I know this is a controversial topic but I stopped at a LFS today to buy my usual Instant Ocean brand and the guy behind the counter told me I should think about switching to Red Sea salt mix. I have used Instant Ocean in two tanks now and I have never had any real problems but the guy at the LFS says Red Sea salt is more natural and I will see more coral growth by switching brands. Is there any truth to this? Has anyone used the Red Sea salt mix after switching from another brand and see any noticeable difference?
Red Sea salt
- Thread starter brust
- Start date
theres a lot that will tell you to stick with IO but i prefer red sea to any salt ive tried, although ive heard the oceanic is the best which i have not tried. what i understand is the red sea salt is collected from the ocean and they add what evaporates away w/ the water.... dont know about that really, all i know is it dissolves quicker and easier than IO , I remember getting "bad" batches of IO.... the red sea is always consistant and thats why i prefer and have used it for the past 4 years.
shr00m":2w14dwix said:
You will get that same story with different brands from different people.
I have used IO since 98 and never had a problem.
There have been reports of bad batches of just about every salt.
Every time a new 'salt study' comes out people run around like chickens with no heads to change to the 'best' salt. I think the last one had people switching to oceanic and a good many of them experiencing coral loss. The general idea as to the loss is the quick switch, but we actually don't know.
IMO there is no 'best' salt. There are just salts and all of them have issues. I use IO because it is always available and because it seems to have the least burps in the mix. Many public aquariums use it, and that seems like a good endorsement. Is it low in mg and ca - yep, but thats easy to fix.
In short, don't trust anyone in this hobby that tells you any product is the 'best'. They can only tell you what works for them. I like to see pictures of peoples tanks as a way to judge their advice.
Its not always accurate, but I find it helpful.i totally agree actually, just speaking from my experience. seemed to take so long to get IO to dissolve, and i can just dump red sea in and swirl for a few mins and its totally dissolved.... still circulate for 24 hours of course, but just seems easier to me, IO would clump a lot for me too. IO is fine, one batch ruined me though.... but yea stick with what works for you, by all means.
red sea is one of my two personal favorites-and don't let anyone b.s. you about the grit residue being any type of negative quality indicator
i've spawned and raised damsels in it, and my corals were always happy when using it-i've also used it on a store level scale
crystal sea is my 2nd favorite
i've spawned and raised damsels in it, and my corals were always happy when using it-i've also used it on a store level scale
crystal sea is my 2nd favorite
Its in my opinion that there is no hard evidence that one salt works better than another.
Right now I am using 15 dollar a bag Via Aqua OceanPure salt and I am getting good colors in my acros and not getting cyno or excess of anything else.
I used Oceanic, I used IO, I used Tropic Marin Pro. I saw all the same results.
Plus, salt companies can change there formulas without notice and quality from batch to batch can vary.
Making saltmix is a tough job to get right.
IMO, use the one thats best for your pocket book!!!
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Right now I am using 15 dollar a bag Via Aqua OceanPure salt and I am getting good colors in my acros and not getting cyno or excess of anything else.
I used Oceanic, I used IO, I used Tropic Marin Pro. I saw all the same results.
Plus, salt companies can change there formulas without notice and quality from batch to batch can vary.
Making saltmix is a tough job to get right.
IMO, use the one thats best for your pocket book!!!
_________________
Crime insurance Forum
I am new to the hobby, but I have tried just about all of them including, IO, Oceanic, and Chrystal Sea. I have been using the Red Sea Coral Pro with great results for about 5 months. I mix it with steam distilled water in a 37 gallon tank. The calcium level is always great. I tested it once with a fresh batch(salifert test) and it was about 370ppm at a 1.021. I do a 2 gallon water change every week. My corals are growing like weeds(including sps). I def. am not interested in trying anything else. I am sold on the Red Sea Coral Pro Salt!(for now) :?
I am new to the hobby, but I have tried just about all of them including, IO, Oceanic, and Chrystal Sea. I have been using the Red Sea Coral Pro with great results for about 5 months. I mix it with steam distilled water in a 37 gallon tank. The calcium level is always great. I tested it once with a fresh batch(salifert test) and it was about 370ppm at a 1.021. I do a 2 gallon water change every week. My corals are growing like weeds(including sps). I def. am not interested in trying anything else. I am sold on the Red Sea Coral Pro Salt!(for now) :?
How do you gauge a "bad salt" or a "good salt". I have used IO since the beginning of my tank, which was about 10 months ago. If the salt was "bad" what would I see? What problems would I be having.
My new tank was filled with red sea, but I still have extra IO left. When the IO is gone I will probably buy Red sea, just because the tank was filled with it, and I like to be consistent.
My new tank was filled with red sea, but I still have extra IO left. When the IO is gone I will probably buy Red sea, just because the tank was filled with it, and I like to be consistent.
Don, I like the Red Sea because of its high calcium level. I don't have any calcium enrichment system, just dumping Kent Ca in the sump every couple of days. When I do a water change the Ca comes back up. I did use this stuff called Chrystal Sea(in the cardboard box), and had trouble maintaining the proper DKh and corals closed up. Who knows though, may have just been me! Dave
dnorton1978":zvv8qu5a said:
if you're ron shimek-then most improperly
heh the whole salt thing is highly over-rated-you can even make your own-it's not that difficult and the recipe (widely available on the internet) is pretty simple-google ' salt + monaco formula'
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