Quote:
Originally Posted by don.ald
(Post 746405)
What are those numbers anyway?
And, you think it would be easy to roll a square box!
R.
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I get 400ppm Ca, 7.0 dKh, and Mg at 1250ppm @ 1.026
It's my opinion that the whole rolling buckets story is just silly :) It's also my opinion that people lose way too much sleep over these numbers...
Compare the pics above. 1 tank with Reefers best, the other with bargain salt (IO or Kent, don't recall, but both about the same). The old tank had greater growth rates than my new tank (until recently). I've decided this is temp related. Old tank ran about 82F or higher. Amazing growth, not so amazing color. New tank ran at 75F, amazing color, not so much growth. Just raised new tank to 79F, and I've got a lot more growth with no loss of color.
Between the two tanks, everything was pretty much the same. Same lights, same flow, some power head placement, same Ca reactor, same skimmer model. Same feeding schedule, comparable fish load. Old tank had more rock and sand, which didn't help color (nutrient build up was too high). One tank used IO, the other Reefers Best.
The only real single advantage, for me, is that I don't have to boost my new water to match my tank, forcing my reactor to catch up. The new water is close enough out of the bag. You're not going to get better growth, or more color, or anything else using one salt over the other. Most of the top (read popular) salts these days are fine. It's a matter of convenience. I don't have to muck around with mine as much as I would if I used IO.
I tried a different salt once, it mixed cloudy and annoyed the crap out of my corals, but maybe just too much of a change. Or not. Who knows. I think pick a salt you like and are comfortable paying for, stick with it, learn how to manage it's levels for your tank, and be done with it. Or like Dez, use a different salt every time something is on sale, and still get amazing results :)
