Reef Crystals test numbers

[nobody]

I'm having a bit of algae problem in my tank which is out of balance due to lack of tests. I've always relied on Reef Crystals to replenish trace elements. I tested a day-old salt mix yesterday and found some disturbing numbers, SG at 1.025

pH: 8.2
Alk: 9.0
Mg: 960
Ca: 300

Mg and Ca are way lower than what they should be. This is a brand new bucket opened just two weeks ago.

For those that use Reef Crystal, would you please post your numbers if you have them?

Thanks,

 

[yuki]

I use reef crystals. I have tested my tank and the numbers for cal were 350? That was after a few weeks. I did a water change last night. I will test my tank again. I would test a new batch of water but, I am about to make water for a water change on my aggressive tank that I run at a lower salinity.

Yuki

 

[BigJay]

When did you buy the bucket?

There was a thread on reefcentral in the chemistry forum about this. It's my understanding that the latest batches had corrected this issue.

 

[bimmerzs]

When I used reef crystal's I found that the uniformity of the mix was not very good. It seemed like the bottom portion of the salt was more concentrated and tested higher. I no longer use this salt so not sure if that's still an issue or ever was a issue...coulda been me doing something wrong. :?

Cheers,

 

[DaveJ]

I always test the first batch of any new bucket, just for laughs. But always test each batch and adjust accordingly.

My last several buckets have been 400+ cal, 1200+ mg and 10+ dkh when tested.

The batches of change water have varied to some degree, but not huge. The numbers you posted were what I was getting on a regular basis on the Red Sea Pro.

Couple of things for you to chew on here. You should not rely upon the salt to maintain the big three.. cal/mg and alk. You need to rely on frequent testing and supplementation. You need test on a regular basis and supplement those numbers as needed. If you are running a Fish Only tank, you can test less frequently, but if you have corals etc, testing is not an option it is a requirement. Test each batch you mix and adjust to what your standard numbers are being maintained at.

Even the higher end salts will have some inconsistency in values, some more than others, but they all do.

Algae problems are almost always nutrient issues... either nitrates or phosphates. Trace elements and ca/mg/alk will have little to do with the algae problems.

So while you are getting some low numbers on the salt, the salt isn't the problem you need to fix, its the habits and maintenance procedure you need to adjust. Even if you find a salt that is the same every single time, your tank will still consume ca/alk and mg and if you have corals you will find it difficult to maintain numbers just by doing water changes alone.

 

[chrisrush]

@bimmerzs wrote:

Definitely need to shake up any bucket of salt. Most of heavier elements settle a bit during shipping (which explains the Mg being low).

You might also want to see what RC has to say about, since BigJay is correct and there were some issues in the past.

 

[nobody]

I agree with just about everything you post here. Some comments and clarifications though...

@DaveJ wrote:

I used to, but I neglected this and it shows...

@DaveJ wrote:

Same problem with failure to maintain balance. I used to test at least bi-monthly and adjusted appropriately. My Ca reactor keeps up with the tank pretty well, but when the numbers are way out of range, it won't help much.

@DaveJ wrote:

In the last month, I've been doing 20% water changes on a 250G total volume. 3 clams, lots of SPS, 3 tangs, 2 angels, 1 mandarin, 1 six-line wrasse. I feed lightly (every other day) and Phosphate & Nitrates are undetectable. I do test these bi-monthly.

When I noticed Alk was way low (5 - 6 dKH), I tested Ca, Mg in the tank and got low numbers: Ca ~280, Mg ~1100. First thing to do in algae control is to bring the tank back to balance and this is when I see my salt mix is bad. I guess I'm still making newbie mistakes :roll:

@chrisrush wrote:

Definitely need to shake up any bucket of salt. Most of heavier elements settle a bit during shipping (which explains the Mg being low).
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do some "shake up" and test again next weekend.

Thanks!