I know there is several opnions…The best in my opinion is one from expierience. I keep my temps in the 73-77 range in the winter and 79-82 range in the summer. I add regular baking soda…Not the baked baking soda.
RBU, I was have 2 DKH drops every day too. I found the problem was a very low Mg level. I too use the cheapest salt around and heavily dose it. but about 6 weeks ago i went on a cleaning binge, did some 20% water changes and took some measurements. my mag was about 980ppm, and i had been dosing 1-2 DKH of baking soda/washing soda mix each day to keep it up. same with calcium. so after re-reading som old Randy Farley chem articles i went back to basics. i first dosed my mag back to 1350 and started dripping a quart of lime water with vinegar each day. since then i hardly have to add buffer or CaCl. the thickened lime water keeps up with the load. I have to guess that the low Mg levels where letting the Co3 and Ca precipitate out each day. so far i only need to add a tablesoon or two of buffer and CaCl a week to keep up. Ive also found my cheap salt is low in potasium. so ive been dosing that. Ive had a 180 turn around on my sps corals. suddenly they have all stopped receeding at the base, and based out anew, and all started sprouting new coralites, growing edges and regained color.
So now im back to paying more attention to Mg levels first before adjusting anything else. and cleaning the crud out of the sand.
But Jon, read the labels and buy the appropriate salt. water softener salt is people grade.
I got it Ken, lol. Again I was telling you I didn’t need all that stuff. I know what I’m looking for just easier to find drive way salt then it is to find a particular pool salt this time of year. 
not pool salt. Water softener salt.
Excerpt from a letter from Brightwell, "The best salt that I found for this application is standard Morton Pool Salt, the basic material (not the Advanced or Professional’s Choice, both of which have undesirable additives) that comes in a 40-lb. white bag. Most hardware stores either stock it or can order it for you. The fact that the standard pool salt is straight NaCl is what makes it ideal for this application. "
I have found other brands of pool salt locally, but have decided to stick with Morton. They have the equipment and knowledge to do things food grade and are certainly a large reputable company. He went into a little more detail in another letter somewhere, but it’s mixed up with other questions I asked and discussions we had about him perhaps… just maybe, coming to visit during one of the DRC meetings this fall…
Ken, My magnesium is actually in the 1490 range with the salifert kit. Just tested the tank this morning. After adding 4tsp of baking soda and 4 tsp calcium pellets…I got 8dkh and 460ca. 1490mg
[quote=“kaptken, post:42, topic:3309”]
RBU, I was have 2 DKH drops every day too. I found the problem was a very low Mg level. I too use the cheapest salt around and heavily dose it. but about 6 weeks ago i went on a cleaning binge, did some 20% water changes and took some measurements. my mag was about 980ppm, and i had been dosing 1-2 DKH of baking soda/washing soda mix each day to keep it up. same with calcium. so after re-reading som old Randy Farley chem articles i went back to basics. i first dosed my mag back to 1350 and started dripping a quart of lime water with vinegar each day. since then i hardly have to add buffer or CaCl. the thickened lime water keeps up with the load. I have to guess that the low Mg levels where letting the Co3 and Ca precipitate out each day. so far i only need to add a tablesoon or two of buffer and CaCl a week to keep up. Ive also found my cheap salt is low in potasium. so ive been dosing that. Ive had a 180 turn around on my sps corals. suddenly they have all stopped receeding at the base, and based out anew, and all started sprouting new coralites, growing edges and regained color.
So now im back to paying more attention to Mg levels first before adjusting anything else. and cleaning the crud out of the sand.
But Jon, read the labels and buy the appropriate salt. water softener salt is people grade.
[/quote]
if anyone is interested the 450 gal mix is available with minimal notice list price $140, I have not used it, so I can’t chime in on the value of it, but if you want to try it, (be the designated tester and share your result) we can do better than list in exchange for an unbiased fact based product review.