[nige]

3^ ED ULTIMA

Seachem Reefsalt

Hawaii Marine Institute’s research: Seachem scored quite well for calcium in the Hawaii Marine Institute tests. The calcium carbonate, magnesium and chlorine levels were the lowest recorded, and the buffering capacity was also rather low compared to the other salts in Hawaii’s analyses.

At over 90 times greater than the concentration found in natural seawater, nitrate levels were by far the highest recorded in the independent tests.

However, ammonia levels were among the lowest. At 8.81, the pH was rather high. On the plus side, sodium, potassium, strontium, sulphur and boron all scored particularly well – almost matching the levels seen in natural seawater.

Our tests: Our rather more basic tests revealed a pH of 9.0, a calcium level of 362ppm, the lowest recorded, and a magnesium level of 960ppm, which is slightly below average. The alkalinity however, was pretty much spot on.

We found Reefsalt a little slow to dissolve and there was some residue left in the vessel after mixing.

Seachem reef salt comes in a special heavy duty, hermetically resealable bucket. A great idea for keeping the salt fresh. The only drawback is that it takes a bit of wrestling, some brute force and a sturdy screwdriver to get the lid off.

Size/cost: Seachem salt is available in the following sizes: 100 l. £19.95, 200 l. £29.80 bucket, 600 l. £79.95 bucket and 3,800 l. box £399.95. Price per litre varies between 9.5pp per litre.

Verdict
> What’s Hot
Ideal alkalinity. Resealable bucket
> What’s Not
Low in calcium and magnesium
Mixes to a high pH
Slow to dissolve and leaves some residue
Price 6/10
Value for money 5/10
Composition 6/10
Nutrient content 6/10
Dissolvability 6/10
Overall 6/10


Red Sea Salt

oral Reef Red Sea Salt is made largely from natural salt, rather than from laboratory mixtures of the constituent chemicals. Red Sea claim that in their tests, this results in a significant difference in coral growth over pharmaceutical grade salts.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a by-product of desalination plants. It is produced in Israel especially for the aquarium trade. It has some trace elements added to enable it to produce water of the correct composition.

Hawaii Marine Institute’s research: In the independent tests, Red Sea salt came second only to Tropic Marin for producing water of the desired salinity, but it was still around 5ppt (grams per litre) lower than it should’ve been at a little under 30ppt.

Sodium, magnesium, strontium and boron levels exceeded that found in natural seawater, and all other levels were fairly close to those seen in nature. Calcium carbonate levels, however, were the second lowest recorded.
Nutrient wise, Red Sea salt was found to be particularly good, scoring very well for phosphate, nitrate and ammonia. It mixed to a pH of 8.69.

Our tests: Our tests saw the Red Sea salt mix to a pH of 8.4 (which along with Kent Marine was the best we recorded), and we found just 0.2ppm of nitrate. The magnesium and calcium levels were both very good, and the alkalinity was well above average – but a little higher than you’d see on a natural reef.

Size/costs: 1kg/30 l. £4.90, 2kg/60 l. £8.95, 4kg/120 l. £16.50, 6.33kg/190 l. £22.95, 20kg/600 l. £67.95, 25kg/750 l. £84.95 (bucket), and 40kg/1200 l. £129.95. Price ranges from 11p-16.5p per litre.

Verdict
> What’s Hot
Very low in nutrients
> What’s Not
Low in calcium carbonate according to independent research
Price 8/10
Value for money 8/10
Composition 8/10
Nutrient content 7/10
Dissolvability 7/10
Overall 8/10


Waterlife Ultramarine

This was one of the first commercial salt mixes and was developed in the UK in the 1960s.

Like most other salts here, it’s made from high grade pharmaceutical ingredients and contains no added nitrates or phosphates. Unlike most other salts, it contains additional additives including vitamins and even dechlorinator. This British salt wasn’t tested in the Hawaii tests, so there’s no scientific data to compare to our results.

Our tests: Ultramarine salt proved to be by far the slowest salt to dissolve and left a lot of hard, gritty residue in the mixing vessel as well what appeared to be some precipitation on the sides. At 8.6, the pH was about average. The calcium level (366ppm) and the magnesium level (990ppm) were both a little below average. The alkalinity was the lowest we recorded.

We found no ammonia or nitrite, but did detect 1.0ppm of nitrate and 0.015ppm of phosphate, both of which were the highest we recorded. Not terrible, but not quite up to the excellent
standard seen in the other salts we tested.

Size/cost: 25 l. £4.90, 50 l. £5.63, 100 l. £10.35, 250 l. £25.54, 500 l. £45.50, and 1350 l. £120.59. Even the smaller
sizes come in handy resealable containers. Prices range from 9pp per litre.

Verdict
> What’s Hot
Resealable containers
> What’s Not
Highest nitrate and phosphate levels we recorded. Lowest alkalinity recorded
Price 6/10
Value for money 5/10
Composition 5/10
Nutrient content 5/10
Dissolvability 4/10
Overall 5/10


Literature cited

For further information on the Hawaiian Marine Institute’s research, see Atkinson, A. and Bingman, C. (1999) - The composition of several synthetic seawater mixes. Journal of Aquariculture and Aquatic Science, 8 (2): 39