pulpfiction1
Reef Scavenger
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2010
- Location
- 42.418807, -82.174073
found this comparison on synthetic sea salt mixes
http://northcoastpets.com/salt_comparison.htm
Trace Elements in Synthetic Sea Water
(WHAT THE MANUFACTURER CLAIMS)
The subject of trace elements has received more attention than Bill and Monica. In regards to trace elements in marine salts, most of the information is at best bogus.
In the early 1970's hW Marinemix® told the world they had all 62 trace elements in their salt. Tropic Marin®told the world that they had all 70 elements in their salt. Instant Ocean® told the world they had all elements known to be essential. Forty Fathoms® (now Crystal Sea®) printed an "assay" that showed dozens and dozens of elements in their salt.
In Sea Scopeâ¢, the Aquarium Systems®, Inc. dealer/consumer handout was a front page article entitled... "Trace Element War". It appeared that the marine salt with the most trace elements was the winner. Quite simply, this made mundane reading for the average marine hobbyist and made no sense at all to qualified marine technicians. Was this an effort by Aquarium Systems® to cloud simple facts?
In the 1990's Reef Crystals® told the world that their salt contained "extra trace elements". Deep Ocean⢠told the world they had "all necessary trace elements". Then, Red Sea® told the world their salt had "trace elements distributed by a NEW method". In short order, Coralife© told the world their salt was "rich in trace elements". Later, Kent® Salt muddied the waters ever more by telling the world his salt had "enhanced trace mineral content".
THE FACTS
The S-15⢠Report⢠reveals what qualified marine chemists have know for decades. All of the above statements made by various marine salt producers are: half truths, misleading or blatantly false. The reality is that ALL marine salts have the SAME NUMBER of TRACE ELEMENTS -- ALL trace elements. The issue is not existence, but proportionality.
A simple example would be for me to give you a hand full of common salts (sodium chloride). I could look you directly in the eyes and honestly tell you that this common salt contained all elements found in sea water. Or, better yet. I could honestly tell you that the salt you were holding contained all the elements on earth.
Even if common salt was refined to 99.99% pure, the remaining .01% of impurities contain all other elements. When manufacturing marine salts, some producers include these impurities as though they were part of the formula.
Example #1. A simple marine salt could be produced using only major elements/bulk salts. If these major components were mixed in a similar ratio to natural sea water (NSW), it would be suitable for the short term keeping of seafood in restaurant tanks. In the aquarium industry, such a product could be sold as product that was identical to NSW and contained all 70 elements.
The hW Marinemix® claim of having 62 trace elements is a half truth. Most of the elements are found as impurities, except for aluminum, lead and nickel. Al was 17.1 times higher, lead was 1,333 times higher, nickel was 12.8 times higher than NSW. Other "trace elements" were found at higher concentrations vs. NSW. In the same samples, essential calcium, a major ion, was chronically low.
The Tropic Marin® claim of having all 70 elements in exact proportion to NSW is blatantly false. Most of the elements are found at similar levels to other brands of marine salts -- with the exception of 13.2 times more aluminum, 4.8 times more iron, 8 times more zinc, 10 times more manganese and 333 times more lead vs. NSW. The same samples were chronically low in essential calcium, a major ion.
The Instant Ocean® claim of having all elements known to be essential is misleading. Just like other marine salts, all elements are present. However, the most costly elements are omitted and found only as impurities. Bromide found in NSW at 65 ppm is found as an impurity at 5.4 ppm. Trace impurities are found at concentrations similar to other marine Salts.
Crystal Sea®/Forty Fathoms© advertising showing an assay listing dozens of elements is a half truth. The elements listed are in the product. However, like other marine salts, they are found as impurities. Except for: 3.6 times more iron, 2 times more phosphate, 33% less bromide, some of the lowest levels of essential calcium and unbelievable variations from batch to batch vs. NSW.
Reef Crystals® claim of extra trace elements is misleading and blatantly false. It has the same number of trace elements as other marine salts. As with other Aquarium Systems® salts the costly elements are omitted and found only as impurities. Bromide found in NSW at 65 ppm is found at 6.8 to 9.0 ppm in two samples tested. Zinc, selenium, silver, nickel, lead, copper, cobalt, chromium, and cadmium are found at concentrations comparable with other marine salts. However, major elements such as calcium and potassium varied from sample to sample.
The Deep Ocean⢠claim of having all necessary trace elements is misleading. The samples varied dramatically from batch to batch. Both samples were low in strontium and void of bromide. Sample #1 had 255 times more and sample #2 had ten times more manganese than NSW. Sample #2 had nine times more zinc than sample #1.
The RED SEA® claim of having trace elements distributed in a new method concerns experts. Sample #1 had over 133 times more boron than sample #2. Sample #1 had 20% less and sample #2 had 70% more strontium vs. NSW. Sample #1 had 14.6 times more and sample #2 had 1.6 time more copper vs. NSW. The S-15⢠Report⢠clearly shows this product varies dramatically to the point of defying the mixing procedure employed to produce this item.
The Coralife® claim of rich in trace elements is misleading. It contains the same number of trace elements as other marine salts. At the same time, major elements are either very low or vary dramatically from sample to sample. Bromide is found as an impurity. There are other statements on their package that are also false.
KENT SEA SALT® preliminary investigations indicate that this product is very similar to Reef Crystals®, which is similar to Instant Ocean®. Kent Sea Salt® has the same number of trace elements as other marine salts.
MISLEADING OR FALSE STATEMENTS
Statements like: contains all elements, 62 elements, 70 elements, rich in elements, and extra elements, or enhanced trace mineral content are misleading. All these elements are present as impurities.
Since there are a total of 70 elements in NSW, how could anyone add extra or enhance this number? As demonstrated in the S-15⢠Reportâ¢, the answer is simple. These are not truthful or honest, or accurate statements. If a marine salt contained extra trace elements, it would win a Nobel Prize. If it had enhanced or richer amounts, it might be considered to be contaminated. Contaminants can be detrimental to all living things.
TRACE IMPURITIES AND THEIR VALUE
The concentration of most trace impurities is similar from brand to brand of marine salt. In some instances these impurities are similar to amounts found in NSW. Impurities usually do not stay in solution. Trace impurities can easily be removed from the closed system by: simple biological filtration, skimming, chemical filtration and lost through the normal metabolic process of the captive animals on display.
http://northcoastpets.com/salt_comparison.htm
Trace Elements in Synthetic Sea Water
(WHAT THE MANUFACTURER CLAIMS)
The subject of trace elements has received more attention than Bill and Monica. In regards to trace elements in marine salts, most of the information is at best bogus.
In the early 1970's hW Marinemix® told the world they had all 62 trace elements in their salt. Tropic Marin®told the world that they had all 70 elements in their salt. Instant Ocean® told the world they had all elements known to be essential. Forty Fathoms® (now Crystal Sea®) printed an "assay" that showed dozens and dozens of elements in their salt.
In Sea Scopeâ¢, the Aquarium Systems®, Inc. dealer/consumer handout was a front page article entitled... "Trace Element War". It appeared that the marine salt with the most trace elements was the winner. Quite simply, this made mundane reading for the average marine hobbyist and made no sense at all to qualified marine technicians. Was this an effort by Aquarium Systems® to cloud simple facts?
In the 1990's Reef Crystals® told the world that their salt contained "extra trace elements". Deep Ocean⢠told the world they had "all necessary trace elements". Then, Red Sea® told the world their salt had "trace elements distributed by a NEW method". In short order, Coralife© told the world their salt was "rich in trace elements". Later, Kent® Salt muddied the waters ever more by telling the world his salt had "enhanced trace mineral content".
THE FACTS
The S-15⢠Report⢠reveals what qualified marine chemists have know for decades. All of the above statements made by various marine salt producers are: half truths, misleading or blatantly false. The reality is that ALL marine salts have the SAME NUMBER of TRACE ELEMENTS -- ALL trace elements. The issue is not existence, but proportionality.
A simple example would be for me to give you a hand full of common salts (sodium chloride). I could look you directly in the eyes and honestly tell you that this common salt contained all elements found in sea water. Or, better yet. I could honestly tell you that the salt you were holding contained all the elements on earth.
Even if common salt was refined to 99.99% pure, the remaining .01% of impurities contain all other elements. When manufacturing marine salts, some producers include these impurities as though they were part of the formula.
Example #1. A simple marine salt could be produced using only major elements/bulk salts. If these major components were mixed in a similar ratio to natural sea water (NSW), it would be suitable for the short term keeping of seafood in restaurant tanks. In the aquarium industry, such a product could be sold as product that was identical to NSW and contained all 70 elements.
The hW Marinemix® claim of having 62 trace elements is a half truth. Most of the elements are found as impurities, except for aluminum, lead and nickel. Al was 17.1 times higher, lead was 1,333 times higher, nickel was 12.8 times higher than NSW. Other "trace elements" were found at higher concentrations vs. NSW. In the same samples, essential calcium, a major ion, was chronically low.
The Tropic Marin® claim of having all 70 elements in exact proportion to NSW is blatantly false. Most of the elements are found at similar levels to other brands of marine salts -- with the exception of 13.2 times more aluminum, 4.8 times more iron, 8 times more zinc, 10 times more manganese and 333 times more lead vs. NSW. The same samples were chronically low in essential calcium, a major ion.
The Instant Ocean® claim of having all elements known to be essential is misleading. Just like other marine salts, all elements are present. However, the most costly elements are omitted and found only as impurities. Bromide found in NSW at 65 ppm is found as an impurity at 5.4 ppm. Trace impurities are found at concentrations similar to other marine Salts.
Crystal Sea®/Forty Fathoms© advertising showing an assay listing dozens of elements is a half truth. The elements listed are in the product. However, like other marine salts, they are found as impurities. Except for: 3.6 times more iron, 2 times more phosphate, 33% less bromide, some of the lowest levels of essential calcium and unbelievable variations from batch to batch vs. NSW.
Reef Crystals® claim of extra trace elements is misleading and blatantly false. It has the same number of trace elements as other marine salts. As with other Aquarium Systems® salts the costly elements are omitted and found only as impurities. Bromide found in NSW at 65 ppm is found at 6.8 to 9.0 ppm in two samples tested. Zinc, selenium, silver, nickel, lead, copper, cobalt, chromium, and cadmium are found at concentrations comparable with other marine salts. However, major elements such as calcium and potassium varied from sample to sample.
The Deep Ocean⢠claim of having all necessary trace elements is misleading. The samples varied dramatically from batch to batch. Both samples were low in strontium and void of bromide. Sample #1 had 255 times more and sample #2 had ten times more manganese than NSW. Sample #2 had nine times more zinc than sample #1.
The RED SEA® claim of having trace elements distributed in a new method concerns experts. Sample #1 had over 133 times more boron than sample #2. Sample #1 had 20% less and sample #2 had 70% more strontium vs. NSW. Sample #1 had 14.6 times more and sample #2 had 1.6 time more copper vs. NSW. The S-15⢠Report⢠clearly shows this product varies dramatically to the point of defying the mixing procedure employed to produce this item.
The Coralife® claim of rich in trace elements is misleading. It contains the same number of trace elements as other marine salts. At the same time, major elements are either very low or vary dramatically from sample to sample. Bromide is found as an impurity. There are other statements on their package that are also false.
KENT SEA SALT® preliminary investigations indicate that this product is very similar to Reef Crystals®, which is similar to Instant Ocean®. Kent Sea Salt® has the same number of trace elements as other marine salts.
MISLEADING OR FALSE STATEMENTS
Statements like: contains all elements, 62 elements, 70 elements, rich in elements, and extra elements, or enhanced trace mineral content are misleading. All these elements are present as impurities.
Since there are a total of 70 elements in NSW, how could anyone add extra or enhance this number? As demonstrated in the S-15⢠Reportâ¢, the answer is simple. These are not truthful or honest, or accurate statements. If a marine salt contained extra trace elements, it would win a Nobel Prize. If it had enhanced or richer amounts, it might be considered to be contaminated. Contaminants can be detrimental to all living things.
TRACE IMPURITIES AND THEIR VALUE
The concentration of most trace impurities is similar from brand to brand of marine salt. In some instances these impurities are similar to amounts found in NSW. Impurities usually do not stay in solution. Trace impurities can easily be removed from the closed system by: simple biological filtration, skimming, chemical filtration and lost through the normal metabolic process of the captive animals on display.