Table Salt OK For Marine Aquarium?

[Kevin8888]

sounds like you made some pretty sweet setups! were your 10% water changes during the tank cycle or was there some other reason you did them? in other words; did you do 10% changes as maintenance of just to get the tanks stable in the beginning?

During Cycle, as I used uncured liverock to obtain the most number of free detravours/micro inverts, as I've always found these to be very helpful in keeping a system clean, as well as acting as suplimental live foods for the corals/fish. Though during cycle I may have done the 10% changes more frequently depending on the tank, as I again wanted to keep the ammonia down so it wouldn't kill off the free live things.

I would also occationally do one if something big died (coral or fish), as this can cause a big spike as its not part of the "normal"

semi-unrelated side note: i don't know about saltwater fish but people trying to quickly grow out some freshwater fish do huge water changes to make them grow faster. some fish are known to excrete pheromones that inhibit their growth. don't know if that's true for salt.

I don't believe this is the case, as you know, salties grow in the ocean... which is pretty damn big right? haha, so as a result releasing hormones to slow growth wouldn't make a difference, unlike a fresh water pond or small lake, because in the ocean these hormones would just get sucked away. My evidence for this? If your system is healthy, and you feed the right ammounts, captive marines can easily obtain their maximum adult sizes, and have even been recorded to exceed the maximum size of their wild counterparts. That said, if your system isn't big enough for your fish, then they wont likely live nearly as long, or be as healthy, as marines generally need alot more room to swim then fresh (again, ocean is big LOL).

 

[boldtogether]

who's arguing? we're having a peaceful conversation (for the most part). we're weighing the pros and cons of a home brew vs commercial salt. no big deal, right?

it's 5X cheaper to make your own salt, that's the point.

if you have a lot of water to change the price can add up quickly. if you have the extra scratch to buy the commercial stuff, do it, but i'm sure there are some people that would rather spend their money on other things. it's a personal preference i guess.

I could not agree more.^^
Geez, I asked this very same question and didn't hardly get any response. I can bake cookies( and brownies), I think a salt mix wouldn't be very hard to do. In fact, I have found that the main ingredient to tap water treatment/conditioner is so cheap, why doesn't everyone use the crystals, 8oz treats like 45,000 gallons.....the point is, if its cost keeping someone from the saltwater side of the hobby, why not give innovation a try. Unfortunately, my experience with saltwater enthusiasts has been somewhat elitist. I just get the, "because that's the way it is, always has been and always will be.." response to questions just like yours. I have had ridiculous results from major water changes and steady, stable feeding regimen with my freshwater. I don't see why a salt water fish only set-up couldn't be just as simple. I am not convinced that it takes all this science. Basic elements are basic.

 

[Purevil21]

I could not agree more.^^
Geez, I asked this very same question and didn't hardly get any response. I can bake cookies( and brownies), I think a salt mix wouldn't be very hard to do. In fact, I have found that the main ingredient to tap water treatment/conditioner is so cheap, why doesn't everyone use the crystals, 8oz treats like 45,000 gallons.....the point is, if its cost keeping someone from the saltwater side of the hobby, why not give innovation a try. Unfortunately, my experience with saltwater enthusiasts has been somewhat elitist. I just get the, "because that's the way it is, always has been and always will be.." response to questions just like yours. I have had ridiculous results from major water changes and steady, stable feeding regimen with my freshwater. I don't see why a salt water fish only set-up couldn't be just as simple. I am not convinced that it takes all this science. Basic elements are basic.

I'm sorry if you feel that the responses given have been elitist, but one word really jumped out at me from your post. Innovation. Your asking why we don't give innovation a try, but that's what we are doing. What you guys are talking about doing is what people did during the infancy of the hobby. Then they gradually got into dosing, and mixing their own salts. Then the hobby worked to achieve the commercially available salts you see today. There is a reason the products used changed over time, as it was stated toward the beginning of this thread, "Before marine mixes, we had to use plain salt. The results were washed out colors, high mortality rates, and infrequent spawnings." That was posted by Oddball, and it's a dead on observation. Yes you know how to bake cookies, but you also know the proper ingredients to mix up a batch of cookies. I seriously doubt you, or almost anyone on this forum, knows the exact recipe to concoct water that is a true reflection of nature. That is why I trust my livestock to the marine and micro biologists that formulate the expensive salts. The point you are overlooking is that saltwater tanks with thousands of dollars of livestock are not uncommon, are you going to risk the health of that kind of investment to save a few bucks? I surely won't, and most aquarist won't. If you want to, I don't think anyone is saying it's impossible to do. I think the point being made is stick with what is tried and proven in the industry sometimes.

 

[Wiggles92]

I'm sorry if you feel that the responses given have been elitist, but one word really jumped out at me from your post. Innovation. Your asking why we don't give innovation a try, but that's what we are doing. What you guys are talking about doing is what people did during the infancy of the hobby. Then they gradually got into dosing, and mixing their own salts. Then the hobby worked to achieve the commercially available salts you see today. There is a reason the products used changed over time, as it was stated toward the beginning of this thread, "Before marine mixes, we had to use plain salt. The results were washed out colors, high mortality rates, and infrequent spawnings." That was posted by Oddball, and it's a dead on observation. Yes you know how to bake cookies, but you also know the proper ingredients to mix up a batch of cookies. I seriously doubt you, or almost anyone on this forum, knows the exact recipe to concoct water that is a true reflection of nature. That is why I trust my livestock to the marine and micro biologists that formulate the expensive salts. The point you are overlooking is that saltwater tanks with thousands of dollars of livestock are not uncommon, are you going to risk the health of that kind of investment to save a few bucks? I surely won't, and most aquarist won't. If you want to, I don't think anyone is saying it's impossible to do. I think the point being made is stick with what is tried and proven in the industry sometimes.

Exactly. I have a study save some place that gives a breakdown of the components in saltwater; there are quite a few different things that are required for long-term success.

 

[Purevil21]

Long-term success is the goal huh wiggles. I even find that switching up the brands of salt works well over time. Each brand uses a slightly different mix, some have more calcium or mag than others. Switching between all of them can help keep things balanced, tip I learned from a guy who's been setting up tanks professionally for nearly two decades.

 

[ScatMan]

lots of people are already making their own salt with great results long term. those that have corals, inverts and the like that need to absorb the trace minerals directly from the water have been adding commercial supplements like 'kent marine essentials'. even with the supplements, it's still easy and still cheaper. it's tried and proven, depending on how much evidence you need to be satisfied.

 

[Wiggles92]

Long-term success is the goal huh wiggles. I even find that switching up the brands of salt works well over time. Each brand uses a slightly different mix, some have more calcium or mag than others. Switching between all of them can help keep things balanced, tip I learned from a guy who's been setting up tanks professionally for nearly two decades.

Long-term success is definitely the goal. For a first-timer, a commercial marine mix is the way to go; there's no sense in introducing extra variables when you're learning how this all works. I want to try making my own mix at some point, but I still need to find that study in order to determine the feasibility of it.

Switching brands every now and then has worked pretty well for me, too. I plan on alternating between Instant Ocean and Coralife while also dosing certain supplements accordingly, especially PurpleUp and a strontium supplement since I've used that combination to fight off nuisance algae with rapid coralline algae growth.

lots of people are already making their own salt with great results long term. those that have corals, inverts and the like that need to absorb the trace minerals directly from the water have been adding commercial supplements like 'kent marine essentials'. even with the supplements, it's still easy and still cheaper. it's tried and proven, depending on how much evidence you need to be satisfied.

Yes, that's true, but I certainly wouldn't recommend a first-timer giving it a try. One must also take into consideration the elements, trace minerals, etc. that are already present in their water when they make their own salt mix should they choose to forgo an RO/DI unit, so that's just another variable that needs considered.

I would like to look at these links for homemade mixes as I would like to try some of them in one of my smaller aquariums.

 

[boldtogether]

I am definitely new to salt water, but not to fish keeping. I read and study this hobby daily. I realize that a tried and true method is probably better preached than one of apathy toward a newbie, but this elitist feeling I get comes from the younger crowd. Should I use rock salt instead of a synthesized mix? I don't know. I don't buy the watered down water treatments anymore. Why? To save a few pennies? Nah. It's to save a few pennies and thumb my nose at the "name brand" attitude so prevalent in our culture. Those companies out there that make mixes for the hobby make it for the money, period. They claim the best (they all do) and they market it. We little guys, at some time along the way in the hobby buy into this idea that "I got to have the best" and it snowballs from hobby to obsession. We have all done it. That is why we want to make our points. We are passionate, maybe even obsessed. Up to $80 for a 200 gal. bucket of "pro salt"? That my friends is marketing. Buying it because it say "pro", that's obsession.

 

[Otherone]

lots of people are already making their own salt with great results long term. those that have corals, inverts and the like that need to absorb the trace minerals directly from the water have been adding commercial supplements like 'kent marine essentials'. even with the supplements, it's still easy and still cheaper. it's tried and proven, depending on how much evidence you need to be satisfied.

I'd like to see the math on this to prove it's cheaper. You can add trace all you want but that is really nothing in the grand scheme of the Alkaline PH.I'm yet to hear of saltwater fishes living in in a base or acidic PH conditions - meaning I haven't heard of it not impossible. Perhaps use baking Soda and driveway Mag salt - yet to hear of anything living in large amouts of this stuff.

 

[ScatMan]

I'd like to see the math on this to prove it's cheaper. You can add trace all you want but that is really nothing in the grand scheme of the Alkaline PH.I'm yet to hear of saltwater fishes living in in a base or acidic PH conditions - meaning I haven't heard of it not impossible. Perhaps use baking Soda and driveway Mag salt - yet to hear of anything living in large amouts of this stuff.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1685759&page=22

you can also check out the links i posted earlier. the price will vary depending on how much the salts cost you locally but it's always cheaper to diy.