Seachem Reef Pro) is no more.

In searching for what to use, many I respect recommend Fritz Pro.

I have been reading and some claim you have to use it right away or the parameters degrade. Supposedly die to "organics" in the salt.

Others say salt is salt and if that happens it happens to them all.

I have a 50gl reservoir always full of 35ppm salt ready to go. It can sit in there churning for weeks. Therefore, some clarity would be helpful.

Thanks!

Why not IO? I mix about 100 gallons at a time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Why not IO? I mix about 100 gallons at a time.

Normal IO (not Reef Crystals) is what I used for 20 years, and it fits this requirement perfectly. I see no reason to not use it.