What am I supposed to do about this smh STOP USING IO SALT RN!!!

[Makubex]

Okay! have a good one buddy! It’s the salts fault..

I was refering to t j not troylee, the ts messed me up, big apology sry.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I mixed rodi water with instant ocean-purple bag(its for reef and labeled as the best professional salt out there), and right now I need salt but can not wait a week for shipping nor I can pay their ridiculous double spiked up prices, I tested for both rodi water and the saltwater with salifert ammonia test kit and my ammonia reads 2.0!!! STOP using this salt or your fish and corals WILL die within an hour!!!, I know no one tests their new water especially for ammonia but I did for the sake of it(and all the salt I have right now is instant ocean purple brand for 400+ gallons), I tested the rodi water and read 0 ammonia 0 nitrites, etc. What am I supposed to do now tell me!, those acans wont survive even 30'

You may be getting false readings and not realize it.
If there are ANY backups you should have on hand- Its: Salt, heater, Return pump and medication. Ive used Instant Ocean since the 80's without issue and Most Public aquariums use this very salt.
If you are testing right after a water change, again false readings, Allow 8-12 hours .
Seek a store or local reefers who has a test kit other than Api and see what reading they come up with. Additionally, as long as you use tap water source ( a reminder why not below), you will have issues. Cant see the salt being the blame when hundreds of users are happy with their systems.
TAP:
Its NOT worth it. With so many sales on RODI units- worth the now small investment.
For starters, the amount of Alk in tap water can potentially double this number easily and affect CA and PH not to mention content of heavy metals, chloramine, polluants. flouride and other elements not contained in sea water. tap water also offers no ph buffering and note many areas have copper in their taop water which you do not want in your system. Next will be phosphates in water which will cause further issues.
As you can see - Risk is the issue
I used to do the tap water as I have only run large tanks and started to see hints of cyano and having a 5 stage unit reassured me it was pure laziness on my behalf. Tap alone has ingredients such as chloramines, lead, zinc and others and just not worth it . water conditioners such as Prime will dilute certain elements but not remove them.
RODI is the way to manage water which is the lifeline of all our specimens in the tank

 

[T-J]

I was refering to t j not troylee, the ts messed me up, big apology sry.

Failing to see any attitude in my initial post. Just stating facts.

 

[Makubex]

... I ALWAYS test my new water. Who doesn't?! Fresh batch of salt always gets shaken, stirred, and tested, I don't care if it's Red Sea Blue Bucket or Cargill Bulk. It matches my parameters or it doesn't go in.

That said I also never get ammonia in my salt, so sanity check your test kit, Call up the IO helpline with your batch number, and stop crying wolf, there's always wolves, that's why we need to be better shepherds!

Stirring it may increase the ammonia but just a hint then it settles down and therefore the ammonia goes or should go to 0, in this case it has read 2.0 multiple times.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Stirring it may increase the ammonia but just a hint then it settles down and therefore the ammonia goes or should go to 0, in this case it has read 2.0 multiple times.

... as an aside, how long are you letting your mixed saltwater rest and warm up before testing?

 

[Makubex]

... as an aside, how long are you letting your mixed saltwater rest and warm up before testing?

About immediately, but 2.0 is way too much in here I think, I would expect .5 tops? Even that

 

[GatorGreg]

I can be abrasive, downright dumb opinionated, rash and emotional. More often than not. I hope you get it figured out. Whatever it is you’re trying to figure out.

 

[StatelineReefer]

About immediately, but 2.0 is way too much in here I think, I would expect .5 tops? Even that

Instant ocean salt mix reveals ammonia

I agree that most salt mixes have some ammonia and it is not usually enough to be a problem. The question is how much. You are never going to put a fish into 100% raw salt water (or shouldn't usually do so), so if it is a 10% change, for example, the tank would see only 10% of the measured...

www.reef2reef.com

Which is why I mention shaking the actual salt, stratifying occurs during shipment. Any ammonia bearing elements may settle in layers.

 

[Makubex]

Instant ocean salt mix reveals ammonia

I agree that most salt mixes have some ammonia and it is not usually enough to be a problem. The question is how much. You are never going to put a fish into 100% raw salt water (or shouldn't usually do so), so if it is a 10% change, for example, the tank would see only 10% of the measured...

www.reef2reef.com

Which is why I mention shaking the actual salt, stratifying occurs during shipment. Any ammonia bearing elements may settle in layers.

I will read that, more and more people should be aware of it, I have only skimmed the article right now, might alleviate the issues here somewhat, wonder why those pros didnt share that article with me, perhaps they they didnt find it

 

[OutColdCRNA]

Let’s slow down and start over. I’m pretty sure even IO doesn’t recommend dropping salt in the water and immediately using it. I personally let mine mix for 24 hours. But I understand if the situation is dire and need a water change now then you do what you have to do. But, my math may be wrong here but if you did a 5 gallon water change with 2ppm ammonia in a 100 gallon tank wouldn’t the effective ammonia in the entire tank be 0.1? Please someone with better math skill than I please chime in. I would think the reef would effectively process that amount of ammonia in no time.

 

[TheDuude]

Stop testing for ammonia and use the salt. Problem solved.

 

[dedragon]

... i already said that salt mixes have ammonia in them. It is pretty common knowledge. The 2ppm is too high though and will usually be the result of a testing issue.

Stop testing for ammonia and use the salt. Problem solved.

i agree, i threw my ammonia test kits out as soon as I cycled. They really arent needed, but the op believes it is the salt mixes fault for their current tank issues. It most likely isnt

 

[dedragon]

People have asked this a couple of times now, but are you giving the salt mix at least an hour to mix before testing?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Debate or difference of opinion is just fine.....when done with civility. Direct insults are not acceptable and have been removed. Play nice!

 

[flashsmith]

 

[PotatoPig]

How many tanks and what size are you running? How long have they been up?

 

[Makubex]

You may be getting false readings and not realize it.
If there are ANY backups you should have on hand- Its: Salt, heater, Return pump and medication. Ive used Instant Ocean since the 80's without issue and Most Public aquariums use this very salt.
If you are testing right after a water change, again false readings, Allow 8-12 hours .
Seek a store or local reefers who has a test kit other than Api and see what reading they come up with. Additionally, as long as you use tap water source ( a reminder why not below), you will have issues. Cant see the salt being the blame when hundreds of users are happy with their systems.
TAP:
Its NOT worth it. With so many sales on RODI units- worth the now small investment.
For starters, the amount of Alk in tap water can potentially double this number easily and affect CA and PH not to mention content of heavy metals, chloramine, polluants. flouride and other elements not contained in sea water. tap water also offers no ph buffering and note many areas have copper in their taop water which you do not want in your system. Next will be phosphates in water which will cause further issues.
As you can see - Risk is the issue
I used to do the tap water as I have only run large tanks and started to see hints of cyano and having a 5 stage unit reassured me it was pure laziness on my behalf. Tap alone has ingredients such as chloramines, lead, zinc and others and just not worth it . water conditioners such as Prime will dilute certain elements but not remove them.
RODI is the way to manage water which is the lifeline of all our specimens in the tank

Wow that is scary, especially how stuff just accumulates you know, I use RODI now paid $100 for an used one, its in great shape, the owners were trustworthy they showed me their huge 8 feet tanks, it was a big mansion, very nice people gave some stuff for free also, rodi set ups arent that expensive.

So back to the topic here, very important thread, some guy sold me his salt I found on marketplace today, "Tropic marine pro reef", had to drive 1.5 hours back and forth for it, $50-200 gallon bucket, made 1 gallon and tested it and reads .5 ammonia, this salt already has a ph of 8.2, will test it again in 12 hours then 24 hours, my guess is io can occasionally be faulty-thats all i can say sorry. Will come back in 11 hours with the result.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow that is scary, especially how stuff just accumulates you know, I use RODI now paid $100 for an used one, its in great shape, the owners were trustworthy they showed me their huge 8 feet tanks, it was a big mansion, very nice people gave some stuff for free also, rodi set ups arent that expensive.

So back to the topic here, very important thread, some guy sold me his salt I found on marketplace today, "Tropic marine pro reef", had to drive 1.5 hours back and forth for it, $50-200 gallon bucket, made 1 gallon and tested it and reads .5 ammonia, this salt already has a ph of 8.2, will test it again in 12 hours then 24 hours, my guess is io can occasionally be faulty-thats all i can say sorry. Will come back in 11 hours with the result.

Sounds good and I use Tropic Marin and excellent salt. You got a steal on it as the lowest I find it is $97

 

[Makubex]

Sounds good and I use Tropic Marin and excellent salt. You got a steal on it as the lowest I find it is $97

There was another one but it was claimed, do you know how to lower ph? No corals, I prefer it to be at 7.8 to keep ammonia lower, once ph goes over 8.0 the ammonia can increase m faster is what I was told

 

[vetteguy53081]

There was another one but it was claimed, do you know how to lower ph? No corals, I prefer it to be at 7.8 to keep ammonia lower, once ph goes over 8.0 the ammonia can increase m faster is what I was told

8.0 is ideal and should not affect ammonia. The Ph will drop at night as it is.
Increasingsalinity will lower ph.
Also addition of a little vinegar will lower ph as well as use of buffers- None that i favor using