Quote:
Originally Posted by TimH07
but mainly i was curious about io's ca level and i was suprised it was that good.
|
That could be because you're not mixing it up to normal natural seawater salinity, which is on average 35 ppt, not 32 ppt.
I suggest you mix it up to 35 ppt and retest the calcium. Instant Ocean usually tests at ~350 ppm Ca @ 35 ppt salinity. If you prefer to go by specific gravity, then go with 1.026 SG.
P.S. -- The reason I never post specific gravity is because it's temperature dependent and people maintain their tanks at different temperatures. It's a lot clearer to simply report the salinity in PSU (practical salinity units, which is the same as ppt).
P.P.S. -- There have been reports on another board by some people whose Instant Ocean salt tested below 300 ppm Ca. At least one of those people, who reported testing Ca at only 260 ppm, sent a sample of his salt to the manufacturer and they tested it and agreed that it was low, so they sent him a free replacement bucket.
In
this thread on another board, the topic starter talks about low Ca in Reef Crystals and how the manufacturer, Aquarium Systems, sent him a free replacement bucket. There are other threads on that board about low Ca in Instant Ocean. For example, in
this thread, the topic starter reports that his Instant Ocean is testing at only 260 ppm Ca.
You can read a discussion of various salt mix brands in
this thread on another board.