salt mix!

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I've heard tropic marin is the best, and not the reef formula the regular one. i will be switching over to that when my current bucket is empty. :)
 
Ditto. I use and recommend Tropic Marin. It is all pharmaceutical grade ingredients so it is very high quality and consistent from batch to batch. Their pro reef salt is made to allow for high tech reefs that utilize a calcium reactor for Ca and Alk, so they don't have as much as their regular formula. Even they think they should have switched the names.
 
We really need to stop these religious wars over salt mixes. Almost any major brand will be good, though any particular batch may be bad. I have settled on Red Sea Coral Pro. I had a couple of bad buckets from Kent a few years ago. They sent me their buffers to make up for the bad batches after testing my salt mix.

Pick one and test it before using. Either fix the params before using or try another brand. They all vary slightly from batch to batch within a brand. Some mixes have higher Ca, or Alk, but not both. I dose those anyway, but my mix is spot on before a pwc. If I did a daily 10% pwc I doubt I would have to dose, but I'm much too lazy for that regimen.
 
They all have their caveats so choose one that mixes well for you and gives you the most consistency. I have always preferred IO and RC, but Tropic works just fine (lately there have been complaints of inconsistency and something every company has to deal with from time to time) as does Red Sea, Oceanic, etc. Some salts will mix more thoroughly depending on whether you use tap or RO/DI. If there was a "best" salt mix, it wouldn't be very affordable ;)
 
I understand, but this is a forum. People get personal preference when they ask for it. If we simply say 'anything will work' or 'try things until you find one that works' we might as well not reply and the person might as well not even be on a forum asking for input.

I don't think anyone said anything close to a religious war, people shared their opinions like asked.
 
IMO there is no best salt mix. They all have there pro`s and cons. There is no perfect salt mix. If there was a "best" then we would all be using it. I use oceanic because of the higher calcium in it but the drawback is lower alkalinity. We have several threads about salt mixes and what people use and why. I would check those out.
 
...If we simply say 'anything will work' or 'try things until you find one that works' we might as well not reply and the person might as well not even be on a forum asking for input. ...

But it's the truth. Have you tried every salt out there looking for the "best" salt? Or have you just found one that works for you and stuck with it. I think 99% of the folks out there in this hobby have done the later. The OP asked what the "best" salt is, which in my opinion is an unanswerable question. Now if they want to know what salt people are using, that's a different question.

Regarding the question though... this question comes up about once a month here. If folks used the search function of this marvelous forum, the question wouldn't even need asking. Not trying to shoo people away from asking questions, but these threads always end up saying the same thing, and eventually turn into a "my salt is better than your salt" thread. Seems like the admins/mods here should collect all the "salt war" posts, put links to them in a single post, and then "sticky" it at the top of this forum.
 
IMO like has been stated above, asking which salt mix is the best is like asking which pair of shoes is best. Everyone has their own opinion.

I personally buy pre-mixed (which I don't suggest unless you trust your LFS) but when I start to mix my own I'll probably start with IO Reef Crystals for the price, then if I start having more or extra money for the hobby I might switch to Tropic Marin (regular)
 
i change salts with every bucket. i wouldn't use instant ocean because it's way too far from natural sea water for my liking. reef crystals works fine.
 
Any compilation of info on the experiences with different salts and the issues with each? For example: as a trend brand X is lower in Ca but higher in Alk, Brand Y is good for both but doesn't have much Mg.

This could help people match a salt for their tank's needs. For example: if their tank seems to run low on Alk they could see what brands may be a better option for them.

I agree that 'the best salt out there' will vary from tank to tank and what you want in a salt. But I don't think people need to be bothered by people recommending a salt when the question is asked.
 
Any compilation of info on the experiences with different salts and the issues with each? For example: as a trend brand X is lower in Ca but higher in Alk, Brand Y is good for both but doesn't have much Mg.

This could help people match a salt for their tank's needs. For example: if their tank seems to run low on Alk they could see what brands may be a better option for them.

I agree that 'the best salt out there' will vary from tank to tank and what you want in a salt. But I don't think people need to be bothered by people recommending a salt when the question is asked.

Done and done: Synthetic Salt Mixes - Reef Central Online Community
 
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