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ICP test of available for purchase natural seawater

Alexander1312

Alexander1312

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Since we have recently discussed the great benefits of natural seawater over artificial saltwater (link here: https://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/should-we-make-shirts.36543/), I am very interested in considering using this going forward.

As this will require some logistics and additional investments in equipment, I thought I would send this through Fauna Marin's most comprehensive ICP test first (Reef ICP Total) to get potentially a little more insight into what is in the water. I purchased the water from @under_water_ninja this Sunday and will send it in today. I know this has been done previously but I have not seen any (recent) results.

Unfortunately, it will take at least a week to get the results due to the long travel time to Lousiana first and then Germany, which is one of the significant drawbacks of this ICP test, but which I am still willing to accept (and expected to improve shortly with a new West Coast collection point, apparently).

To shorten the wait, some intitial test results from manually testing this today:

Salinity: 34 PSU (Milwaukee Refractometer, same day calibration)

Alkalinity: 7.1 dKH (Hanna)

Calcium: 430 mg/l (Salifert, new test kit).

So far, so good :). I will keep you posted.

IMG_6967.jpeg
 
This is great, do you have an ICP result of a clean batch of freshly mixed SW (assuming FM :) )

I have been considering doing this but I use so many salts I have not bothered yet. My lithium is always high, though, and I hear most synthetic salt mix has some lithium in it.
 
derek_SR said:
This is great, do you have an ICP result of a clean batch of freshly mixed SW (assuming FM :) )

I have been considering doing this but I use so many salts I have not bothered yet. My lithium is always high, though, and I hear most synthetic salt mix has some lithium in it.
Click to expand...
I believe Claude mentioned that a high lithium value is a sign of a higher quality salt since lithium is apparantly lower in cheaper salts as it is expensive to include. I did not validate this statement and it might just be marketing. Attached their context on lithium.

Re the clean batch of mixed salt: Did you mean to validate if what they say is in their salt since they show this on their buckets and online, or just for general comparison? The short answer is no, but I also did not see the value in doing this on top of my ICP tests, but maybe there is value I am missing?

This is what they say is in their salt (I have recently switched from Tropic Marin to Fauna Marin) - this is the 'English' version :), Kalium = Potassium:

IMG_1904.jpeg


IMG_1906.jpeg
 
Alexander1312 said:
Since we have recently discussed the great benefits of natural seawater over artificial saltwater (link here: https://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/should-we-make-shirts.36543/), I am very interested in considering using this going forward.

As this will require some logistics and additional investments in equipment, I thought I would send this through Fauna Marin's most comprehensive ICP test first (Reef ICP Total) to get potentially a little more insight into what is in the water. I purchased the water from @under_water_ninja this Sunday and will send it in today. I know this has been done previously but I have not seen any (recent) results.

Unfortunately, it will take at least a week to get the results due to the long travel time to Lousiana first and then Germany, which is one of the significant drawbacks of this ICP test, but which I am still willing to accept (and expected to improve shortly with a new West Coast collection point, apparently).

To shorten the wait, some intitial test results from manually testing this today:

Salinity: 34 PSU (Milwaukee Refractometer, same day calibration)

Alkalinity: 7.1 dKH (Hanna)

Calcium: 430 mg/l (Salifert, new test kit).

So far, so good :). I will keep you posted.

View attachment 60031
Click to expand...
What do you mean:
“West coast collection point”
 
Alexander1312 said:
I believe Claude mentioned that a high lithium value is a sign of a higher quality salt since lithium is apparantly lower in cheaper salts as it is expensive to include. I did not validate this statement and it might just be marketing. Attached their context on lithium.

Re the clean batch of mixed salt: Did you mean to validate if what they say is in their salt since they show this on their buckets and online, or just for general comparison? The short answer is no, but I also did not see the value in doing this on top of my ICP tests, but maybe there is value I am missing?

This is what they say is in their salt (I have recently switched from Tropic Marin to Fauna Marin) - this is the 'English' version :), Kalium = Potassium:

View attachment 60034

View attachment 60033
Click to expand...

Mostly just as a general comparison to the NSW results. Does FM indicate what is in their salt across all of the minor traces or just what you've got listed there?
 
derek_SR said:
Mostly just as a general comparison to the NSW results. Does FM indicate what is in their salt across all of the minor traces or just what you've got listed there?
Click to expand...
Yeah, only what they provide online (same information on the actual bucket), but still more what Tropic Marin shares. Not sure why this is considered such a secret. I know you can create your own salt when ordering from Captiv8 but it would be still more expensive than getting these pre-made salts.
 
What’s the best way to store something like 100g NSW? Can you leave it in a container outdoor? Do you need to a circulating pump running all the time?
 
Kensington Reefer said:
I receive 1000 gallons at a time
It’s 55 degrees on arrival
I have 2 500 gallon reservoirs here, outside
I move water to 2 44 gallon brute cans with heater a power head
Heat to temp before use
It lasts me about a month
Click to expand...
You need need to heat and circulate the water before use? Otherwise they can store outdoor?
 
Kensington Reefer said:
I receive 1000 gallons at a time
It’s 55 degrees on arrival
I have 2 500 gallon reservoirs here, outside
I move water to 2 44 gallon brute cans with heater a power head
Heat to temp before use
It lasts me about a month
Click to expand...
You must either have alot of tanks, or some really big ones?
 
Alexander1312 said:
Yeah, only what they provide online (same information on the actual bucket), but still more what Tropic Marin shares. Not sure why this is considered such a secret. I know you can create your own salt when ordering from Captiv8 but it would be still more expensive than getting these pre-made salts.
Click to expand...

Those devils at TM…jk :p

It’s probably just because the traces vary quite a bit batch to batch…add to that the variability associated with ICP results, and the fact that you happen to provide both salt and ICP, and you set yourself up for some difficult conversations with customers by trying to specify a certain element profile.
 
derek_SR said:
Those devils at TM…jk :p

It’s probably just because the traces vary quite a bit batch to batch…add to that the variability associated with ICP results, and the fact that you happen to provide both salt and ICP, and you set yourself up for some difficult conversations with customers by trying to specify a certain element profile.
Click to expand...
They claim that they ICP test each batch of their salts to ensure consistency. I think this is more of a trade secret. Also, FM and TM seem to be very close. I even suspect there might be a buyout at one point in the future, but this is just a wild guess.
 
This test took a while to reach its destination, which is an issue with the FM tests and I really hope they have the West Coast ICP collection point established soon.

The good news is that this water seems to be really in good shape. I could not find any problem with the results even though some of them are a little outside the range, and there are still 0 values which might need to be managed individually, but not necessarily as this is due to the way it is being tested (and some might be influenced by the travel time).

Main drawback is the lower alkalinity and salinity, but this is not a dealbraker in my opinion.
 

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Alexander1312 said:
This test took a while to reach its destination, which is an issue with the FM tests and I really hope they have the West Coast ICP collection point established soon.

The good news is that this water seems to be really in good shape. I could not find any problem with the results even though some of them are a little outside the range, and there are still 0 values which might need to be managed individually, but not necessarily as this is due to the way it is being tested (and some might be influenced by the travel time).

Main drawback is the lower alkalinity and salinity, but this is not a dealbraker in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Is the last page your RO water they tested or just theirs as a blank sample?
 
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