Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart Bertram D-D
The brown deposit that you are describing is actually composed of small amounts of insoluble material, mostly ferric oxide which is added to the salt with one of boosting additives and is completely inert. In fact it has the potential to act as a flocculent, binding any soluble organic polymers and orthophosphate so that it can be easily removed by the skimmer thus contributing to the quality of the water.
As people have commented negatively on the aesthetics of this occasional deposit we have now changed the supply of the additive so that this is no longer present.
As far as the mix ratio is concerned - the actual mix should be 39.6g / lt whereas a check that we made with some Tropic Marine Pro required 41.2g / lt to give the same salinity.
Remember that the mix is done by weight/volume of water and so to measure in cups per gallon is very rough as it depends on how dry the salt is and how fine/compacted it is.
The correct mix according to my calculation is 1lb of salt to 3.025 US gallons of water to get a salinity of 35.5ppt or an SG at 25C of 1.025.
Remember that the most important thing is how good the tank looks and how healthy the corals appear to be. Do not fall into the trap of the pilot who flies into a mountain because his instruments tell him he is high enough to miss it - use your eyes and observe the differences in your tank.
Cheers
Stuart
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Thanks for the great reply, you answered all my questions. And my tank is looking great.