salt.. what type do YOU use and why?

[zuzecawi]

Just wondering here, read a study (independant) on aquarium salts and the results were sobering. So was wondering what salts you all prefer, and why.

 

[TCTFish]

I use the water from the store I work at. We use Coral Life. It's less expensive for us to use...and needless to say...working in a LFS has it's benefits of saving $$$ when it comes to such an expensive hobby...lol.

 

[Aqualis]

ummm....where can we find this independant study?

 

[Fluff]

I use Instant Ocean. As for why, it's less expensive as some, it dissolves quickly, it keeps my calcium at 420 and my ph 8.0. My corals are thriving.



I edited my post to correct my cal numbers. I tested today and got this number. Calcium isn't something I test for regularly.

 

[malkore]

I specifically stopped using Instant Ocean, because of the low Calcium levels.

Adding calcium and alkalinity buffers daily, and I couldn't get it where I wanted it. I was always at 325ppm of Ca and 2.5meq/L of Alk...and pH never exceeded 8.1 at any time of the day. Plus IO salt doesn't dissolve fast at all, and in fact after 24 hours of mixing, I still had salt crystals that hadn't dissolved.

So I switched to Oceanic brand. my pH is finally a consistent 8.2, alkalinity is 'normal' (usually 3.0meq/L) and my Ca approachs 400ppm without adding Turbo Calcium.

I should mention that I don't have any hard/stoney corals..just a few green mushrooms, and some yellow polyps - both of which have taken off since changing to Oceanic.

 

[Fluff]

So I switched to Oceanic brand. my pH is finally a consistent 8.2

I bought a bucket of Oceanic and had reverse results. My PH dropped to 7.8 and I had to use a buffer to keep it up. When that bucket was gone, I switched back to IO. Also, I've never had a problem with IO dissolving. I dump it in, and swish it around. Within a min or two, it's fully dissolved. :?

 

[grimlock3000]

I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef. I was planning to start using Oceanic because it is much cheaper. Unfortunately A LOT of people are reporting problems with it, the quality control is horrible and people get different results from batch to batch.

 

[tmcpeek]

I am on my 4th bucket of Oceanic and have had consistent results. Ph is constant 8.2 Calcium near 400. I am happy with the results. If I get a bucket that is different I will switch but so far I have beeen lucky.

Do you have a link to this Independent Study?

 

[ellisz]

I used to use IO but switched to Oceanic for better Ca numbers.

I get:
Ph 8.1
Ca 425
Alk 3-3.5 meg/L

Perfect for me. I have shrooms, zoos, leathers, LPS and SPS.

 

[zuzecawi]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-03/rs/feature/index.htm

I got directed to this page/site after looking online at some vendor and checking out their salt, they had started to carry some different products after reading this. Now, I've seen a blurb elsewhere about this study, saying it wasn't in depth enough, and that some of the manufacturers have changed their compositions. I don't really know, it was just food for thought and I got interested in "real people" experiences on the subject.

IME, which, admittedly, is almost 10 years outdated, IO was a bummer, I had problems with calcium levels and keeping steady ph on it, and I had switched to Red Sea and still wasn't happy with that. In my area it's either Red Sea or Instant Ocean, there really isn't much variety here. The LFS all use Red Sea here, and also all use the local city water. The combination seems to do okay, I've seen a lot of local set ups they've done in offices, etc, and they look good. But I've heard terrible things about Red Sea, and I've got my own old experiences with it sucking. However, mail ordering salt just seems to be kinda odd to me.

 

[Phyl]

I use IO Reef Crystals. I get the dependability of IO with great Ca/Alk numbers (450/11). I saw a study once that listed all of the nitrates, phosphates, etc in some of the other salts. I don't remember the link to the analysis though. Sorry!

 

[Phyl]

Here's food for thought: I just bought a bucket (2 actually) of IO/RC shipped cheaper than I could get it for at the LFS (45$/bucket).

 

[revhtree]

Oceanic

 

[RLG2182]

I got Instant Ocean cuz it was on fatty sale. I'll see how it goes.

 

[ellisz]

Never heard anyone say Reef Crystals has more Ca than IO before.

 

[dolphinsfan]

I used Coralife to start my tank. Now use lfs bought r/o for my water changes. I never asked them what salt mix they use. Just added my first shrooms to my fowlr. They are expanding even more in my tank vs the lfs.

 

[lando]

Right now I am using Coralife. I have been having trouble keeping a consistant Ph for about the last two months. It sticks around 8.0 for some reason. I may end up switching as soon as I am done with this bucket. I might try Kent next.

 

[Brad]

I'm using Kent. I haven't really tried anything else. Things in my tank are alive, that's all I know.

 

[Bearfan]

I use IO, and my Ca levels are always over 400. It dissolves in minutes and my ph has been steady.

 

[ellisz]

hmm, When I use IO Ca was always 380 and alk was 2.5 meg/L. Which is not bad but I wanted a bit more.

IO is cheaper to buy that is for sure