Probably the most thorough Salt Mix playlist on the internet! ➡ brs.li/BRStv_SaltMix_Playlist

I'm sure a lot of your viewers already know most of these things but it's still good to be reminded. After watching this I scrubbed out my mixing container that is cleaned semi regularly and white a bit of brown crud went down the drain instead of potentially in my tank after the next water change. Thanks!

@NinjaSushi2

2 жыл бұрын

All that is is mineral deposits from the a salt. It's your calcium, magnesium, etc.

Biggest mistake I hear people doing is adding salt water to refill the tank from evaporation

@saltyfrenchfry1025

4 жыл бұрын

ZomTom ooooh yeah that’s a big one

@NinjaSushi2

2 жыл бұрын

Ouch.

HUGE help, thanks so much guys!!

I laughed hard when Ryan said ... "that's a big difference" it was so fast lol

@thisoldnew4544

4 жыл бұрын

K

You forgot the most important fail. When doing the water change, do let the water get in your mouth when you start the siphon.

@Richmexicogdl

4 жыл бұрын

Ahahahah, true.

@followthemoney5452

4 жыл бұрын

😭😂

@whokilledmercy1497

4 жыл бұрын

🤤🤤

@NinjaSushi2

2 жыл бұрын

Love that dirty water.

OK, I’m gonna give away my age now. When I had a 55G in the ‘80’s they used under gravel filters which were run by air stones & air pumps/vibrators. I even had a piston pump that pumped air. I wonder if adding a stone would aid in mixing salt. Do they even still make air pumps? I kinda miss the clams releasing bubbles & Sponge Bob releasing air from his nose.

Great great for this video, I've just changed salts but I must be the exception to the rule. It was the salt that cause my problems.....Been using a certain salt for 3 years straight and recently started experiencing rtn to which I instinctively made a fresh batch of water and effectively did a double wc (30%), checked prams and alk was 6.1 I was perplexed, so I decided to check a freshly made batch from the latest bucket I had received.. BOOM! Alk 5.1 freshly mixed and left for 24 hours (same as I've done for the last 3 years) repeated the test and same result. Whilst thinking my water change would rectify most/any problem I was inadvertently exacerbating the situation. 🙈🙈🙈 it's not just ignorance or newbies that make newbie errors, Complacency is just as bad. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿💚❤🐠

Thanks for all of this info you're doing great

I have done almost all of these. A miracle my tank is 3 yrs running

Mixing salt without heating the water to the correct tank temperature deserves an honorable mention.

@jasonsupple9436

4 жыл бұрын

I mean, that really depends on the size of your tank/amount that you're changing. in a 150 gallon tank, a 5-10 gallon water change really won't do much.

@jacbuc1

4 жыл бұрын

Jason Supple i get what you’re saying but why would you change 5-10 gallons of water? I have a red sea reefer 450 thats 116 gallons, I have to change at least 20-30 gallons to make it worth it.

@dartdude2668

4 жыл бұрын

If the water I’m mixing is above 60 I don’t use a heater

@theholt2ic219

3 жыл бұрын

@@jasonsupple9436 yup i dont ever use a heater to mix salt in any of my tanks. I do 15 gallon water change in a 75G reef every 2-3 weeks. Never has my temps shifted far from my reef temp of 78F.

@davebaer8504

2 жыл бұрын

Agree. My procedure is: fill bin with water (damn cold well water with low Ph), drop in powerhead and heater, wait for temp to come up to ~78 and Ph to balance, mix in salt in 3 or 4 batches, wait 24 hours and test for salinity and adjust as needed. Waiting for temp and Ph to level gets me a much more consistent saltwater mix. If I don't wait I'll get much more precipitation and messed up params.

Great video guys.

Great video guys

As a new to marine, I think this is a good video

These videos make the hobby more interesting 👍🏾👍🏾

Thank you for this video, i was searching for the reason why my salinity would sway by 1-2ppm each week even with a Top-Off, point number 7 cleaining my refractometer was the problem, i cleaned it and took another test and instead of it being 1.026 it was actually 1.022! Shocked! Now i know the issue i can fix it :) Thanks BRS!

You guys are the best.

You need to check the ATI Absolute Ocean Liquid salt. 1.5 ltrs of bottle 1&2 to 22 ltrs of water instant mix.

Love their stuff. Totally reminds me of Jay and silent Bob

Awesome video. Thanks. You guys mentioned RO/DI water as being the 'staple of salt water systems'. I've been playing with a test tank.. using well water. I was SHOCKED at what precipated out.. and how much of it. Daaang. I assume it's calcium but who knows. Maybe someome here does? If anyone wants to see whats in my water, look for 'test tank with well water'. I used to have a tank back in the 90s.. and SO much has changed since then! For the better. Thanks for the vids

Awesome video❤️❤️❤️The salt debate is the same thing as in growing vegetables people think different nutrients matter when it’s all from the earth with different name brands lol salt is salt it’s coming from the same source, unless they get the salt from mars then it would matter lol🤣😂🤣

Your videos are awesome

In addition to #7 cleaning the pipette/dropper that sample water is collected from the tank in will also affect the reading. Either rinsing with rodi water after each use or filling and draining with sample water from tank a few times before using will stop this issue.

great video

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”

Awesome. Good rule always add chemical to water not water to chemical

Jebao slw20 fits a 44g brute trash can perfectly and the pump is cheap and super easy to clean... 🍻

don't add water to the salt makes me think of don't add milk before cerial. 🤣

I usually make 15g-20g a week. I have always add all the salt to around 10g rodi in the bucket while being mixed and my rodi making more water to the bucket. Never had a problem.

Ohhh steak for dinner... rare.. Great episode BRS many common mistakes. Its probably not the salt its the user. Get educated about the benefits and draws backs of various target DKH LVLS my fellow REEFERS... Thanks!!!

Guys, the stuff building up in your vessels isn't some mystery crud, as you wondered "whatever that is"... that is the components of the salt simply sedimenting on the bottom of the vessel of still water. That is exactly why your parameters dropped. Your parameters don't just drop for no reason during storage. It is physically impossible for you to lose the salt during storage, that isn't how anything works. It most likely simply didnt truly dissolve in the first place, and was simply floating around and thus why it was caught by your early readings. The ones that dont change parameters over time are also obviously going to be the ones that have no/less build-up in the storage vessels, because they are not having this issue.

See, this video helps. I use AquaForest Salt and i cannot, no matter what keep a stable DKh and the DKh in the specs can range from 7.4-8.2. I think maybe next time I will try the Brightwell Salt and see what happens.

I use sea 90. Works great. All natural. Fraction of the price of this manufactured stuff.

Good advice all around. Be careful with the word "Pandemic" gentlemen don't want to start a panic.👍

I just get some Mortons Table Salt and pour some in...aint had no problems

I mix my coral pro salt in RODI with a pump for 3-4 hrs, and then let it sit over night and shake it up in the morning and even then it still gets a tiny bit cloudy and doesn’t seem 100% fully dissolved, always worries me, but I haven’t had any issues, but still try n wait 36 hrs+ It sucks though when you don’t have enough premixed saltwater on hand and something goes wrong where you need to do a water change n trying to mix it as fast as u can. My new goal is to have twice what I need on-hand at any given time

you should add Aquaforest to your product testing. you guys could be suprised!

@dartdude2668

4 жыл бұрын

I tried the AF salt since I use there 3 part. I say It was ok but to expensive for me.

My biggest mistake with salt is not doing any research on a salt before choosing it. I would say choose a synthetic salt over a natural salt with similar parameters. It's worth the extra few bucks. It mixes faster, leaves no residue, doesn't need to be constantly heated and circulated, and difficult to screw up mixing it.

@apdroidgeek1737

10 ай бұрын

im pretty sure all salt made for reef are synthetic

@TripedalTroductions

10 ай бұрын

@apdroidgeek1737 No there are some salts made by seawater evaporation ponds. I'm sure there is some processing after but much less than synthetic, but that's what I meant by natural vs synthetic. I don't even have my reef tank anymore. God I miss it.

Problems that occur like, thinking you did not add your salt to your RODI, but you did, then you add it again. Now double strength seawater and even in large tanks will quickly kill everything. Or thinking you put in your salt and you didn’t, and your adding pure RODI. Always recheck tank water and the water you are about to pour in.

Happy birthday

"Pandemic problem...." Did they know a year ago?! Haha

@gabrielcodina5466

3 жыл бұрын

Lmao ikr!!!!!!

Pump recommendations for mixing?

Do you need ro/di water for fish only tank? Thanks.

RS Coral Pro grew corals great, USED FOR YEARS..BUT I SOAKED AND SCRUBBED MY BIN WITH VINEGAR AND THAT CRUD IS SOOO HARD to get off.. obviously it doesnt HURT anything if I used it for years.. but upping my game with this new tank and I HATE SCRUBBING & THE THOUGHT OF THAT GUNK going in my tank. Tropic Marin SOOO CLEAN. You start wanting growth so fast...but you get to a point where you know its going to grow to a point you want it to actually Slow & STOP. So slow, clean & steady..is actually nice.

What type of pump do I use to mix

in washing live rock, can u pressure wash it with tap water then soak it back in salt water?

How often to change the water and? I have to start with a ten gal

what is 24:13? No expanation, just popped up and I am assuming the darker the worse and scary because I use the darkest one which is IO reef crystals but hard to pay more when I can get it for 30 bucks for a 5 gallon bucket! I also wanted to know If salt is supposed to get moist in the container? If I grab a handful can easily make it stick together. I used to store in my garage and I live in Florida so I thought maybe the humidity was the problem so after ordered the last bucket it did the same thing even though it was stored inside.

Question about cleaning your storage vessel. What ratio of Citric Acid do you use? Would you use this if you couldn't physically wipe out the container afterwards? I have a 100 gallon water storage tank and can see some gunk on the bottom and rinse it our occasionally but i have never used anything, and really never gotten it fully clean.

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

Typically a 5% solution will handle the tough buildup, so something like 3/4 cups of BRS Citric Acid to 1 gallon of RODI water. Honestly, for our large 100gal+ storage bins we just dump a bunch in there, let it churn with a pump for maybe 24hrs, then drain it all out. We fill and drain again to rinse, then back in business. Since we use Tropic Marin Pro, which has been known to store very well with little to no precipitate buildup, we don't need to do this but maybe 2-3x per year.

Don't forget to calibrate your refractometer closer to your desired salinity ! Specially if you live in Temperate environments and live alone temp swings will throw it off.. If you feel the need to raise salinity use the evaporation method turn off auto top. Then top with salt water you have pre-mixed to the current level or desired level but make sure you do it daily. Clean the auto top off sensors and or float valves...Test again with calibration. Rinse repeat etc. I don't keep corals yet I intend to. But this Tank is no traditional so taking my time, fish are doing great though. Pair of clowns, A Tail spot blenny, Yellow watchman and a tiger pistol shrimp, in a 35 gallon tall Hex No Sump, Fluval G3, Hang on skimmer and, a hang on refugium that lives a tiny automated calcium reactor..with a continuous duty peristalic pump.

Experience has taught me to choose one and use it. A snap decision to imrove things with a suddenly popular magic salt is a fine way to lose specimens.

@aggzish

Жыл бұрын

That's not experience , that's head burying combined with guess work and relying on luck. There could be 100 products more suitable for your tank but you don't want to spend anytime researching it. So you just choose one So will stick with what you've got (the chosen one) and the problems you may currently experience as a direct result of an improper product match up. If your choice was made because of lots of extensive research on each product and what your planning on keeping then fair enough. But just choosing one is the least scientific and most uncontrolled approach

I disagree on #13. IO, RC, Corallife and a few others tend to mix with extremely low Mg and that caused me a lot of headaches that cleared up within a couple of days of raising Mg to normal

@t.lledsmar6052

2 жыл бұрын

Right, but if you use the same salt every time and then switch I can't blame the salt, as a Reefer you have to know what you are doing with each change. So if I was using coralife regularly and dosing MG, then pick up a red sea and suddenly my MG is through the roof... I just can't blame the salt

iQuatics Ocean Reef Pro Coral Salt Isn't listed in your salt water tests

👍👍👍👍

Red sea sitting at 149.9 🤣 savage

Brute bucket with submergible light on the bottom will at least give you a good eye of sight to tell if it’s clear or still foggy

@aggzish

Жыл бұрын

Mount an eye chart at bottom of bucket. Could seal with resin if needed

But do the parameters drop once added to the tank similarly to if you store the premade saltwater for extended periods??

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

I'd say that is an apples to oranges type of comparison in this case and not really related. In almost every tank (especially those with coral) there is going to be a natural depletion of Ca/Alk/Mg simply due to consumption and uptake. The key here is to choose a salt mix that closely matches the levels you are targeting in your tank so that if/when you do water changes, there is not a major fluctuation or difference between the new saltwater and the tank water.

No matter what salt I use I have salt residue in the bottom 8 tablespoon is killing my brine shrimp, 3 tablespoons of marine salt is still leaving reside in bottom of container

better saltwater mixing, pump or wavemaker? thx

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

Really anything that moves water will work. Most of us will just drop a powerhead in the bucket and let it mix :)

For some reason i gotta calibrate my refractometer everyday since it always loses the calibration i wonder why. Also ive noticed that the metal screw that holds the lense gets rusty after only a few weeks of use.

@mxr7586

3 жыл бұрын

Rinse it off in fresh water after using it.

@jamjammantesso1345

3 жыл бұрын

How do you calibrate it??

13. I currently suspecting that I have a bad bucket with my Red Sea Coral Pro, documented a little bit on my channel. First I thought it was just stratification (which it was) but after 3 attempt changing water with that bucket with bad result, I sent a ICP test, didn't show up anything. But every. single. time. I tried to use the salt from that bucket my corals react really badly. I don't why but I want to know. I suggest to Red Sea if they want a sample of the salt so we can get a response I also give them my ICP test. Waiting for their reply. For now i'm using the blue Bucket which anyways, have the alkalinity i stick with.

@bnkohrn

4 жыл бұрын

Aqua Splendor You didn’t properly mix it in the dryer. It would have tumbled better and mixed thoroughly. 😜

BRS: Why was tropic marin not shown in the price per gallon breakdown?

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

That info comes from this video. To see all of the salt mixes that we tested and the price per gallon results, skip to the end of the video linked below and it's all listed in one chart. kzread.info/dash/bejne/hmqY1JN-cpO5o5s.html

I’ve been adding water to my salt for years with no issues.

Have you guys ever try to use natural sea salt

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

Actually, many salt brands in the hobby are just dehydrated ocean water. So essentially, they are natural sea salts :)

What is a dkh?

Can I search by dkh on the website? An easy way to find the stats

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

Right now no, but great idea!

Do you guys have a series like these 'top mistakes' geared towards those new to the hobby? Some of the terms you use in these videos are foreign to those that are new. Thanks!

@BRStv

3 жыл бұрын

We don't, but I think that could be an episode in itself 🙂

Where can I find a good pump to mix salt in my 50 gallon Rubbermaid? Any name brand you recommend?

@BRStv

3 жыл бұрын

Tunze or Hydor both make some really affordable and good pumps for mixing stations 🙂

I can tell you this. Fritz blue uses almost 2 x's what it says to get to 1026! You think ur saving money but you are not> I am going to check out brightwell aquatics and see if that works for me and my parameters!. I used to use reef crystal but switched about a year ago and cant really remember if it was as it said but It got clumpy and moist and took forever to mix! Fritz is not right on alkalinity either! tEst much higher which makes me think I did something wrong since I put nearly double in but unless my hanna checker is broken but I would think my corals would show that and they look fine and its recently calibrated!

I'm a newbie and MAN, You guys use so many acronyms! I'm constantly stopping videos to try and figure out what the hell is being said. SHEESH.

might be a stupid question, but if a salt drops in a bucket wont it also drop in an aquarium?

@jrs277

4 жыл бұрын

I was looking for this. I've used IO for 3 years, dKH was easy to maintain with 10% WC every week. Just dosing a little bit. Recently, my LFS didn't have it in stock. So, I got the RS coral pro. My dKH is dropping to fast. Kalkwasser can't keep it up, and now I am dosing baking soda constantly to bring it up. Looking at the graph 11:40, now it makes sense.

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

Essentially, if you have Alk/Cal consumption in your tank and are not dosing anything to keep them up (2-part/ Kalk/CaRx/etc.) regardless of the salt you use, the parameters will drop in the tank. The goal here is that we choose a salt mix that closely matches the Alk/Cal levels that you maintain in your tank, so that when you use the salt for a water change there is little to no fluctuation to correct for. That in mind, if you wanted to store your salt mix for use later it's best practice to choose a salt that will maintain your target levels during storage so you don't have to correct for it before a water change.

Can unmixed salt go bad after you have had it a while or gets old? I just mixed up some reef crystals and dkh was only 6.2! Its been in a sealed un opened bag in my hot garage in florida, could that have this effect? I am also wondering if it was old when sold to me! I got it off amazon and never will again! They recently went up in price but was selling 160 gallons for 37 bucks! I bought one that has separate bags this time that says 200 gallons.

@BRStv

2 жыл бұрын

Check this video out kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGpsydp7h5Tbibw.html

ESV is the best salt. Discuss.

OK so I've been using reef crystal for years and have had good results. But this year 2023 June the reef crystals are now the same price as the black bucket........... I bought the black bucket... I'll definitely see results and will go slow. Did I mess up???? We will see...

@Moodster93

10 ай бұрын

Results??

Can you use distilled water or purified water to mix your saltwater?

@BRStv

2 жыл бұрын

You can, however you'll find that over time, having your own RODI system is going to be MUCH more cost effective and slightly higher quality water in most cases.

My salt became one big clump in the bucket. Any tips on how to make it powder like again?

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

You may be able to chisel it out, but you'll never be able to get it to a fine powder again. Moisture is something that gets into dry salt mix rather easily. Specifically, the magnesium component pulls moisture from the surrounding air very easily.

My tank is new. Can I let the power head mix the salt in the tank water.

@BRStv

2 жыл бұрын

If there is nothing living in your tank, you can certainly mix the initial water in the aquarium itself. Just make sure to add the salt slowly.

I had a bucket of Seachem salt that mixed like shit, smelled like pee, and Suflur. It totally killed stuff in my tank.

How do I make the water that I add the salt to?

@BRStv

2 жыл бұрын

RODI water is what we recommend using. This video should help answer any questions you have on RODI :) kzread.info/dash/bejne/da2YtKaMlKzAdMo.html

Does anybody know who the artist is that did those prints in the background?

@A1waysWright

4 жыл бұрын

Bump

@LJsReef

4 жыл бұрын

I was wondering the same, again. I looked them up before. Alls I know is they're pretty exspensive.

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

We got them from Josh Pork Sandwich. He travels to many of the reef trade shows selling his photography and artwork. Here is a link to his Facebook page where he has more info. facebook.com/jpszoas/

Any good salts for mangroves?

@BRStv

2 жыл бұрын

We're currently using Tropic Marin Pro Reef on all of the tanks here, including our mangrove tank

why would salts lose their alk and cal in storage? would they not also lose them in the tank (besides by corals using them)???

@BRStv

3 жыл бұрын

Precipitation in storage is the reason why you may see a drop. In our salt testing series, we learned that some brands of salt can be stored without flow and heat, but some need the flow and heat to avoid that precipitation issue. The reason we don't see this in the main display aquarium is that we have flow and heat in there at all times :)

@ReRe-yl6dq

2 жыл бұрын

@@BRStv so as long as you have a mixing pump in your storage tank running 24/7, you shouldnt have any more loss than you would in a tank?

#10 fail, storing mixed saltwater too long. OK, so if I store saltwater for any length of time, and the parameters begin to degrade, how is that different than putting the saltwater in an aquarium? If the parameters degrade in storage, won't they also degrade in the aquarium? Therefore wouldn't it be prudent to use a salt that does not degrade quickly?

@BRStv

3 жыл бұрын

Great question, let me help clarify. As we did more tests, we found that all salts can be stored long term, but with one caveat. Some of the salt mixes needed to be heated and circulated during storage to avoid issues with precipitation. This would also explain why these salt mixes don't degrade in an aquarium environment where there is both heat and flow.

"Pandemic problem" 16:54 Wow, you called it.

What is DKH?

@BRStv

3 жыл бұрын

It's a measurement of carbonate hardness, or more commonly referred to as alkalinity This is a great video if you're not familiar with alkalinity in a reef tank 🙂 kzread.info/dash/bejne/fZmpk5Sve720iLA.html

So at roughly 12 minutes your talking about storing mixed salt. If it goes bad after being mixed wouldn't this be bad for my fish? Example i mix the salt, and then use it as per instructions. Do i have to worry about the salt in my tank now?

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

The issue is storing salt without water movement or if the salt isn't mixed for enough time. Since there is always water movement in the aquarium itself, this isn't an issue.

@norractrebor9820

4 жыл бұрын

@@BRStv thank you for clarifying. If the issue is stagnant water, what if i put a pump or something to keep it moving?

@norractrebor9820

4 жыл бұрын

Heres why i ask. I have a 40g breeder, and a 55g heavy duty trashcan. I want to make it so that i can cycle the water from one to another giving me more water for the tank thats actively in use. So it will be a 40g+55g=95g tank. Ive never done it but it makes sense right?

How much cup salt I should put on 3 feet aquarium

@BRStv

3 жыл бұрын

1/2 cup per gallon is a good starting point. Definitely test salinity before using it as you may have to add a touch more depending on your salinity level goals.

For #10 "storing" how was it stored? In an inert container with a constant running pump (also made of inert materials) I see no reason for the chemistry to change at all. If y'all did store it with constant flow and in inert containers, why did it change chemistry?

@yibofan6855

2 жыл бұрын

A lot could happen. It maybe reacted with CO2 in the air or microbe activities.

Salt for fish only Can I use salt without trace elements?? 🤔

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

For a fish only tank, you can use just about any saltwater aquarium salt. You don't have to be as concerned about things like calcium and alkalinity when you don't have any corals :)

what is dkh?

@BRStv

2 жыл бұрын

dKH is a measurement of the concentration of carbonate in our aquarium's water. You'll normally hear reefers refer to dKH as alkalinity. If you want a more in-depth, but still basic overview of alkalinity in a reef tank, check out this video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/oqtqsbeznqvcecY.html If you want to really nerd out and get into the science, this video is for you: kzread.info/dash/bejne/Yox7zsOjgsnHprA.html

I think this is the first BRSTV video I've seen where it doesn't feel like Ryan is yelling at me.

So which salt do you all use in house?

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

We use the Tropic Marin Pro Reef

on this episode of AskBRStv Peregine Took and gandalf the brown in the green hat, answer some salty questions ...

Tropic Marin is the best by far ! ;)

@jpruitt546

4 жыл бұрын

Mihai A That’s going to be a neg. 5 crashed tanks on my local forums including mine and 3 ICP test3 that will make you cry says otherwise.

"pandemic problem" LOL yall are profits

Guys instead of paying premium for cheap chinese blue tresure salt repacked in eastern europe check ati absolute ocean, this is the 2020 salt, all the rest is past...

I choose Fritz salt because the Girl at the Fritz booth at reefaplozza was really hot!

i spy joshporksandwich paintings?

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

You sure do!

What is dkh?

@BRStv

4 жыл бұрын

It's a unit of measure for alkalinity :)

" A Pandemic Problem "