-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
Salt
- Thread starter bmwalley
- Start date
Bill,
When it comes to salt, there are as many opinions as there are people on this earth.
When it comes to salt, you have some people that are VERY loyal to some and others that will buy what is on sale.
There is no substitute for the real deal, so my opinion is try them out and see what results YOU get. All salts are lacking in some area.
In regards to what I know and what I have used:
Seachem, great salt, high levels of Boron. One of my personal top choices.
Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals, popular salt, something going on with it that when ever I mix it, the container always has brown residue on it. IO has a high ph compared to others.
Red Sea Pro, have been using this for sometime and for me the results were good.
Oceanic has high levels of Calcium.
Tropic Marin, High price with high levels of Copper in it but also a high level of Magnesium. Popular salt. No opinion on the Reef stuff though, have not used.
Get Tanked Salt, homemade mix from sponsor here, high levels on dkh, using now, been happy.
Remember also with these salts, calcium levels will vary, due to the clacium moving to the bottom of the bucket during shipping.
Here is some light reading for you: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1
Good luck and like alot of things in this hobby, its all about trial and error!
When it comes to salt, there are as many opinions as there are people on this earth.
When it comes to salt, you have some people that are VERY loyal to some and others that will buy what is on sale.
There is no substitute for the real deal, so my opinion is try them out and see what results YOU get. All salts are lacking in some area.
In regards to what I know and what I have used:
Seachem, great salt, high levels of Boron. One of my personal top choices.
Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals, popular salt, something going on with it that when ever I mix it, the container always has brown residue on it. IO has a high ph compared to others.
Red Sea Pro, have been using this for sometime and for me the results were good.
Oceanic has high levels of Calcium.
Tropic Marin, High price with high levels of Copper in it but also a high level of Magnesium. Popular salt. No opinion on the Reef stuff though, have not used.
Get Tanked Salt, homemade mix from sponsor here, high levels on dkh, using now, been happy.
Remember also with these salts, calcium levels will vary, due to the clacium moving to the bottom of the bucket during shipping.
Here is some light reading for you: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1
Good luck and like alot of things in this hobby, its all about trial and error!
Seachem Reef Salt is made at the IO/RC plant (same bucket) to the Seachem specs. I thought that was interesting (but for WHATEVER reason it lost credibility with me there). I don't care for the red sea. My silicates are higher since using it. BillyR had a bad case of dinoflagelletes after switching to RSP.
danthemanj
FRAG SWAP VENDOR
For years, I had used Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals but have of late switched over to Tropic Marin Pro.
With both Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals, over time, I would notice sediments in my salt mixing barrel but after switching to TM Pro, I don't see these sediments at all and it also dissolves much faster than IO or RC.
With regards to price, TM Pro does cost more than Reef Crystals but you get a lot more salt in a bucket of TM Pro than RC. A bucket of TM Pro salt makes 200 gallon of salt water with a salinity of 1.025 while a bucket of RC or IO salt makes 160 gallons of salt water with a salinity of 1.022. After looking at the cost savings for these differences, you pay marginally more for the TM or TM Pro salts and get a (IMHO) cleaner / better product.
With both Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals, over time, I would notice sediments in my salt mixing barrel but after switching to TM Pro, I don't see these sediments at all and it also dissolves much faster than IO or RC.
With regards to price, TM Pro does cost more than Reef Crystals but you get a lot more salt in a bucket of TM Pro than RC. A bucket of TM Pro salt makes 200 gallon of salt water with a salinity of 1.025 while a bucket of RC or IO salt makes 160 gallons of salt water with a salinity of 1.022. After looking at the cost savings for these differences, you pay marginally more for the TM or TM Pro salts and get a (IMHO) cleaner / better product.
bmwalley said:
I believe you are looking at things from an incorrect point of view.
Salt water is the lifeblood of your reef system. If this isn't correct to start with, no amount of lighting, filtration, or other equipment can solve the problem.
The way this should be viewed is you have a bundle tied up in live rock, corals, fish, and inverts. If the tank has been set up for a long period, your corals and fish may have even grown to the point where they are not replaceable.
My question is why should anyone put their reef at risk over saving a few dollars, maybe $25, on salt?
In my opinion, buying a top quality salt is cheep insurance.
I started using IO because I started with a FOWLR mid-way through the year I started to aquire softies and I changed to Red Sea Pro. I've been using it for over a month now and have started to get a brown algae bloom in the sand. I am going to ride it out and hope that my refugium brings it under control. :-[ Good luck with your selection.
Was running low on salt so i took everyones adviced and went with the TM salt. Seems like everyone here prefers that one. Cost me alot more money 
but hey. Hope it works out.
but hey. Hope it works out.
Red Sea Pro Reef Crystals is a good way to go... Reasonably cheaper than Tropic Marine and keeps all of your levels well in check if used properly. However I have found that using the 1/2 cup of salt per gallon mentioned on the bucket puts the salinity slightly high around 1.028... After making the adjustment i've been nothing but happy...
Brian
Brian