Saltwater for your reef tank DIY

[blacksea]

Hey guys, after tons of research on the main components of sea water I came to a mixture made of minerals available either in groceries, pharmacies or chemical suppliers. I use tap water for my tank. The minerals dissolve best in warm water. The recipe includes only the main minerals. Micro elements must be added according to your stocking and consumption. I'm experimenting on a biological/natural/DIY approach for that, too.

Check out my recipe:

Some more explanation: https://aqua-biotopes.blogspot.com/

 

[joethenathan]

How long have you been running a tank with this mixture? Have you found it to be cost competitive with commercially available salts?

 

[blacksea]

Hi. I run my tank from the beginning like this. The main compound, uniodized salt is pretty cheap, 0,15 EUR per kilogram. The other minerals are used over quite a period of time, they are about 3 to 5 EUR per kilogram. My tank is doing fine. It's not high tech, I stock it little by little. But I think it's worth a try for each reefer. Reef salt mixture vary quite a lot in their composition, this way you can adjust it. Those who do Balling use some of these minerals anyway...

 

[ScottR]

Have you tested your tap water? Do you know what’s in it?

 

[ScottR]

Hey guys, after tons of research on the main components of sea water I came to a mixture made of minerals available either in groceries, pharmacies or chemical suppliers. I use tap water for my tank. The minerals dissolve best in warm water. The recipe includes only the main minerals. Micro elements must be added according to your stocking and consumption. I'm experimenting on a biological/natural/DIY approach for that, too.

Check out my recipe:

Some more explanation: https://aqua-biotopes.blogspot.com/

Seems you’re only adding in a few minerals? Calcium, magnesium and potassium? How about other trace elements? Iodine? Curious of the alkalinity and pH of it as well.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hey guys, after tons of research on the main components of sea water I came to a mixture made of minerals available either in groceries, pharmacies or chemical suppliers. I use tap water for my tank. The minerals dissolve best in warm water. The recipe includes only the main minerals. Micro elements must be added according to your stocking and consumption. I'm experimenting on a biological/natural/DIY approach for that, too.

Check out my recipe:

Some more explanation: https://aqua-biotopes.blogspot.com/

Thanks for sharing, comrade

 

[blacksea]

Have you tested your tap water? Do you know what’s in it?

Yes, I did some standard tests, nothing special. Ph over 7, average hardness. I do add iodide solution every day, it seems to be very important to some animals. Since there is nothing fancy in my tank I'm ok that way. The anemones are challenging most, but they're doing fine. The LPS coral is well, too. From time to time I add Calcium nitrate as fertilizer, since there are not many fish right now and the anemones have quite a consumption. It's like liquid food for them (zooxanthellae are plants in the end...). Also I add ethanol from time to time. The snails, blennies and shrimps love the biofilm that grows from it...

The "Vodka Method": Algae control by adding alcohol to your aquarium

biotope, aquatic biotope, mosses, ferns, natural aquarium, biotop, Naturaquarium, wild aquarium

aqua-biotopes.blogspot.com

 

[Matt Carden]

Hey guys, after tons of research on the main components of sea water I came to a mixture made of minerals available either in groceries, pharmacies or chemical suppliers. I use tap water for my tank. The minerals dissolve best in warm water. The recipe includes only the main minerals. Micro elements must be added according to your stocking and consumption. I'm experimenting on a biological/natural/DIY approach for that, too.

Check out my recipe:

Some more explanation: https://aqua-biotopes.blogspot.com/

The video froze around 20 seconds in. Tried it twice.

 

[Matt Carden]

I just did a quick calculation to figure out the economic viability of this mixture vs Instant Ocean salt mix. There may be cheaper salt alternatives but what I found was $28 for 11.3kg of non iodized table salt. This works out to $50 for 200 gallons of salt mix. Instant Ocean is $42-$54 for 200 gallons. This wasn't accounting for the other ingredients.

 

[blacksea]

I just did a quick calculation to figure out the economic viability of this mixture vs Instant Ocean salt mix. There may be cheaper salt alternatives but what I found was $28 for 11.3kg of non iodized table salt. This works out to $50 for 200 gallons of salt mix. Instant Ocean is $42-$54 for 200 gallons. This wasn't accounting for the other ingredients.

Well, where I live it makes quite a difference... Certainly a professional salt is the better solution. Lucky you...