Why does reef crystals only have 320 Ca?

[Billybeau1]

What did alk and mag come in at ?

[twon8]

alk was about 13, maybe a bit above

i didnt' test mag, i'll do that tom.

[Billybeau1]

Thanks. I'm studying a few trends as of late and want the total picture.

Awaiting your mag results.

[Boomer]

Don't pay any attention to what Billybeau says about RC, he works for Marineland/IO He also evaporates 25 % of his RC sample before he tests it

[twon8]

Originally posted by Billybeau1
Thanks. I'm studying a few trends as of late and want the total picture.

Awaiting your mag results.

mag at 1110, also salifert

[Billybeau1]

Just about everyone I've seen report RC at 360 also has low mag.

These look more like IO numbers.

I hope if they are made at the same plant that they didn't accidentally put some IO in RC buckets.

[twon8]

Originally posted by Billybeau1
Just about everyone I've seen report RC at 360 also has low mag.

These look more like IO numbers.

I hope if they are made at the same plant that they didn't accidentally put some IO in RC buckets.

looks like i picked the wrong week to stop using io, and sniffing glue

[StrategicReef]

do these work better than test kits?

[DrBDC]

FWIW I've been ordering from drsfostersmith in 3 or 4 bucket groups. Can't beat 200lbs of shipping for 14 bucks! I've been using 1 bucket a month if I don't do some extra messing around that requires replacment. I was doing 2 @ month for a weekly change but I need to cut back. Even at 36 after shipping it starts adding up.

Is everyone using buckets or bags? Could that be a difference?

I also pick up the bucket upside down and shake the heck out of it until I hurt myself in case of settling effects. Perhaps crystal size variation makes it prone to settle certain parts in buckets?

[DrBDC]

Originally posted by StrategicReef
do these work better than test kits?

This article pretty well covers it.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-04/rhf/index.php

[twon8]

i used the bucket, just got it last week or two weeks ago from drsf&s.

i'd already made up about 40 gallons before the batch i tested, so im well into the middle of the bucket. I'll test the next batch of water and see if it's the same.

[acrylic_300]

Mine was a bucket bought from DFS in Aug. I didn't shake the bucket till it was half gone and I realized it was reading low....but it reads the same.

[Mr. Ugly]

DFS buckets here.

I'd been using regular IO for the longest time, and just bumped the numbers with the Randy recipes.

I tried a few buckets of Reef Crystals from my lfs and liked the higher Ca and Mg. My lfs didn't restock on the salt, so I got a bunch from DFS.

Later I saw the low Ca and Mg. I hadn't tested the fresh mix originally, but then I found my tank read way low on Mg. I thought I must have screwed up on dosing somehow. That's when I tested the new salt and found the low numbers.

I'd been meaning to post on the Chem forum to ask if others had problems. Actually I posted recently about Mg tests because I was thinking that my Salifert kit was bad.

[Billybeau1]

Hmmmm. The batch I just tested was a bag I got from a local pet supply store.

It was still 420 calcium and 1290 mag as I'm used to.

Hmmm.

[kirblit]

My sample of RC is a bucket that I purchased from Dr. F&S a couple of weeks ago.

[Mike O'Brien]

It does seem that most of us who have low CA levels purchased the salt from Dr.'s Foster and Smith.

I verified my refractometers accuracy with the Pinpoint solution. At 35 ppt, Elos 300 ppm, API 320 ppm.

[StrategicReef]

I tested again 15 gallon mixed well at 78 degrees for a few days.
it's between 300-350 so I'd say 325.
few tsps of kent turbo calcium or equivalent will boost it up.

with the kent turbo calcium seems to lower the alk just a tad, I think some Ca cabonate was formed with the big dose of additional calcium, but that's fine.. alk is so high out of the box anyway.

[mksalt]

My IO/Oceanic mix is sounding better and better......

[bdare]

Ok...

I've never used RC until my tank which is cycling now. I've been doing A LOT of water testing this week and my results pretty much match everyone else who's reporting a problem.

Ca - 380
Mg - 1100

I also bought my bucket from Drs Foster and Smith in the past month.

I'm not so much concearned about the levels as they can be fixed, but my question is this... What is the best way to bring the levels up of new water?

Should I add Mg to the RO/DI before adding salt? Or mix the salt, dose the Ca then dose the Mg to the tank? I only mix 5 gallons at a time so I don't have a lot of room for extra volume...

Ben

[kslick]

has anyone contacted them about the issue?

[DrBDC]

When I used IO and corrected the levels before water changes, I added salt, then mag, then ca. My thinking on this was the mag would help to make sure I didn't precipitate any of the ca added especially since the pH of new salt mix can run in the upper 8's.

[DrBDC]

I have a new bucket I just mixed last night. Another from DFS that I'll test it out after I get the salinity correct. It will be tomorrow if I can remember to tweak the salinity tonight.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

When I used IO and corrected the levels before water changes, I added salt, then mag, then ca. My thinking on this was the mag would help to make sure I didn't precipitate any of the ca

That's exactly what I do as well.

[bdare]

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
When I used IO and corrected the levels before water changes, I added salt, then mag, then ca. My thinking on this was the mag would help to make sure I didn't precipitate any of the ca

That's exactly what I do as well.

Ok... so here's my question... According to the dosing calculator (http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html) I'll need to add almost 12 tsp of Seachem Reef Advance Mg to go from 1100 to 1350.

How much water do I need to disolve all that? If I add this disolved Mg to my freshly made salt water my salinity will go down right?

Is there a way to avoid this? If I've got my 5 gallons of RO/DI is there harm in disolving the Mg in there THEN adding the salt? This would make it much easier to hit my SG target...

Ben

[jdieck]

Originally posted by bdare
Ok... so here's my question... According to the dosing calculator (http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html) I'll need to add almost 12 tsp of Seachem Reef Advance Mg to go from 1100 to 1350.

How much water do I need to disolve all that? If I add this disolved Mg to my freshly made salt water my salinity will go down right?

Is there a way to avoid this? If I've got my 5 gallons of RO/DI is there harm in disolving the Mg in there THEN adding the salt? This would make it much easier to hit my SG target...

Ben

The good news is that Mg salts need very little water to dissolve.