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#1
11-13-2012, 07:59 PM
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And ya, I tested a fresh batch to well beyond 450ppm calcium. 
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#2
11-13-2012, 08:08 PM
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I am using my first bucket (my first one was IO) and the values are always on the mark (atleast that's what my API kit says). Then again I only check calc and alk. Initially when I mix it, alk is well above 13 but after the solution is mixed for like 24hours or less, it goes to around 11dkh which is written on the label. No clarity issue or anything. And I use tapwater :P
Well since my tank is only 20 gallon and I do 2-3 gallon wc every two weeks (alk decreases to 9-10), this bucket is going to run me over a year so till then, I can be happy I guess  And all my corals are doing great, good polyp extension and good growth on montis and birdnest. I am the odd one out over here 
__________________
You wouldn't want to see my tank. I don't use fancy equipment and I am a noob 
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#3
11-13-2012, 08:40 PM
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I have been using it since I started my tank, I have not had any of the problems all of you are having. I use a 245 gph pump in a 5 gal bucket with a small heater. I keep a mixed batch in a blue water jug with a heater and 2 small water pumps. I have never had it cloud my tank nor have I noticed any particles in the water.
I tested my calc once, it was about 450. All the corals I have added are happy and growing well. Now reef crystals..I started a QT before my DT and the water was cloudy for 2 weeks. There was a lot of debris in the water, I had to use vinegar to clean the gunk out of my buckets and even the syringe for my refractometer. (after making one batch)
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Lynn 75 gal Starphire front and sides with a 43 gal sump/refuge reef.
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#4
11-14-2012, 08:08 AM
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I'm pretty sure this was the salt I used to initially start up my tank. Scratch that, not pretty sure, 100% sure. I still have one of the empty buckets right here that I store filter socks in until it's time to wash them (love that easy to open lid!). The bucket says it can make 225 gallons of 1.026 water, but if I remember correctly, it took over 2 full buckets to get my water up to level. I also remember that my tank looked like milk for a week. Some of that was due to the sand of course, but since I added sand and rock first, and then took 3 days filling it with R/O water, it wasn't nearly that cloudy until the salt went in.
Looking back at my earliest tests right after the tank was filled in April, before i had any corals in it or was dosing anything, my dKH was 10.5, and my calcium was 520 (never tested magnesium). My first couple of water changes were with salinity as well, and it irritated me to no end to find the water still cloudy after 8 hours of mixing with a powerhead. The water in my tank would be cloudy for almost a full day after the water change too. My general rule is that I don't like to use anything that doesn't turn mostly clear within 20 minutes to half an hour of mixing, so I switched back to using D-D H2Ocean after the salinity was used up. It's on the pricey side, and made even pricier as I seem to need more cups of it to get the right salinity than something like instant ocean, but it's 90% clear within 15 minutes of mixing, and it's levels are all exactly what I try to dose to anyway. When I was trying to replicate reefbuilders 'Ecoreef One' tank while my house was still under construction, I used H2Ocean for 100% weekly water changes on a 5 gallon tank, and the corals never seemed irritated or stressed.
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#5
06-02-2013, 07:33 PM
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I am on my first and last pail. I mixed it before using any. I thought I did a good job with that. I never tested the water when I started with this salt. Now at the end of the pail I tested the new mix and got a 540 calcium with Hanna Checker. I checked the mix only because I got an over 600 on display tank with the Hanna Checker. I have not been dosing Calcium. I am switching back to Reefers Best, and will watch more closely.
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