TM balling webinar synopsis

[ddarkz]

I had two of GHL, must admit they never gave me any issues!

[BlueTang<3]

I am gonna agree I shoulda bought a ghl but I am a succer for fancy things anyhow ill stop derailing the thread.

Should pick up salts next week and then well know how it all works, geting excited to not have to deal with my ca reactor and its leaks

[Ron99]

The Vertex dosers have been fine since their firmware update a while back. And they have a two year warranty as well Also, they are the easiest doser to program I have ever used.

[Aqua-Digital]

Originally Posted by Ron99

The Vertex dosers have been fine since their firmware update a while back. And they have a two year warranty as well Also, they are the easiest doser to program I have ever used.

So you argue about spending on decent salts but buy an expensive doser to dose those cheap salts to run your tank?

[Ron99]

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

So you argue about spending on decent salts but buy an expensive doser to dose those cheap salts to run your tank?

I argue about whether a "brand" name salt is better or necessary vs. food grade etc. Using "lab grade" salts is, in my opinion, a marketing exercise as most super high purity lab grade chemicals are intended for very precise uses such as analytical chemistry work where a 0.05% deviation in purity can throw your results off. We don't need that level of precision or purity for our uses. If I would be comfortable putting it on or in my own body, I'm comfortable putting it in my tank. I'm not saying the TM salts are bad, just that for some people, other more affordable options also exist and can work just as well. Saving money on salts or other items where I can let's me apply that to the equipment budget for a quality doser or skimmer etc.

[Aqua-Digital]

The saving once you have gone to all that effort will be very little if any and the salt is the lifeblood to your corals, for me not a risk to take.

Yes of course branded salts are a marketing product, just as the salts you buy are also. The name does not put the price up, whats in it and whats gone into it to make it balanced for you does.

[Ron99]

Well, I don't have time to run a spreadsheet and financial analysis right now but from what I've seen of many (not all, but many) additives and supplements, the costs add up to a great deal over time and the savings can likewise add up over time.

As for the whole issue of balanced dosing, I'm not disputing the principal but I will also suggest that I don't think it's even possible to completely "balance" your dosing as each system will be different depending on size, livestock, livestock types and various rates of consumption of a wide range of different elements by different types of corals or algae or clams etc.

Just my thoughts on it all. Plenty of people over the years seem to get by perfectly well and have stunning reef tanks with nothing more than regular water changes and perhaps regular two or three part dosing or running a calcium reactor etc.