RUNAS Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Ive done a little google search on this and found a couple of recipes, but I was wondering if anyone on here mixes up their own. Ive had a 25 kg bag of salt(non iodised) in my shed for ages which Ive been adding to my commercial salt mix(CSM),I use one kilo of mix a week so I do 800 grams CSM and 200 grams of "salt" sometimes a 50/50 and now Im using 100% salt just to use it up,Ive actually run out of CSM. I add my mag mix to it as well(mag chloride and sulphate another diy) and 24 hours after water change I test my Ca which remains around 400,I know there will be more trace elements in NSW and CSM which we generally add anyway. I keep the salinity around 1.022 which only requires 900 grams os "salt" as opposed to 1kg of CSM to reach the same salinity,I use RODI water and have tested it for nitrates,phosphates etc before adding it to tanks all have come back zero. No doubt I"ll be hung drawn and quarterd for such blaspheny for this but all my livestock is doing well as are my anenomes which apparently need good water quality are magnificent,nitrates are hovering around 5 really all things are doing great! So anyone else out there got input? RUNAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Seems like a massive pain. I use NSW myself, but would sooner pay to buy a bucket of salt than mix up my own then still have to dose my tank. There are lots of other trace elements that CSM have in them that will be effecting your corals. How's the colour looking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I run my salinity at 1.025 to 1.026' what do you use to test your salinity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAS Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 No corals NZ coldy. NSW is not an option, adding trace elements is hardly a big deal imho. I have to add mag and calcium anyway I haven't gone down the path of adding other stuff yet but , it's mostly available cheap too. The cheapest salt mix I can buy is $90 for 20 kgs, for $90 I can buy 150kgs of Salt, 25kgs of Mag chloride $13, 25kgs of Mag Sulphate $13 calcium etc is just as cheap. What I'm getting at is one can make a shed load of mix for under $200. If could get a recipe I could make my own. RUNAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 No corals NZ coldy. NSW is not an option, adding trace elements is hardly a big deal imho. I have to add mag and calcium anyway I haven't gone down the path of adding other stuff yet but , it's mostly available cheap too. The cheapest salt mix I can buy is $90 for 20 kgs, for $90 I can buy 150kgs of Salt, 25kgs of Mag chloride $13, 25kgs of Mag Sulphate $13 calcium etc is just as cheap. What I'm getting at is one can make a shed load of mix for under $200. If could get a recipe I could make my own. RUNAS I also run a higher salinity - generally 1.026. I'd be inclined to run coldies at the salinity of NZ oceans. Where do you get your mag chloride? Why mag chloride and mag sulfate? Iodine, iron, potassium etc are all important to have in the water, and I'm not sure what lack of these elements would do to the fish long term. Definitely not my cup of tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAS Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I only use a cheap dail type guage . Before I get laughed at ,when I have gone to the beach to collect stuff I take it with me and NSW on the gauge always goes to 1.022, my thinking is even if the guage is right or wrong it gives me a stable measurement. Most of the elements listed iron etc are very minor elements in NSW eg 0.0002 ppm in some cases, I'm not saying insignificant and not needed they are but surely these elements will still be present in normal salt. How do they make most salt, evaporation of NSW, Do these minor elements remain behind with the salt, I'd suggest they do. I get very miffed buying "specialality" goods when it turns out to be common house hold goods like sea chem magnesium at $50 ish for 1.25 kgs and it turns out to be common Epsom salts which costs about $4 a kilo ! Not cool. I'm thinking the "salt mix" is the same have honestly, sadly the companies that manufacturer the stuff know that most hobbyists won't risk their tanks inhabitants to test it. Anyway the mag chloride is to keep the sulphate level lower while increasing Magnesium levels. There are very good articles with recipes to make it. Have a Google on it. RUNAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Salt ie your 25kg bag of un-iodised salt are generally farmed from underground salt deposits. They specifically process it to eliminate minerals, and usually add anti-clumping agents. Salt that is evaporated from sea water (sea salt) is usually much less processed so contains all those extra minerals. They're not the same. I agree that some things are, eg epsom salt, but it's something you should really be doing some serious research on before putting it in your tank. Certainly, I wouldn't be using table salt in my tank, ever, at all - it's simply not comparable. At best it doesn't contain everything you need in a marine tank, and at worse, the lack of minerals and addition of anti-clumping agents will kill your livestock. Re the hydrometer, they're very sensitive to temperature changes. The fact that it reads NSW as 1.022 in NZ tells me that it's not calibrated. I can test the same water at slightly different temps with a hydrometer and get wildly different readings - nothing really compares to a refractometer, and they're pretty cheap now (thankfully! I need a new one because I broke mine ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Here's a really good thread on why a DYI salt mix isn't financially/practically viable. I tend to agree, and it's even more expensive in NZ where we're paying 3-4 times the price. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... ?t=1961430 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I have never keep my native cold tanks at anything other than natural - 1.026-1.027. Why would you want to keep a nz tank at 1.022?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAS Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I'm not using table salt . Gees. Sea salt ,not mined salt either that's rock salt literaly rocks that stuff ,some pieces are up up to 10 kgs. I really would love to see exactly what there companies do put in the're mixes, I'd bet there would be tonnes and tonnes of standard sea salt for 99% of it. As for salinity testing I give up. I've kept it about the same since I've set up the tank I'm not saying it is 1.022 it could infact be higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 i have used raw sea salt with local marine FOWLR, 15000ltr as it was cheapest option only prob was phosphates, they clean it as best they can wouldn't use it on a reef tank though in the extraction process it loses some of the trace elements Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I only use a cheap dail type guage . Before I get laughed at ,when I have gone to the beach to collect stuff I take it with me and NSW on the gauge always goes to 1.022, my thinking is even if the guage is right or wrong it gives me a stable measurement. Most of the elements listed iron etc are very minor elements in NSW eg 0.0002 ppm in some cases, I'm not saying insignificant and not needed they are but surely these elements will still be present in normal salt. How do they make most salt, evaporation of NSW, Do these minor elements remain behind with the salt, I'd suggest they do. I get very miffed buying "specialality" goods when it turns out to be common house hold goods like sea chem magnesium at $50 ish for 1.25 kgs and it turns out to be common Epsom salts which costs about $4 a kilo ! Not cool. I'm thinking the "salt mix" is the same have honestly, sadly the companies that manufacturer the stuff know that most hobbyists won't risk their tanks inhabitants to test it. Anyway the mag chloride is to keep the sulphate level lower while increasing Magnesium levels. There are very good articles with recipes to make it. Have a Google on it. RUNAS Reading this I see your point your tester reads 1.022 for nsw so that is what your going to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Arrgghh, my bad, should read the posts better. Get yourself a atm refractometer - salinity is important and should be controlled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 I'm not using table salt . Gees. Sea salt ,not mined salt either that's rock salt literaly rocks that stuff ,some pieces are up up to 10 kgs. I really would love to see exactly what there companies do put in the're mixes, I'd bet there would be tonnes and tonnes of standard sea salt for 99% of it. As for salinity testing I give up. I've kept it about the same since I've set up the tank I'm not saying it is 1.022 it could infact be higher. Oh, sorry. I assumed because you mentioned a bag of uniodised salt, you meant table salt. I've never seen sea salt in rock form in big bags like that! Here's what red sea say about their salt - they claim it's 28% other trace elements. http://www.redseafish.com/index.aspx?id=4330 I'm from the school of thought that when we're keeping a tiny slice of the sea in our houses, we have a responsibility to do best by the livestock we keep and provide them with the best environment we can. That necessarily means that we either take the time to collect NSW, or we spend the money getting good quality salt mix that will ensure a consistent, safe environment for the critters we keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAS Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 If you go to RD1or the similar to get bulk mag chloride and sulphate oh and lime flour aka calcium just not as fine but same stuff have a look for or ask about rock salt. It's huge great lumps of pink Himalayan rock salt comes in 50kg sacks. It's only for cattle to lick so it's pretty crude and not for use in a fish tank at all but quite impressive stuff if you've never seen it before. I went in and asked for a bag of rock salt , the dude came back with literal rocks of salt, moral of story be careful of what you ask for in life . :sage: RUNAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 can i ask what did it cost..for the mag and calcium, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAS Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Mag Chloride prill is about $13 for 25 kg same for mag sulphate and unsure of lime flour a mate is a farmer so he just gave me some, it certainly isn't as refined as commercial aquarium stuff but it doesn't include magnesium and strontium like the sea chem brand which may give it a finer texture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.