New stuff...not livestock

[ccCapt]

I've been using Red Sea salt in my reef for well over 15 yrs and always had good success with it. Red Sea recently came out with their new Coral Pro salt. I just picked up a 200 g bucket. Has anyone else tried it yet?

Also, I always used either Hamilton or XM MH bulbs (14k or 15k). They usually run aprox $50+ per bulb. I just purchased 2 14k bulbs on Ebay for like $10 each. Has anyone ever tried these bulbs.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120100635401

 

[melosu58]

As far as the salt let us know how it goes with the results.

 

[Ziggy953]

I have used those bulbs, and I have used XMs too....side by side you can tell a difference after 100 hours of burn in but not enough to be a problem as best I can tell. My corals are growing just fine under the cheaper bulbs. At that price I don't mind changing them 3 times a year. I do have an XM on stand by incase something happens but I have been running them for 5 months now and can see visible daily growth of my SPS corals....

 

[ellisz]

I am trying out the Red Sea Coral Pro on my new 180. I am currently using Oceanic but this new Red Sea salt is supposed to have the high Ca numbers as well as good alk and Ph. I have pretty much used up the first bucket but other than knowing it does not dissolve as well as Oceanic, I see know difference. I have not tested anything yet and the 180 does not have livestock in it yet. The Oceanic salt give you 200 gal vs the 160 of the Red Sea too.

 

[ccCapt]

The Oceanic salt give you 200 gal vs the 160 of the Red Sea too.

I had the check my bucket. I assumed it was 200g, but actually it says 175g. I never used Oceanic so I can't comment on how it dissolves, but this Coral Pro dissolves about the same as the regular Red Sea salt.
As far as the numbers, well I have to admit since I've had this setup for well over 15 years, I very rarely test anything. I do my bi-weekly water chages and that's about it. I think the only test kits I have that aren't expired are ca and alk.

 

[melosu58]

I`m interested in the calcium and alk number if you ever get a chance.

 

[MT79]

^Me too. I was going to ask but did not want to bother you. Definitely info worth knowing if your going to pay more for the salt.

 

[ccCapt]

I'll test the ca and alk next weekend when I mix new water.
Price wise, the lfs I get my stuff from had it on sale for $55, which is basically the same price as the regular Red Sea. I think his reg. price is about $65.

 

[melosu58]

Thanks

 

[ccCapt]

I got the bulbs in today. They came from HongKong....lol. Actually they got here faster than I expected. They were shipped seperately, but came together, and packaged in tupperware containers. I was impressed with the packaging. The bulbs themselves are marked AquarMckzo 14K 175W SE. I took out my XM14K's and put these in for about 4 hrs. Even tho I only had these running for a few hrs, these are as close to Hamilton 15K's that you can get, for 1/5 the price. We'll see how they look after a week or so, but for around $35 for 2 bulbs, it is a great deal.

 

[Ziggy953]

I am very happy with mine as well!! The tupperware containers come in handy LOL...I too was very impressed with the packaging and shipping!!

 

[ccCapt]

Update on Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I just mixed up 15 gal using RO/DI water.
Temp - 78F
Salinity - 35ppt (refractometer)
Alk - 2.5 meg/l (Salifert test kit)
Ca - 430 ppm (Red Sea Pro test kit)