Oceanic salt mix testing results...

[bcarleton]

I just mixed my first batch of Oceanic Salt. Heres what I got.

Gravity 1.025
Calcium 520-540 (it took 27 drops on the API test kit which is one higher
than they have on the chart)
Alk 10 dKH
pH 8.4

did not test ntrate, nitrite, or phos. Waiting on my Mag test kit to come in, dam holiday shipping.

Alot better than what I got with IO where the Alk was way low, like 4. And the pH was pushing 10. I had to play with that water a good bit before using it.

 

[DaveK]

When you say you tested your first batch, how long did you wait after the salt dissolved before you did your test?

Usually you want the water to circulate about 24 hours before you do final testing. This makes sure everything is in proper solution, and the readings you get are good.

 

[Eric]

+1 DaveK

Another problem with that test is the mix is not always the same, if you have a bucket of salt that makes 200 gal and you make 20 separate, 10 gallon batches of saltwater it is possible you will have several different readings. Since every cup of salt you scoop will not have the exact amount of each ingredient used to make up the salt. Some ingredients may tend to sink to the bottom other to the top.

In most cases I am sure it's minimal but the mixture can vary. It may be better to make 4 separate gallons of each mix to get a more accurate result. Maybe easier to just stir the bucket thoroughly to make sure it's mixed and nothing has settled.

Eric

 

[bcarleton]

On this batch with the Oceanic, the water has been at the 1.025 mark for over 24 hr. I put the last bit of salt in Tuesday morning and then tested gravity Wed morning. Wed nite was when did the cal, alk, pH. So basically the water had been stirring about 36 hrs when I did the tests.
I did only get the 25 gal bag of Oceanic salt. Was wanting to try it before buying something like the 90g jug. Plus, the 25 gal bag is good for me. I usually do 2-15gal water changes a month but a 10 and a 15 will be good.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I did some searching on Google and this seems to be somewhat normal, along with inconsistent and/or bad batches and poor quality control. I don't have an opinion either way, and have never used it, but this seems to be what many sites are saying.

 

[bcarleton]

Yeah, there were 2 reasons why I chose to try Oceanic. First is availablity. My LFS and PetSmart both carry it. The other was that after doing some searching I realized that no company is free of having bad days and putting out bad batches. The old Monday morning/ Friday night batches where no one wants to be at work. But I saw fewer issues with this brand than some others. Some other brands did seem more consistent but are either pricey or not easy for me to get a hold of. I only grabbed the 25g mix so I will need to purchase another bag in a month. I did not look, but I am sure that there is a batch ref number on the bag. I will try to find one that is not the same batch to try and get a fair comparison.

 

[tangerine3486]

I just picked up some Oceanic salt mix that was on sale but have not used it yet. How has it worked out for you?

 

[bcarleton]

I have been happy with it. After getting the 25 gal bag I went back for the 90 gal jug. The only other salt I have used to compare to is instant ocean. More consistent and mixes better than IO (my opnion). Since petsmart carries it fairly inexpensively I would recomend it.

 

[cbrownfish]

I use Oceanic myself. Instant Ocean consistently produced Ca of 320-360 and I got sick of dosing to get the batch in line before a water change. I highly recommend Oceanic.

 

[tangerine3486]

sweet. glad i picked it up. it was on sale at petco 1.50$ for a 5 gal bag

 

[bcarleton]

Holly crap that is a good deal!

 

[cbrownfish]

Not really that good of a deal. That is $60 for 200 gallon of mix. I just picked up a 200 gallon pail for 49.99+ tax.

 

[tangerine3486]

oh. well it really felt like a super deal

 

[cbrownfish]

 

[BLAKEJOHN]

I use Oceanic myself. Instant Ocean consistently produced Ca of 320-360 and I got sick of dosing to get the batch in line before a water change. I highly recommend Oceanic.

I use IORC and have had very consistant results over the past year and a half. CA is around 450 and ALK - 12 ish and MG - 1350
And @ 49.99 per 200gl box I just ordered 11 boxes

 

[rgfast]

what I'm reading from test of most pop. mix's is Oceanic cal 580 alk 8.5 mag 1650 . I beleive I like the IORC # better cal490 alk13 mag1440 guess thats why there more than 1 bran

 

[Kovu]

Hey i was wondering i just picked up a bucket of instan ocean salt it was only 34 dollars so is this good salt or not very good.

 

[BobBursek]

Here you go Kovu, you decide.
Synthetic Salt Mixes - Reef Central Online Community

 

[partypalooza5]

Heh. My local Petsmart messed up with their sale stickers so I got two 25g bags of Oceanic for something around 1.40 total!

 

[JJB103]

This is opening up an old thread, but I use the Oceanic brand and have had nothing but success with it. Now I've never had a wall-to-wall stocked reef so the levels never fluctuated much, but I've been noticing lately that the alk of my salt storage tank is low, around 7, after 24 hours of mixing at 1.026. I might start dosing it, because this could be a problem, in the long run, for coral growth. Any takers on this? I just want to make sure I am going in the right direction. Or should I try a different salt?