[jed42]

Ok, I'm sure this has been ask before. I just starting doing my own water changes with Oceanic Sea Salt. I was talking to the LD this weekend and he blasted Oceanic, he highly recommended Oceanpure. I've been using Oceanic for three months and my levels, and clarity are great. Is he just trying to make me buy his store product are what?

Jed,

[Bullet]

I have never used oceanic before, but I have been using oceanpure for a year now(switched from reef crystals) and I absolutely love it. The alk stays in range longer, has good calcium levels, and its cheap! Its made in China so at first I was skeptical, but after some research, it turns out many people have been using it with good consistent results. I will be ordering more oceanpure soon, as my LFS has changed ownership and doesn't like the way oceanpure mixes, so he won't carry it. He says it takes "hours" for it to dissolve. I like to wait at least overnight for salt to mix and aerate and get up to temp and pH before I use it anyway so for me its a non-issue. I don't hesitate to recommend oceanpure salt to anyone. I hope this helps!

[weez1959]

Well my take on this is "if it ain't broke don't fix it!"
More than likely he is trying to sell you what he wants to carry. If you like the salt you are using now, keep using it.
Although if he decides to no longer carry the salt you use make sure to do a slow transition from one salt to the other.

[jed42]

Thanks guys

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by jed42

Ok, I'm sure this has been ask before. I just starting doing my own water changes with Oceanic Sea Salt. I was talking to the LD this weekend and he blasted Oceanic, he highly recommended Oceanpure. I've been using Oceanic for three months and my levels, and clarity are great. Is he just trying to make me buy his store product are what?

Jed,

I read on another board a couple of months ago that Oceanic may have made some changes to their formulation recently. I don't know if that's true or not. I know that Oceanic has had a reputation for being low in alkalinity and ridiculously high in calcium. It they actually did make changes, it would be to get things into a better balance. I'm not even sure who makes their salt for them. That's another confusing topic. Who makes the various salt brands is about as confusing as who makes the various metal halide lamp brands.

Here are a few tips that you may find useful:

(1) It's a good idea to test a sample from each new package/bucket of salt mix before actually using it in your aquarium. There have been several well documented incidents in the past of some extremely bad batches of salt mix from a very well known brand. I'm talking about alkalinity in the range of 95 dKH. That was a few years ago and there's no reason to name the manufacturer now.

To be super cautious, you should re-mix the salt before using it or sampling it. This would be to eliminate any possibility of settlement causing any problems. Granted this is not easy to do and it's a lot of bother.

(2) Always bring your water temperature up to speed before adding the salt. Make sure to mix/stir the saltwater after each addition. In other words, if you're making a fairly large batch that will require several cups of salt mix, add it one cup at a time and stir after each addition. Don't just dump it all in at once. And always add salt to the water, never add water to the salt.

(3) Fossa & Nielsen recommend aging newly mixed saltwater for a period of seven days before using it. In my own experience, I always waited at least three days before using it unless it was an emergency situation. The saltwater should be aerated with a powerhead of an airstone while aging. And the lid on the container should be placed in such a way to allow access to air. The electrical cord from the powerhead or the tubing to the airstone should accomplish this.

[charlie]

Ninong is correct about the Oceanic being high in calcium and low an the alk side. I used it for about 6 months before I went back to IO. It had my levels so hosed up, I didn't have any hair left to pull out.
If they have made changes, I hope they are for the better.

[jed42]

Thanks Charlie. What does IO stand for?

[jed42]

Thanks Charlie. So far my levels are fine but I'm going to watch the closely. Man I just bought 200 gallans worth, I'll just be catous and check levels more. What brand is IO?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by jed42

What brand is IO?

Instant Ocean.

[jed42]

Thank you

[ChrisP]

(3) Fossa & Nielsen recommend aging newly mixed saltwater for a period of seven days before using it. In my own experience, I always waited at least three days before using it unless it was an emergency situation. The saltwater should be aerated with a powerhead of an airstone while aging. And the lid on the container should be placed in such a way to allow access to air. The electrical cord from the powerhead or the tubing to the airstone should accomplish this.

Do you know the logic/science behind aging saltwater mixes before using? I often warm, mix, aerate for a couple hours and then do my water changes - so far without any obvious problem.

[Minh Nguyen]

Newly mix salt are toxic to the animal. If you use 100% new saltmix that completly disolved, you will kill youf fish almost 100% of the time. You got away with it because you just change water and most of the water is still aged water.
IMO, there must be some chelating of some of the more toxic componet of the mix as we mix the salt. Metals?, who know, I don't.
I have a container that mix the salt with circulation. I always have salt water mixed, aged on hand and mix it right away when I use it up.

[kronos5]

How much new saltwater can you add to your tank and not be endangering your animals??

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by kronos5

How much new saltwater can you add to your tank and not be endangering your animals??

I don't add any. Let it mix at LEAST 24 hours ALL THE TIME. Atmospheric CO2 plays a part in the stability of the mix. Like Minh, I have a 30 gallon rubbermaid in the basement that I keep full of mixed saltwater all the time.

[Minh Nguyen]

Some people report that corals are irretated after a water change. With aged water, salinity matched and temperature close to match (non heated but keep in the same area as the sump and with powerhead) my coral do not get irretated other than the one that got exposed to ari for a significant periord of time.

About your question regarding how much freshly mix water is safe? I am not sure. I know that change 25% one day mixed water is fine. I never try to test and see what I can do to almost kill my fish so I don't know. (this is not mean as a smart mouth)

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by ChrisP

Do you know the logic/science behind aging saltwater mixes before using? I often warm, mix, aerate for a couple hours and then do my water changes - so far without any obvious problem.

Minh and Poseidon have already answered this the same as it is explained by Fossa & Nielsen in volume one of their excellent series, The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium.

Freshly mixed saltwater is harsh on the fish in spite of the BS in the instructions the manufacturers print on the bag. Don't forget, these same manufacturers also tell you that you're supposed to use regular tapwater to make saltwater with their product. At least one of them does, or did. I'm sort of retired right now. They tell you it's OK to use their saltwater one hour after mixing. Fossa & Nielsen, who both have decades of experience working at a public aquarium, say you should age it for one week. I'm inclined to go with the experts, not the vendors trying to make their product sound more appealing to more people, especially people who may not want to wait too long before using the saltwater.

The freshly mixed saltwater has to reach equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. And there are chemical reactions that continue to take place over time that reduce/eliminate potential toxic effects.

On one occasion I didn't mix up enough saltwater for a water change. Or, more exactly, I removed a little too much water from the system and didn't have enough aged saltwater available to re-start the system return pump from the sump. I was about a gallon and a half short. So I mixed up a very small amount of saltwater and aged it for about 30 minutes before adding it. It represented less than 2% of my system's total water volume.

[kronos5]

Thanks for the reply