i generally mix 2 mixes together. right now, it’s redsea coral pro and reef crystals. any reason not to use more than one kind at a time?
I don’t see why not. heck, you might be onto something :
:
I don’t pretend to completely understand the different compounds in salt mix, but wouldn’t you have to worry about 2 brands of salt that both provide a high level of, say, calcium or any of the compunds in saltwater from combining to make a possibly lethal or at least unhealthy amount of that compund in a batch of saltwater? Common sense would tell me that it would, but I don’t pretend that common sense is always correct. 
Of course, if that is the case, you could always make sure that you pick 3 or 4 different salts that don’t have high levels of that compound…
[quote=“ihuntinde, post:3, topic:4270”]
Of course, if that is the case, you could always make sure that you pick 3 or 4 different salts that don’t have high levels of that compound…[/quote]
I use Tropic Marin Bio Actif and Tropic Marin Pro Reef Sea Salts, and 3 month ago added Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix into rotation for added bacterial diversity. I do find Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix is “dirty” salt and would not likely to continue use it once it runs out.
hey rosti, i didn’t wanna seem nuts, and i left out 1 of the 3 brands i actually use. but since you use 3, i don’t feel nuts. i am finishing up that new seachem salt called "salinity. it must be mixed very slowly slowly, at low dose and low temp, under 65. otherwise it deposits residual white calcium carbonate [i assume that what it is] all over the mixing reservoir. avoid that one for sure. that’s why i started using a mix.
ihunt, as to the other point, it makes no common sense to me how there could be a problem. the salts have everything necessary to fulfill the company’s concepts of what’s necessary. so none of it’s horrible, even though i wouldn’t use IO. if one salt can be used alone, how is the chemistry affected if 2 brands are mixed? in all the different brands of salt ive used in 2.5 years [red sea, neo marine, tropic marin, r/c this seachem and maybe 1 other] the calcium was never off by even 15%. it varies from 30.5 grams per qt to 35 to get their recommended salinity. but even taking those extremes mixing them only makes their average calcium an average, well within the range.
does say a tripling of maybe a trace element in 1 salt that has a concentration of .001x and the same element has 3x from another salt brand, 003x. they get added together. it reduces the 3x down to something approaching the 1 and raises the1 closer to the 3. the chemicals are basically the same for all brands and it’s unlikely that the actual chemicals vary by more than a factor of 300% as was in my example. maybe one brand might even compensate for a missing element from the other brand by having it. of course, i don’t have much experience with chemistry interactions, and sometimes, like you, not much common sense. but that’s my logic. mixing is good.
sorry about the rant.
I don’t think mixing different brands in same batch is a good idea. I marked my lids (see pics) and alternate bw them.
Monday -brand A
Tue. -B
Thur -A ect
For those who use TM; there is an interesting thread on RC questioning their quality over recent bad batches.
[quote=“Rosti, post:6, topic:4270”]
I don’t think mixing different brands in same batch is a good idea. I marked my lids (see pics) and alternate bw them.
Monday -brand A
Tue. -B
Thur -A ect[/quote]
rosti, what’s your reasoning for not mixing, though? but the a,b, c method seems to me that you are just doing the same thing only in liquid with the chemicals dissolved and mixing with each other in whatever gallonage you do w/c’s on the days you have your lids marked.
i mix f my 2 kinds of salt into my 15 gal water reservoir and get the salinity right, the next day drain 3 gals from the system and return 3 from the reservoir to the tank. if i did it with 25 gallons of my mixed salt, how is that any different than from how you do it?
[quote=“andrewk529, post:7, topic:4270”]
For those who use TM; there is an interesting thread on RC questioning their quality over recent bad batches.
http://www.reefcentral.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1971241[/quote]
Thank you for the link, i was wandering why my last two buckets were hard, in any case i didn’t experience any problems with tank like the once mentioned in link.
Is it possible there could be a negative chemical reaction between two different types of salts? Something that is undetectable? Something that wouldn’t happen once the salt has been diluted completely into the water? Again, not a chemist, just wondering.
If you ask me, if you have been succesful doing your water changes mixing salt brands then… keep going with it.
[quote=“moliken, post:8, topic:4270”]
rosti, what’s your reasoning for not mixing, though? but the a,b, c method seems to me that you are just doing the same thing only in liquid with the chemicals dissolved and mixing with each other in whatever gallonage you do w/c’s on the days you have your lids marked.
i mix f my 2 kinds of salt into my 15 gal water reservoir and get the salinity right, the next day drain 3 gals from the system and return 3 from the reservoir to the tank. if i did it with 25 gallons of my mixed salt, how is that any different than from how you do it?[/quote]
Fist of all it would be a pain in the **S to open three different buckets to mix a salt, i like to be quick with WC. Second, i think that every mfg. use different ingredients and mixing them up in 5 gal bucket maybe a problem, I don’t know and don’t want to find out.
[quote=“ihuntinde, post:10, topic:4270”]
Is it possible there could be a negative chemical reaction between two different types of salts? Something that is undetectable? Something that wouldn’t happen once the salt has been diluted completely into the water? Again, not a chemist, just wondering.
If you ask me, if you have been succesful doing your water changes mixing salt brands then… keep going with it.[/quote]
+1, you beat me to it
I noticed inconsistencies with Tropic Marin pro a year ago. I purchased a bucket 6 months ago because I had a client the used it and ended up convincing him and other to switch to NeoMarine. I’ve been very happy with it so far.
I used to mix brands by doing one brand once and another brand with the next water change similar to how Rosti does it(but I didn’t do daily water changes) I considered mixing them both in the same batch, but figured the only way to avoid chemical reactions from the two different brands was to add on, mix for the recommended 12-24 hours then add the other. Never had time with it.
There are differences in the brands no question and previously I had thought the same as Paul that using multiple brands would even out inconstancies. Now that I am running a low nutrient system I decided constancy was more important.
Price did not play a factor in my decision at all. That being said I know it is very important to many who post to use 1/10th the amount I do, so I should add I pay 1/2 of what i did for TMPro for the Brightwell.
Just thought I would throw my two cents in.
so, if the major issue is extra work, which isn’t an issue in the system the way i have it [open one bucket that holds 3 different bags of salt mix, and weigh out the amount in 3 separate measures, which takes about 1 minute total] and no one has info to the contrary or reasoning that disproves my amazing logic, i see no sense in not continuing to do what i’m doing.
I don’t see a problem with mixing multiple salt mixes in to 1 water change, the only thing I would reccomend would be to make sure each of the dry salts are mixed thoroughly before being added to the water. I use a 5g paint stirrer and a drill to make sure that my salt mix is truely mixed, otherwise the smaller particles of the mix will settle to the bottom - this COULD lead to checmical issues as mentioned above if you’re using 3 different mixes and none of which have been turned to ensure an even distribution of elements throughout.
If calcium is the element that is settling through the larger particles and ending up on the bottom I could see your calcium being low and causing you to dose additives through most of the salt, but when you get to the bottom of the bucket it would cause your calcium to spike and unless you modified your dosing schedule could be traumatic to your tank.
If it were me I’d pour both (or all of) the salt buckets together in to a larger container and mix it thoroughly so that I could be sure of having consistent levels throughout all of my water changes.
Why do some salts burn when you touch them with wet hands and others do not? If you mix two different types together dry will they have a reaction? Why do we mix salts overnight at least before using them? I’d think further understanding of this would involve answering these questions.
[quote=“moliken, post:1, topic:4270”]
i generally mix 2 mixes together. right now, it’s redsea coral pro and reef crystals. any reason not to use more than one kind at a time?[/quote]
I must be missing something. Please explain exactly WHY some reefers would want to use 2 different salt brands on water changes. Besides the fact that you are laying out more money at once to have 2 brands at the same time, what are the benefits?
only my reasons john. i bought the seachem salinity barrel and don’t like the way it mixed [see the third post about that]. so i bought some reef crystals to mix in. then i got a fine deal on some redsea coral pro. that’s why i do it. i figure if one has a lower alk or a higher ph, then it’ll balance out. maybe i’m crazy. but so far nothing ive read on the thread says it’s harmful. for me to mix up one type to a specific salinity takes just as long as three types.
Paul make a post on ReefCentrals chemistry board and a post on http://www.reeffrontiers.com/ ReefFrontiers chemistry board. The 6 people that have read this won’t be able to provide as much info as the masses. I’m no chemist and I don’t believe anyone else here is either. See if you can get answers to the questions I posted.
the heat is the heat of hydration. anhydrous salts absorbing water release heat. maybe some salts are more hydrated than others. or dehydrated.