High Tide Aquatics

Check your Reef Crystals Salt!

Give up? What and stop making 80% of the salt sold on the market? Kent, Oceanic, IO, and RC would be gone ;) Guess you use Aquacraft?

Mine tested out fine yet again.

DFS doesn't offer the cheap shipping any longer either. No pallet of salt for $17.99 shipped to your door :(
 
So the worlds's biggest salt maker has problems with their salt for almost 2 years. From all appearances, they aren't able to correct things for whatever reasons. And their biggest customer keeps recycling canned excuses for the salt.

If all the other salts were gone, we'd have to make our own salt :D

Here's a starting recipe :D

For those who are interested, the following artificial seawater recipe is taken from "Chemical Oceanography" by Frank Millero. It makes a recipe that matches 35 ppt seawater in terms of major ions, but does not try to match all minor and trace elements, most of which will be present as impurities in the major elements.

23.98 g sodium chloride
5.029 g magnesium chloride
4.01 g sodium sulfate
1.14 g calcium chloride
0.699 g potassium chloride
0.172 g sodium bicarbonate
0.100 g potassium bromide
0.0254 g boric acid
0.0143 g strontium chloride
0.0029 g sodium fluoride
Water to 1 kg total weight
Click to expand...

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/rhf/index.php
 
[quote author=Mr. Ugly link=topic=2773.msg61163#msg61163 date=1225202175]
So the worlds's biggest salt maker has problems with their salt for almost 2 years. From all appearances, they aren't able to correct things for whatever reasons. And their biggest customer keeps recycling canned excuses for the salt.

If all the other salts were gone, we'd have to make our own salt :D

Here's a starting recipe :D

For those who are interested, the following artificial seawater recipe is taken from "Chemical Oceanography" by Frank Millero. It makes a recipe that matches 35 ppt seawater in terms of major ions, but does not try to match all minor and trace elements, most of which will be present as impurities in the major elements.

23.98 g sodium chloride
5.029 g magnesium chloride
4.01 g sodium sulfate
1.14 g calcium chloride
0.699 g potassium chloride
0.172 g sodium bicarbonate
0.100 g potassium bromide
0.0254 g boric acid
0.0143 g strontium chloride
0.0029 g sodium fluoride
Water to 1 kg total weight
Click to expand...

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/rhf/index.php

[/quote]
The "problem" many online guys find doesn't seem to reflect the majority of users, ones like me ;) I got a few buckets that had low numbers, but since then I've bought 17 buckets which tested within what they said they would. It's estimated online posters make up about MO 5% of sales now, up 4% from a few years ago. Giving it's mainly been a vocal few I highly doubt the problem is as big as you make it out to be. Just buy a different brand if your so hot on the issue.


Do you know how caustic it is mixing your own salt? That will add a whole new level of reefing and knock a major portion of reefers right out of the picture ;) It will also add a new ailment to reefing that we'll have to watch for :(

Our guys use full respirators and exposure suits when handling mass salt and adding CA/MG/etc back in.
 
The problem is worse if it's a lack of consistancy. Shows that they are not in control of their quality process.

Caustic effects aren't a big deal for kitchen scale chemistry for those that are familiar with lab practice. Not much different than DIY 2(3)-part.
 
[quote author=Mr. Ugly link=topic=2773.msg61189#msg61189 date=1225213909]
The problem is worse if it's a lack of consistancy. Shows that they are not in control of their quality process.

Caustic effects aren't a big deal for kitchen scale chemistry for those that are familiar with lab practice. Not much different than DIY 2(3)-part.
[/quote]

And what % of the average reefers(90%'ers) would you say are familiar with lab practices? YOur not the Norm Norm :p

So why would just one of 5 mixed be "off"? Wouldn't you question the plant, rather then a single brand the plant produces? It's not like the IO guys leave and the RC guys run their own production, then leave and Kent comes in ;)
 
I should have posted:

"Caustic effects aren't a big deal for kitchen scale chemistry, especially for those that are familiar with lab practice."

There is a potential hazard that I didn't want to blow off completely, but I went too far in implying that lab practice familiarity was required.

Anybody that can mix 2 part, make kalkwasser, use Draino, mix concrete, cure pickles, or clean bathrooms would probably be as safe with DIY salt.
 
[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=2773.msg61194#msg61194 date=1225214630]
And what % of the average reefers(90%'ers) would you say are familiar with lab practices? YOur not the Norm Norm :p
[/quote]

...but as norm pointed out, those who would likely make it, are at the very least geeky enough to mix their own 2 part. Those who put together the purchase list are likely far more likely to know what they are doing and most likely have lab experience. Someone with the scale or access to the scale for the analytical resolution tip the odds even further to the experienced geek side.
 
Don't know what the deal is with the plant vs. brand vs. whatever. It's all black box to me.

It's still a quality management and control issue if the product coming to me out of the black box is inconsistent.

If the other brands turn out as inconsistent, then maybe some of us will try making our own salt. Nothing special about the Millero recipe.
 
[quote author=Gomer link=topic=2773.msg61217#msg61217 date=1225224074]
[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=2773.msg61194#msg61194 date=1225214630]
And what % of the average reefers(90%'ers) would you say are familiar with lab practices? YOur not the Norm Norm :p
[/quote]

...but as norm pointed out, those who would likely make it, are at the very least geeky enough to mix their own 2 part. Those who put together the purchase list are likely far more likely to know what they are doing and most likely have lab experience. Someone with the scale or access to the scale for the analytical resolution tip the odds even further to the experienced geek side.
[/quote]

I think that is a HUGE; and I mean HUGE; assumption having seen countless posts on failed DIY mixing :lol:
Club members aren't your average reefer and neither of you are close to your average reefer. Most online aren't close to your average reefer. The average reefer doesn't go online, doesn't read books, doesn't read magazines and takes what the LFS says as gospel. Hate to burst your bubble :D
 
it is also a huge assumption to think that the person who is willing to make their own salt, able to source the raw materials, and has access to equipment with the analytical resolution to match the recipe, is the average reefer ;)


I'm fairly confident that if you polled good ol RC who is willing to make their own salt mix, and then ask how many of them know what they are doing, I think you'll find that a disproportionate number will say yes.

Sure there will be those that mess things up, but you also have people in the hobby who mess up with water changes of pre-mixed water from the LFS.

Hope I didn't burst YOUR bubble lol..any more suds and it will be beer!
 
IMO I'm in a far better position at knowing the entire cross section of reefers in the US trade :) ;) But keep digging, this is fun :p

I have seen numerous GB's where one would buy all the material and "weigh/measure" it for the rest. Most of those had the typical posts following it of...how do I mix this again? What is the does rate? Why is my ALK dropping, etc. I see far more of those threads then the simple buy and divide threads for advanced people. most advanced people I know don't typically take short cuts.

Polling RC means little to me for the most part....refer to my 5% post :p

And again, your not an average reefer. You have a scientific back ground MUCh greater then most, even me :)
 
Not nearly as tech as the above posts but........How does Seachem's marine and reef salt mixes add into this convo?
 
Gresham, So the $17.99 for a pallet is not working anymore? I just filled up my cart on DF&S with 24 buckets and it still shows $17.99. Please let me know what you have heard. Thanks!

[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=2773.msg61159#msg61159 date=1225186876]
Give up? What and stop making 80% of the salt sold on the market? Kent, Oceanic, IO, and RC would be gone ;) Guess you use Aquacraft?

Mine tested out fine yet again.

DFS doesn't offer the cheap shipping any longer either. No pallet of salt for $17.99 shipped to your door :(
[/quote]
 
[quote author=Roc link=topic=2773.msg61232#msg61232 date=1225231541]
Not nearly as tech as the above posts but........How does Seachem's marine and reef salt mixes add into this convo?
[/quote] I forgot to add them to the list of being madfe at the same plant as the others, thanks for mentioning them :D
 
[quote author=chicken link=topic=2773.msg61233#msg61233 date=1225231875]
Gresham, So the $17.99 for a pallet is not working anymore? I just filled up my cart on DF&S with 24 buckets and it still shows $17.99. Please let me know what you have heard. Thanks!

[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=2773.msg61159#msg61159 date=1225186876]
Give up? What and stop making 80% of the salt sold on the market? Kent, Oceanic, IO, and RC would be gone ;) Guess you use Aquacraft?

Mine tested out fine yet again.

DFS doesn't offer the cheap shipping any longer either. No pallet of salt for $17.99 shipped to your door :(
[/quote]
[/quote]

I did. That answer was from the horses mouth. Guess they haven't fixed that yet, but they indicated that is going away. The loose a ton of money on that option, a ton!
 
Well my Seachem stuff has always tested just A O K, so I will stick to buying the bag stuff, plus I sucked at chem in HS
 
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