Fritz Super Salt and Fritz Super Salt Concentrate are complete sea salt mixes available in a unique semi- liquid form.  Super Salt concentrate allows the end user to add readily available sodium chloride; thus cutting down on shipping cost.  In our production process the slow dissolving salts are pre-dissolved before the faster dissolving materials are added.  This allows Fritz Super Salt to dissolve very quickly when added to water.  Thus you have a complete ready to use salt mix in approximately 20 minutes.  This pre-dissolving process also ensures even distribution of the trace elements throughout the mix which may or may not be the case with dry mixes.

In developing the formulation of Fritz Super Salt and Fritz Super Salt Concentrate, the first objective was to supply all the elements known to be essential for marine life that are found in natural sea water.  This is accomplished by actually adding the materials or obtaining them as impurities from other materials added to the mix.  Then we went one step further by also including or increasing the levels of the trace elements known to be essential for the nitrifying bacteria.  Thus when using Fritz Super Salt you have a well-rounded salt for the marine life within the system as well as an enhanced biological filter.

Our testing has shown Fritz Super Salt and Fritz Super Salt Concentrate are at least equal to and in many cases superior to other salt mixes currently available.  We have a high quality mixture supplying all the essential materials needed for marine life and the nitrifying bacteria in a unique form at a reasonable price.  Fritz Professional Salt Mixes are currently being used by major universities and public aquariums.

What makes the Fritz semi-liquid gel forms better?
Only 70% of the chemical composition in saltwater is sodium chloride. Seven other salts and many trace elements make up the other 30%. Sodium Chloride dissolves very rapidly; there is no need to predissolve this portion of the mixture. But many of the other salts dissolve far less rapidly, and therefore, predissolving these salts makes the assortment readily available and guarantees even dispersion. Fish and inverts are far less aggravated by water changes and salt additions when you use Fritz’s unique formulas. Stress and loss are greatly reduced.

How pure is the sodium chloride? Should I be concerned?
The purity level in our non-iodized, food-grade sodium chloride is over 99.9%- that's far more pure than other pet industry salts. Many sea salts use solar salt with high impurity levels as the main ingredient, causing inconsistencies in batches of the products. Hobbyists find this salt to cause discolored water, bags that refuse to clear, cloudy tanks and inconsistent trace element levels. This can lead to fish and invert death. Other manufacturers use evaporated sea salt. Though this ensures more trace elements than using solar salt, trace elements dry at varying rates and then precipitate out in layers according to solubility, causing the formulation of each bag to vary greatly. Another method, sun drying, exposes salt to pollution that can’t be separated out. This leads to excessive levels of phosphate, sulfate, ammonia and nitrite. Fritz Super Salt, Fritz Super Salt Concentrate and Quick Change all incorporate the safest form of sodium chloride available as the main ingredient.

What other benefits do the special salt formulas guarantee?
Because Fritz customers are not only marine fish hobbyists but also reef, research, aquaculture and breeding facilities, Fritz needed more than just a good salt formula: they needed the best. Most manufacturers only consider the requirements of the fish and inverts. Nitrifying bacteria have special requirements for trace elements that are at deficient levels or completely lacking in other salt products. Extensive research and cultivation of marine nitrifying bacteria by Fritz Pet Products has allowed the chemical and biological research team to identify the critical needs of these sensitive organisms. Manganese and other trace elements are essential for their growth. Each Fritz salt has increased levels of these trace elements to help maximize the culture size of these necessary bacteria. Fritz also consulted large aquaculture facilities on problems caused by conventional salts. Using this information, the research team was able to greatly reduce the "metal plating" caused by high levels of caustic materials found in other sea salt mixes. This metal plating causes the degradation and eventual breakage of many pumps, magnets, impellers, and filters in saltwater. The special Fritz formulas reduce burn-out of these expensive pumps and filters, saving our customers money and frustration.

I recently purchased a bucket of your Super Salt. Initially, there is a syrupy clear liquid at the top and white precipitate at the bottom. After mixing the layers and adding the appropriate amount to 5 gallons of water, the water becomes very cloudy and milky. If left overnight, the white precipitate settles out, but the remaining clear water is at the intended salinity. What is the stuff at the bottom? Your site mentions that Super Salt should dissolve within 20 minutes. Are we not preparing it correctly?

It is normal for our Super Salt to be layered; what you are seeing is that during the time the salt is shipped and stored a settling process occurs. At the top of the bucket is the more liquid and watery salts and trace elements, the bottom is composed of some of the heavier elements. Our semi-liquid gel contains a thickening agent which keeps all of the elements in solution so that there are not solids in the bucket. The thickening agent also allows for a homogenized solution if it is stirred and mixed.

You are preparing the salt correctly.

The cloudiness and white precipitate that you see is excess calcium and magnesium which will not go into solution. This situation usually arises when our Super Salt is mixed with tap water. Tap water contains phosphate at varying levels throughout the country. When the phosphate, magnesium and calcium combine, a precipitate forms. This can occur to a lesser extent with purified water, such as reverse osmosis. The actual cause of the white precipitate is the binding of phosphate to the calcium and magnesium, causing cloudiness which then settles to the bottom. Our salt has higher levels of calcium and magnesium than many competitive ones, to closer replicate natural sea water.

We deliberately add more calcium and magnesium to our salt mix than do most other manufacturers. Both of these elements are crucial to reef tanks and our goal is that when our salt is mixed with water, we get a solution that has calcium and magnesium levels at or slightly above natural levels found in the ocean.

You will find that not only is the salinity level correct, so is the pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium, if tested. Simply use the clear salt water in the bucket and discard the white precipitate at the bottom.