Froggy
01/08/2005, 08:05 AM
* I posted this yesterday in the general discussion forum also trying to stimulate conversation but ended up talking to myself *
Randy, I have read many threads recently about reef hobbyists mixing 2 different brands of synthetic salt mix together to achieve a freshly mixed batch of sythetic saltwater that is higher in both alkalinity and calcium since some brands are high in calcium and low in alkalinity buffer and others are vice versa. If calcium and alkalinity were the only issues in the mix this would seem like a great idea. I got to thinking about the composition of natural seawater and the composition of different synthetic salt mixes and I began wondering if mixing 2 different brands of synthetic salt mixes could be detrimental. When looking at individual compsitions of different brands, I found that many of the major, minor, and trace elements in the mix are greatly elevated above what is found in NSW anyways by themself. Would mixing 2 brands of synthetic salt mix skew these numbers further and possibly to dangerous or toxic levels? It just seems to me that great effort is put in by the labs and companies that produce "their" brand of salt mix and mixing different chemical compositions of the different salt mixes may not be wise even though they may produce a favorable balanced calcium and alkalinity reading when mixed together. What are your thoughts on this? Sorry for the long winded post but this has really had me thinking :)
Randy, I have read many threads recently about reef hobbyists mixing 2 different brands of synthetic salt mix together to achieve a freshly mixed batch of sythetic saltwater that is higher in both alkalinity and calcium since some brands are high in calcium and low in alkalinity buffer and others are vice versa. If calcium and alkalinity were the only issues in the mix this would seem like a great idea. I got to thinking about the composition of natural seawater and the composition of different synthetic salt mixes and I began wondering if mixing 2 different brands of synthetic salt mixes could be detrimental. When looking at individual compsitions of different brands, I found that many of the major, minor, and trace elements in the mix are greatly elevated above what is found in NSW anyways by themself. Would mixing 2 brands of synthetic salt mix skew these numbers further and possibly to dangerous or toxic levels? It just seems to me that great effort is put in by the labs and companies that produce "their" brand of salt mix and mixing different chemical compositions of the different salt mixes may not be wise even though they may produce a favorable balanced calcium and alkalinity reading when mixed together. What are your thoughts on this? Sorry for the long winded post but this has really had me thinking :)