Ran out of salt

[squidward]

Ok it's time to go out and buy more salt. My last purchase was a instant ocean regular salt mix and I didn't like it I didn't feel like my corals were doing as well as when I got the reef mix obviously. My question is which brand is favored by fellow reef keepers ?

 

[Patrick93]

Ok it's time to go out and buy more salt. My last purchase was a instant ocean regular salt mix and I didn't like it I didn't feel like my corals were doing as well as when I got the reef mix obviously. My question is which brand is favored by fellow reef keepers ?

Red sea pro and instant ocean reef crystals are good

 

[squidward]

Red sea pro and instant ocean reef crystals are good

Thanx for the quick reply , I was also looking into the instant ocean reef crystals because my friend uses it and he says it's really good it's a good price for the bucket as well .

 

[bigben2057]

I don't like the instant ocean either it takes too long to dissolve and corals don't look as good, but petco no kidding i love their brand salt mix.

 

[CleverBs]

I don't like the instant ocean either it takes too long to dissolve and corals don't look as good, but petco no kidding i love their brand salt mix.

your saltwater should be mixed 24hs prior to doing a water change. Time that it takes for the salt to dissolve shouldn't be an issue if you are doing this.

 

[carey]

I use regular instant ocean for my 90g fish only tank and rotate between instant ocean reef crystals and red sea for my reef tanks. I agree, you shouldnt have any issues with the salt dissolving if you are leaving it sit with a powerhead overnight. At least I havent had any issues with it.

I get my I/O reef crystals for like $50 for a 200g box. Sometimes a bit less if I catch a sale. So far I ahve found drs foster and smith to have the best deals on salt and they ship for free if you spend like $49 or so I think.

 

[MikeYQM]

There are testing results around of the various compositions of Salts, D&D H2Ocean is the best I've seen.

 

[mr_X]

No salt mix is consistent unless all of the components are mixed just prior to use. Settling from shipping, and not mixing well are the reasons for this. Odds are that you won't get the same results from 2 samples of the same brand salt mix taken from different batches.
The only way you can be sure is by using a salt mix that must be mixed as needed.
There are a couple companies that do this.
I recall one called "get tanked aquariums"
Get Tanked Aquariums, bulk reef supply - Get Tanked Aquariums, bulk reef supply

Generally though, most of the salt mixes out there are fine to use. I got a bad batch of red sea coral pro before, and IO, reef crystals, and seachem, all leave a lot of filthy residue in my mixing barrel.
I like Oceanic, due to the larger bucket.

 

[ccCapt]

I don't really understand the comments "my corals don't look as good" when using Instant Ocean. I would have to say it's not the salt, it's something else.

This is the result I get from using Instant Ocean....

 

[Animal-Chin]

Ya I use instant ocean and can't be happier.

 

[MikeYQM]

This is the result I get from using Instant Ocean....

And dosing. Don't forget to add that part.

 

[TrollI]

Instant ocean is just fine. If all the public aquariums use it you can too. If your corals aren't doing well its likely something else in your system.

 

[ccCapt]

And dosing. Don't forget to add that part.

Yes, I dose calcium (DowFlake Ice melt) and alk (Arm&Hammer baking soda) but because of the SPS corals in my tank I would have to dose regardless of the brand salt I used. My point is Instant Ocean isn't lacking in anything that would have a negative affect on corals.

 

[bavass]

I use Red Sea Coral Pro have been since I had some algae issues years ago and could not git rid of them then I read that Reef Crystals has the highest levels of phosphates than any other salt. So I switched. That being said a lot of people use it with great success. I am sticking with Red Sea Coral. I have been thinking of trying Tropic Marin just to do it. I order from Drs Fosters and Smith $54 shipped

 

[Rosesrblu1]

We use the tropic Marin in both of the tanks and the mix is consistent and mixes up clean. Stable calcium of 400 in the 180 fowlr. Testing at 420 in the transformed reef. Good luck. Have been using for 3 years with the same results every time. IMO, woth the extra $$