RonTheGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Using non reef instant ocean salt for coral. What are the issues? I acquired a 100 gallon with non reef instant ocean saltwater in it. What is the actual difference between instant ocean reef and non reef salt mixes? Can I supplement to bring water to reef like water? How? With what products? I do have some red sea coral salt I could mix and replace with should I? I assume a partial change with coral salt would add elements for my corals to be happier? I know fish but not so much about reef and corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Better safe than sorry and not use the non reef salt at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Is this what you have? If so that's fine. The instant ocean reef crystals just has more Ca, Alk, Mg at a specific gravity than the regular instant ocean salt. Either works fine as long as your testing your levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonTheGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 No .... the water was mixed with the orange packaged non reef instant ocean ... I read at instant ocean site they add more of some elements but it is unclear how each type compares to sea.water as.they do not give that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonTheGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 The instant ocean reef crystals just has more Ca, Alk, Mg at a specific gravity than the regular instant ocean salt. Either works fine as long as your testing your levels. Ca is fine .... how does one test Alk and mg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonTheGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Better safe than sorry and not use the non reef salt at all. I acquired a setup aquarium with just fish with non reef saltwater. So couldn't setup new with all.reef salt. My theory is if I do water.changes with reef salt corals will be fine. Do not.think one can measure most of element levels so I guess water changes are safest .. however maybe I c Might spike the tank with a reef elements addition if I knew which one to.get? Kent what type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 as with all elements there are a few tests on the market. Hanna is the generally prefered testing for Ca, and Po When it comes to Mg and KH (alk) titrations are best. Myself, I use Red sea kits mainly, but Hanna for Phos. Cheap API is fine for Ni, N and PH. DO NOT CHASE OR DOSE FOR PH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Better safe than sorry and not use the non reef salt at all. I acquired a setup aquarium with just fish with non reef saltwater. So couldn't setup new with all.reef salt. My theory is if I do water.changes with reef salt corals will be fine. Do not.think one can measure most of element levels so I guess water changes are safest .. however maybe I c Might spike the tank with a reef elements addition if I knew which one to.get? Kent what type? Yes, just do regular 5-10% water changes every week or so and you will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Lots of big time reefers have used plain instant ocean on sps tanks for years. It works fine. My plain instant ocean mixes at 8.0 dkh, 420 ppm calcium, and 1250 ppm mg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonTheGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 as with all elements there are a few DO NOT CHASE OR DOSE FOR PH What do you mean by Chase exactly?Why not dose for ph? Otherwise do what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonTheGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Lots of big time reefers have used plain instant ocean on sps tanks for years. It works fine. My plain instant ocean mixes at 8.0 dkh, 420 ppm calcium, and 1250 ppm mg it is unclear by reading instant ocean website ... is it that non reef instant.ocean has everything corals need and it is just that reef version has extra high levels to buffer against possible coral use? If so just.doing.water. changes would be fine. Who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The reason you do not dose for pH is because in order to raise that you are having to add extra elements you do not want to surplus of. When talking about your basic elements in a salt mix, it is not a situation of more is always better, it's more important to have numbers in a range and stability. The information is out there on elemental analysis on most common hobby salt mixes. Just some googling with yield several anecdotal and manufacturer studies. The problem is that unless you're talking about the ultra expensive synthetic mixes, it's going to always be a mixed bag. Quality control is sketchy even with some of the more respected brands and your elemental analysis will vary from bucket to bucket, bag to bag, batch to batch ect. not to mention the fact that these different weighted particles will separate as your bags and buckets sit, so if you're not doing a vigorous dry mix of you salt every time you use it, you'll have wildly different parameters at the end of a bucket than what you started with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Been using Instant Ocean since 1987. Acros I've grown have been happy with it. IMO pH, Alk, Calcium and Mag need to be monitored on a regular basis. While related I've seen each one move indepentantly of the others and even though they may predictably affect each other for years at any time a system may see just one of them go skewy and needed to be supplemented Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The primary driver here of what salts/supplements/testing regimes you use is, what do you want to keep in terms of corals? Some species are more demanding than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonTheGuy Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Thank you elite reefer, you have a beautiful tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I think that when you're speaking of non-reef instant ocean in the orange and white container, you are actually speaking of of instant ocean reef crystals which "is" their reef version of salt. Either way, most any kind of aquarium you buy on the market will be fine. Yes you can supplement each element and raise them to a desired point but there is no need for that until you have coral which require specific parameters. For instance, most soft coral will do just fine with calcium being within the 320-500ppm range. But if you try your hand at some acropora, you want to aim for maintaining it within a more narrow range which is more like 400-460ppm. You can be even more specific so as to try and keep it steady right at 420 ppm. But there is absolutely no need to chase target parameters if you are doing normal water changes and have a small amount of hardy coral species. Is there any piece in particular that you have that doesn't seem to be doing well? Ph swings every hour of every day. That is why there is no need to try and regulate you Ph levels because you will not be able to maintain it where you want it. It would take some kind of mistake on your part to make the Ph swing too high or too low. I know I am being broad but I am trying to explain to you in simple terms while at the same time not introducing too much new information to you. You will learn a lot about the hobby all in time. And if you are in this for the long haul, 10 years from now you will still find yourself learning new things. For now, take your time to thoroughly research one subject at a time as it comes your way. Take forum advice with a grain of salt. There is equal amounts of solid accurate information as there is biased and largely inaccurate information. For example, take the following statement and tell me whether it is scientific fact or forum nonsense. "Bpb, who is a forum user on ARC, is a 6'6" albino who was the first person recorded on this planet to eat a strictly photosynthetic diet. National Geographic did a whole article on this phenomena and has published several of it's findings at the following site www.nat-geo.org/albino/laugh-in-yo-face/TY-think's-he's/tall/Reburn-is-shorter-than-TY. It's an amazing article that shows us exactly how diverse life on this planet can be." Did you find it? Anyhow, post any questions you have and rest assured that the great, experienced community at ARC can find an answer for you. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 So disappointing that the link you provided was broken Manny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Is reburn really shorter than Ty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Busted link! U even wiki, bro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Is reburn really shorter than Ty? You tell me. . . That's the homework. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 So disappointing that the link you provided was broken Manny. Wouldn't it be something if it actually worked!?! Busted link! U even wiki, bro? Surely you didn't think it would work did you? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Is reburn really shorter than Ty?You tell me. . . That's the homework.Ckyuv learns best through analogies: Ty is to Muggsy Bogues as Reburn is to Shaquille O'neal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Ty is to a clown goby as Reburn is to a Whale 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I would have accepted any type of large angel for Reburn. Now you got to deal with calling him a whale. [emoji87] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I would have accepted any type of large angel for Reburn. Now you got to deal with calling him a whale. [emoji87]Not just any whale, he is the high flying acrobatic Willie the whale. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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