I’m not a big fan of brightwell salt because it has a very distinct smell that I don’t believe belongs in our tanks. Lindsay and I tried a 50lb bag and ended up throwing it out because of that smell.
When I talked to the rep about it smelling, he said because the salt is anhydrous, but all salts are anhydrous so that is not the reason, and he also said because they are trying to perfectly replicate NSW, and that is the goal of all salts, yet no other salt I have used has that smell…
I met Chris Brightwell him self and told him that his salts parameters were wayy off of what his bucket states and I did multiple tests, the calcium was always 375ppm and they state like 412ppm and the alk was under 7. I don’t need a speech about user error either, I did 10 seperate batches of 20 gallons to 35ppt @ 80 degrees F and methodically measured the water and carefully counted the drips with the proper amount of mixing after each drop all salifert test kits well within their expiration dates.
He told me to send him a batch number so they could test their sample they keep of each batch and never got back to me.
TIM! Seriously. If you do 100 tests with a swing are hydrometer your results are not as accurate as they would be using a refractometer. You are using hobby grade test kits and not only just hobby grade, but one of the worst ones out there!(in my opinion and many others)
It doesn’t matter how methodical or careful you were. I swore your biggest complaint in the past was on the Magnesium levels with a Salifert test kit which you purchased at DPA. At that same time both Mike C and I chucked out Mg Saliferts we purchased at DPA into the trash.
You’ve repeated your opinion on Brightwell’s salt repeatedly and I believe everyone has heard you.
Interesting Bill, thanks for contributing. Those salt may work for your primarily FO system and for others, but I don’t believe in elevating my levels that far above natural sea level or in letting the levels in my tank getting that low between water changes requiring such elevated levels in my salt.
My goal is an affordable salt at natural balanced levels with all the minor and trace elements included.
[quote=“Jcling, post:21, topic:3309”]
I’m not a big fan of brightwell salt because it has a very distinct smell that I don’t believe belongs in our tanks. Lindsay and I tried a 50lb bag and ended up throwing it out because of that smell.
When I talked to the rep about it smelling, he said because the salt is anhydrous, but all salts are anhydrous so that is not the reason, and he also said because they are trying to perfectly replicate NSW, and that is the goal of all salts, yet no other salt I have used has that smell… [/quote]
When you mix your salt in H2O it becomes “hydrous”. Most salts in their powder form are “anhydrous”. However there are inorganic and organic salts which are hydrous in solid stages.
well, still, the concept of leaving out the NaCl, which makes up the bulk of a salt mix weight, could lower the cost. as long as you can find a good sodium chloride bulk source to use, and can measure weight fairly accurately. its a sign of the high shipping cost times. just like concetrated detergents lately. less water, less weight, less volume to ship.
Who uses a swing arm? I’ve had a Sybon refractometer for over a year and I check its calibration before every use. It was calcium I complained about and I’ve never owned a Salifert MG kit.
Ok, what lab grade test kit did you use over and over to test the NeoMarine with? You just seemed overly confident that you knew exactly what the levels were over what Chris has the ability to measure. The kits he uses are over $100 each and do 50 test.
Perhaps we can discuss this with Chris in April.
I have found I can get a bag of Morton salt for $6.28 + 13.99 shipping. The closest store I have found it at was in South Carolina, but I am still looking.
well i used 2 full buckets of brightwell neomarine, as you know, john, and i complained greatly about that SMELL.
Not sure if that John was for me(Jon 
), but I would say I personally commented on it more then complained greatly. I miss-read the above.
In this industry there is nothing at all wrong with being different. Things are changing rapidly and we are all learning together. We may one day say, “you remember when none of the salt smelled and then that new Brightwell came out, and now they all smell!” Never know. It could happen.
I don’t think there isn’t a single brand of salt that hasn’t changed something in the last two years or come out with a new product. That should tell you that none of them have it down 100% just yet.
you can get 40 pound bags of Morton Salt at Snears for water softeners. but its in marble size pellets.
Holy crap! Sears charges 4x as much for a 40lb bag that Lowes does. I can get a 40lb bag shipped from a store in Florida for less then 1/3 the price Sears charges. Call me a cheap …, but that is the point in buying Kalibrate over NeoMarine for me.
Most of Morton salts either contain iodine or anti-caking agents. There are some that contain neither and are 99.9% Sodium Chloride, but not as easy to track down.
There is also a certain amount of work involved in making the salt, weighing out X number of grams of Sodium Chloride for X number of Kalibrate. Once I find the cheapest source and try making a couple batches I’ll post specific numbers.
no need for iodine or non clumping agents in water softner salt. dont want them. its to regenerate the resin. besides it comes in big crystal chunks. just buy the one without iron treatments. just getthe pure sodium chloride. I bought a bag of their potasium chloride softener salt as a potasium supplement. its working fine. that was $20 for a 40 pound bag. KCl is more expensive than NaCl. the potasium salt is for people on restricted sodium diets.
I wasn’t saying I need them was saying it isn’t as easy to find a bag that doesn’t contain them or other items.
Enough vodka dosing for the night Ken.
[quote=“Gordonious, post:24, topic:3309”]
Interesting Bill, thanks for contributing. Those salt may work for your primarily FO system and for others, but I don’t believe in elevating my levels that far above natural sea level or in letting the levels in my tank getting that low between water changes requiring such elevated levels in my salt.
My goal is an affordable salt at natural balanced levels with all the minor and trace elements included. [/quote]
I don’t have a FO. Its a reef just with softies and a couple sps…In my opinion the swing I get from the water change is no different then dosing. I don’t have any fancy dosing equipment so every monrning I add baking soda and calcium pellets. All I can say is everything in the tank is growing like weeds…
I understand it is a reef tank, but thought you yourself had called it mostly a FO system with corals mixed in for display purposes as pretty background behind the fish. If the fish eat the coral you could care less. It’s been a little while since I’ve heard much about your tank though, so my memories a bit fuzzy. Never seen it in person either.
My main point above was that if by other means, Calcium reactor or dosing, you had your levels stay where they should be all the time then a salt with elevated levels just doesn’t work. For me I want to stay close to natural sea levels. What fluctuates in my tank is mostly temperature and pH to a very small extent, similar to natural coral reefs the animals were collected from.
OK understood…So the question then would be…How big of a deal is it that your levels flucuate? My alk drops on average 2 dkh per day. I compensate for that by adding baking soda every morning. So theortically I am dropping and increasing everyday. My corals and everything are growing like weeds. So I would say the fluctuations are not harming anything. Here is my most recent tank shot…
crappy picture but you get the idea…
OH and for the record, one of the vendors at that NJ swap that was selling coral frags…I think it was Jason something!!! Said he uses the cheapest salt he can find and buffers it…
Ah right you did say you buffer with baking soda and Ca. So then it’s just Mg that fluctuates. Is it Sodium carbonate you are adding or Sodium bicarbonate?
[quote=“rbu1, post:20, topic:3309”]
Alk was in the 10-11 range. Calcium was in the 520 range magnesium was in the 1440 range[/quote]
520ppm Ca and 1440ppm Mg I believe are a bit high.
I am sure you could find a coral propagator that says he pissed in his tank and his corals never grew better. Won’t find me doing it though. You’ll also find some that keep there temps dead on at 74F and some that keep them at 84F. You can find one example of someone swearing by just about everything in this hobby. It doesn’t mean any of the above are best for the animals. Unless you grow zoanthids only.