Best Salt Mix

[snakeblitz33]

So, big question, why is it bad to switch from natural to synthetic and vice versa. Well, I hope that some of the other experienced members on the board can chime in on this thread.
I do not know the chemistry behind it. However, I do know that when I switched over from Instant Ocean to Oceanic or any other natural salt, my critters died. Any time I used oceanic and tried to switch over to a synthetic sea salt, my critters died. Natural Salt does not mix with Synthetic Salt.
IF you are going to try to switch over, you should do it in very, very low doses at a time. You may even go so far as to mix lets say 9 half cups of natural salt with 1 half cup of synthetic salt to mix up 5 gallons of water. It should be done very, very slowly.
I wish someone more knowledgeable on the chemistry side could step in and to into more detail. Maybe I'll pull some strings.

 

[coral keeper]

I use Natural ocean water I collected my self, synthetic salt, and natural salt. The tank is a 28 gallon HQI Nano-Cube SPS/LPS dominated tank. I never had any problems. I use natural ocean water as much as I can(I go to the ocean and collect water myself.) and when I run out of natural ocean water I mix my own water. I used to use Reef Crystals which is considered synthetic I believe and now I'm using SeaChem Reef Salt which is considered natural salt I believe.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I just know that I have had problems from switching from Instant Ocean to Oceanic
That might be the only problem.

 

[bang guy]

If you switch back & forth often or mix your salts then I doubt you will have a problem.
The problem switching salts occurs when one salt has a significant difference in the amounts of specific heavy metals. Algae and protist populations can grow to favor species that can more effectively utilize the elements in abundance.
So, when you run one salt for a long time and suddenly switch to a salt with much more, or much less, of a specific trace element then the dominant species of algae, dinoflagelate, etc. will die out and a new species will reign supreme. Imagine an SPS loaded with a particular species of Zooxanthellae and suddenly the amount of say, cadmium, decreases to zero and most of those Zooxanthellae die out quickly. The coral may or may not survive the transition to a new species of Zooxanthellae. This is just one example.
I think we can agree that opium is bad for you. What happens if a person is exposed to a certain amount of opium for months or years and then suddenly it is taken down to zero? It's certainly stressful and it can be fatal. The same thing happen to marine organisms in a closed environment.

 

[ca161406]

Originally Posted by Cleve_seahorse
http:///forum/post/2944233
I'm in the minority but I really like oceanic....very easy to mix and have never had to buffer ph....a 50g mix is 20.99 around here
oh man i know where to get a 200 gal bucket for $35. you can find it online with some searching haha

 

[snakeblitz33]

thank you bang guy

 

[chardo]

I have been disappointed lately with Oceanic. After using it for 4+ years, I'm finding it does not dissolve as well as before. I use fresh RO/DI in a 32 gal rubbermaid, add heater and powerhead, and add a half cup per gallon. I shake it slowly over the water, like sprinkling sugar on cereal. Two days later, it's still not crystal clear, and there is residue on sides and bottom of container and on heater and powerhead. Any comments? Should I change brands? FOWLR tank, btw.