does salt go bad and best salt question

[youpey]

my last bag of salt, towards the end would not disolve in the water. i ended up throwing it out and getting new salt.

what is the best salt to use, i have been using oceanic, but after this i dont really want to use it

 

[Mbodell]

If the salt is not moisture sealed it will absorb water from the air, so yes it can go bad. Oceanic is good salt and is known for dissolving well.

 

[reeferwanabe]

started with reef crystals.not bad but left a brown film on sides of bucket. went to seachem reef salt.had to dose too much other stuff. now tropic marin pro.better. but way expensive. my next test is brightwell neomarine salt.

 

[Edwardw771]

tropic marin pro is best

 

[youpey]

i found these articles. they are a couple years old, but i am thinking of switching to tropic marine pro. it seemed to have the highest copper levels of all the tested salts, but in my opinion it was closest to natural sea water for most other things

part1
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/11/aafeature1

part2
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1

it did seem that oceanic (which is what i was using) has the highest calcium

if anyone else wants to read this, can they confirm it is worth switching from oceanic to tropic marin pro

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

can they confirm it is worth switching from oceanic to tropic marin pro

I'd like to hear or see this myself as I am contemplating the switch myself. However, I am getting amazing growth ,nice colors, and polyp extention. The only problem I am facing is a huge cyano problem which may or may not be related to Oceanic salt. My bulbs are near life expectancy so I will see if I can shake it without switching salt....If not I'll be switching.

The funny thing is that While I was researching TMPro, I found a lot that loved it and a lot that switched back away from it due to the very thing that was drawing me to it, Cyano and/or diatoms, However after reading one of PaulB's posts recently I realized that our tank is CONSTANTLY cycling due to changes we put it through until things are steady enough to cause equilibrium. These people may have not given the TMPro a fair shake by yanking it too soon and not letting the tank settle in.

I'm still on the fence!

Taz

 

[Hawkeye]

at the end of the day - whether you are using tmp pro or Instant Ocean Reef Crystals - you need to constantly measure your tank to ensure the right mix of minerals etc are at the right level. If you have no desire to do 2 part dosing etc then it may be beneficial to spend the extra money so that the salt has all that already.

I've seen enough beautiful tanks being run on various grades of salt to realize it's not the salt - but the person managing the tank that makes all the difference.

 

[reeferwanabe]

right on hawk. It's just a good place to start.

 

[Rbu1]

started with reef crystals.not bad but left a brown film on sides of bucket. went to seachem reef salt.had to dose too much other stuff. now tropic marin pro.better. but way expensive. my next test is brightwell neomarine salt.

I am switching to Seachem. Would you care to eloborate on your problems? How often do you do water changes? What did you have to dose? Thanks

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

RBU1 Before switching I would contact Daniel on this board. I know he had problems with it. He may be able to let you know what happened so you could prevent it from happenning to you.

Taz