Twenty6 is a new formula of salt offered by ACI Aquaculture to specifically address the needs of professional and commercial coral handlers. ACI began looking into making their own seawater mix several years ago when cheap salts proved to be not clean enough, and better, more expensive salts didn’t mix up to consistent levels.
Some of the better salts mixed up with a variable level in alkalinity and sometimes the mixing vats would develop a clay film and or mineral caking, a sign of impurities in the mix. These are the kinds of issues that arise only in commercial settings where thousands of gallons of seawater are mixed up each week, and to resolve their issues ACI looked into developing and mixing their own seawater formula.
Twenty6 was developed by starting out with a ‘textbook formula’ for seawater, and then sourcing the highest quality, purest ingredients possible. The most important philosophy with Twenty6 salt mix is a big emphasis on anhydrous ingredients, that is, sources of calcium, magnesium and other major elements with less water in the molecule, and therefore less impurities trapped in the crystalline compounds.
This results in a very clean seawater mix but it also means there is a strong exothermic reaction, and it’s important to let Twenty6 salt mix and circulate for at least several hours before using. By introducing Twenty6 ACI Aquaculture is not aiming to take over the market, but simply to offer a superior formula for discerning hobbyists.
One of the advantages of Twenty6 salt is that it is made in evxtremely small batches of just 1200 pounds at a time, with all the ingredients being meticulously weighed out. After a year of regular use and testing ACI stands behind the new Twenty6 salt, both in the cleanliness of their mixing vats but mostly in the health, color and growth rates of their corals.
Twenty6 salt will be available in two sizes, a 144.5 gallon mix and a 72.25 gal size, both of which will be shipped in jerry cans instead of buckets. Small quantities of Twenty6 salt will only be available to local customers in the Tampa, Florida area, or in half and full pallets anywhere in the country shipped from their production facility. For now the emphasis of the new Twenty6 product line is on the salt mix, but other additives are in development for future release. [Twenty6]
