Red Sea pro salt mix

[carey]

I'm thinking of trying out the red sea salt mix but I have a question on how to mix it. LOL

The item description and instructions at foster and smith says to add 1.4lbs to 5g of water....How does that equate to cups? I currently use 1 half cup for each gallon using Instant ocean...

anyone use this salt mix and can help me out?

Thanks!!

[mfdrookie516]

I measured some out since I just got some... I guestimated that it would be about 1/2 cup per gallon. I haven't had the chance to mix any yet to see, but 1/2 cup, minus the weight of the measuring cup, was just over 1/4lb, I think it came out to just over .27lbs. Take .27x 5 and that'll equal 1.35... which is close. Probably have to add a little more, but that's what refractometers are for, right?

[carey]

Excellent! thanks so much! I have the "eye" for measuring out the instant ocean to get to 1.0255 so I should get the hang of the red sea if its pretty much the same.

I LOVE this forum! Answers to the silliest or oddest of questions!

[mfdrookie516]

I would certainly test it out on a gallon or so first and see... I will be mixing some tonight, so I can get a better idea if my 'guestimate' was close.

[carey]

Oh, I mix my salt by the 3g buckets. lol

I test salinity after it has mixed for awhile and then again after adjustments.

Let me know how it works out.

Thanks again

[Mpfaff77]

I recently switched to red sea pro from IO reef crystals. I'm liking a lot better. I used to mix 15 cups of instant ocean for 15 gallons to get 1.025. Now it only takes 8 cups to mix 15 gallons at 1.025. Salt has lasted twice as long. all tests come out about the same as far as parameters. Corals and fish look as healthy as they were before.

[mfdrookie516]

I completely forgot to post back here. I finished mine up last night. I used 4 gallon water jugs (from the drinking water machines) and put 2 cups per bucket. I'm guessing I was a bit off, as I tested last night after everything had been running for an hour and I was at 1.023.

[Newsalt4me]

It is the only salt i use in my DT, at 25-26 degrees celsius you can mix 4 FULL cups of salt to achieve a 1.025 salinity in a 60lt drum.

Take in to consideration that depending on your coral load the red sea coral pro salt will give you a high nutrient mix so if you are going for high nutrient growth in your tank than this is the best but if you are shooting more for coloration and low nutrient then maybe another salt that is less rich would suit best.

My coral load is a very diverse mix so i don't have to supplement much, except adding some kh and some calcium every other day.

Hand to heart i can say that my nutrients and other values are very stable with this salt.

[carey]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the feedback.

I think my next salt order will be the red sea,. I have a gift card for foster and smith that expires january 3rd so I'll get a bucket of this stuff.

I've been dosing everything under the sun to keep my mag, calc and alkalinity in order, here's hoping this salt will help me out! lol

I plan on getting the reef mix, thats the one I want right? Not the just the regular salt mix?

[deepseadan]

For many years I've been using tropic marin and last year I made a weary switch to red sea coral pro salt. It turned out to be a great decision, especially cost wise. My reef seems to keep stable nutrient levels longer, and they are no negative effects I've seen. I believe the salt in coral pro salt is also harvested from sea water, which I kind of like as well. In my opinion, I rank it above tropic marin, though I might be yelled at.

[carey]

I debated going to tropic marin but this mix seems to have what I need which is high calcium and alkalinity.

Thanks for the comparison, I appreciate the input from someone that has used both.

[Dary421]

Carey.., I've been using the red sea pro salt for the last 4-5 months or so .. Besides having a tough time keeping my calcium level up everything's ok.. Nothing too special., no miracles ... No instant ideal water parameters., to me it's just another bucket of salt.

[carey]

Thanks dary. I'm just hoping for better performance than the I/O reef I use now. A marginal improvement would make it worth while to me.

[MDChurch]

watching this because I can get the red sea locally at pretty good prices. I'm thinking of switching from I/O reef cyrstals to the red sea.

[ccCapt]

I used about 10 175gal buckets of the Red Sea Coral Pro and while I didn't have any major problems with it, I didn't like the fact the calcium and alk are not really balanced. The calcium is very high (490) and alk too low (7 dKH). It messed up my dosing regime. I used regular Red Sea salt for over 10 yrs so I switched back to that. The calcium and alk are more balanced at 400 ca and 8 alk.

[Buffy]

I now use red sea. I'll catch up reading later but FYI........I'm still throwing in a cup, waiting and testing, wash rinse repeat. LOL, no clue how much to use and that formula confused me earlier, gotta think bout that (brain dead again). So I just add til I get it where I want.

[deepseadan]

Originally Posted by ccCapt

I used about 10 175gal buckets of the Red Sea Coral Pro and while I didn't have any major problems with it, I didn't like the fact the calcium and alk are not really balanced. The calcium is very high (490) and alk too low (7 dKH). It messed up my dosing regime. I used regular Red Sea salt for over 10 yrs so I switched back to that. The calcium and alk are more balanced at 400 ca and 8 alk.

Just wondering if you mix / stir the salt before you add water. With all my salts, I've always dumped them out of the bag into the bucket (and mix well) before using any. I can't really remember a time when either tropic marin or coral pro ever had anything but good parameters, especially such a low dkh. I could just be having good luck though. It kind of makes me nervous that some are having "not so good" parameters with coral pro. Maybe it's time to go back to tropic marin, just to be safe.

[ccCapt]

I don't add water to the salt, I add the salt to the water. In all my years of having a saltwater system (which is close to 25 yrs) I never dumped out a bucket to mix/stir the salt and I never notice a big difference in parameters from the top of the bucket to the middle to the bottom.

Also, just to note, the Coral Pro salt I used was the original formula. I don't know if the alk is any better on the new formula.

[deepseadan]

Last night I made three different five gallon mixes of saltwater from coral pro salt (water change time anyway. All three tested out 510, 500, 510 calcium, 1370 mag, and 12 dkh. I used salifert and tropic marin tests. I did one test from my old half used tropic marin's and it was 420 cal, 9 dkh and 1350 mag. I just asked about dry mixing the salt first because in the past I have seen major differences in parameters from the top to bottom of the buckets, especially with large mixes. Just like anything else shipped, I figured it may have settled.

[carey]

Wow, deepseadan, thanks for the experiment and results. Those are some good starting numbers on the coral pro, if I get the same results then I would for sure have to dose less.

I have 2 50g bagsof I/O left and one 200g box of kent salt that I got really cheap then I will start using this stuff. It's worth a try at least. Foster and smith have the 175g bucket for 69$ and I have a $5 off coupon so with free shipping its not that much of a jump in cost.

Thanks again guys, I wasn't looking for a salt war or anything and you all came through for me. I soo appreciate the responses.