what sea salt is the best

[MT79]

Stay away from Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, and Tropic Marine if you want high CA levels, probably a couple others too. All of them test at about 340-360 right out of the box, and that is about the bare minimum you want in a reef. Though bringing a parameter up is much easier than decreasing it. The bottom line is all salts have short comings(ie low or high Ca, Alk, PH, magnesium, etc.), some are just more easily over come. There is no best salt, a search on any objective forum will prove that. This question comes up constantly. People have success w/ all of them. Best results are achieved by picking one that suits your needs and sticking/working with it.

[ellisz]

I would not say that 340-360 is the bare minimum. Isn't natural sea water around 360? I had a very successful reef setup with IO and I never even tested for Ca and Alk. Unless you have inhabitants that need a higher Ca content than most salts will be fine.

There have been many salts tested over the years and I think a new "winner" was always made Bottom line is that most use IO. Works for some not others. I have used IO, RC, Oceanic and I am now trying Red Sea Pro. I used IO and RC for my FO and softy systems I have used Oceanic and Red Sea since I need a higher Ca content and I don't want to dose.

I think pretty much any oft he salts listed above will do the job. Might depend on what you plan to keep.

[Sadielynn]

I just switched from catalina water (wich replaced IO , and in my opinion saw no real diffrence) and went to oceanic not sure . You just have to test to see what "works" for you . There is no one "perfect" salt out there , some are better true . Yet there are others out there that even mix salts . I would say use it for a period see if you are getting the results that you want if not I would say that you could switch . Give it a reasonable ammount of time tho . (4-6 months ) If your tank is new it will take considerably longer to see how it works .

[MT79]

Originally Posted by ellisz

I would not say that 340-360 is the bare minimum. Isn't natural sea water around 360? I

NSW is about 410 ppm. Levels below 360 and you are going to start to have issues w/ calcareous animals such as stoney coral, coralline, etc. (ie stunted growth). I'm not saying IO stinks, I used IO for years. But I always adjusted my fresh SW Ca levels.

[ellisz]

All I know is that before I had any SPS, I had amazing coralline plating and amazing LPS growth. This was when I used IO and dosed nothing.

[EELectric]

I have great coralline algae and other algaes (which is not the salts fault ) with oceanic JMO.

[MsBeanCtr]

I've gotta throw in my 2 cents too. I had problems with IO (major problems with cyano). I've switched to reef crystals and been having great luck with it. My calicum tests about 380.

[STARFYRE]

I read a study online. They tested several brands of salt with almost identical set-ups. Reef crystals and tropic marine seem to be a good choice. After reading the study I switched from Instant Ocean to Reef crystals.

[lando]

I use coralife and it keeps my CA at around 420. I started with it four years ago because of the LFS recomendation and if has been pretty good for me. Stable Ph, CA and ALK.

[melosu58]

As you see there is no one answer. What works for others might not work for others. Personal experience is the best teacher.