Pro's and Con's of Different Salt Mixes
- Thread starter pkgrif
- Start date
J
jdragunas
Guest
i also use oceanic, and i love it! My calcium levels are always right on!!!
I was told by my LFS to switch from instant ocean. I can't remember why, it was like 1 year ago, but it was something about not enough calcium, or too much minerals... something like that.
I mix my salt in a 5 gallon bucket (i do 5 gallon water changes whenever needed - normally monthly). I mix it 24 hours in advance with a powerhead, and about 1 hour before i put it in my tank, i take my heater out of the display and add it to the bucket, to warm up the water. This way, i don't decrease the temp in the tank when i do the water change.
Jenn
I was told by my LFS to switch from instant ocean. I can't remember why, it was like 1 year ago, but it was something about not enough calcium, or too much minerals... something like that.
I mix my salt in a 5 gallon bucket (i do 5 gallon water changes whenever needed - normally monthly). I mix it 24 hours in advance with a powerhead, and about 1 hour before i put it in my tank, i take my heater out of the display and add it to the bucket, to warm up the water. This way, i don't decrease the temp in the tank when i do the water change.
Jenn
S
scighera
Guest
for fish only tanks it's good to keep the specific gravity (salinity) low like around 1.016 - 1.018 beacuse most parisites can not thrive in those conditions, how ever if you have invetabrates you have to keep the specific gravity at 1.020-1.022 or problems may ocure.
mudplayerx
Active Member
I have to disagree. If you have inverts, you will want to keep your specific gravity around 1.024-1.026. This is my opinion :joy:
BTW, I use Instant Ocean. It is inexpensive and allows me to dose kalkwasser without throwing my levels off.
BTW, I use Instant Ocean. It is inexpensive and allows me to dose kalkwasser without throwing my levels off.
acrylic51
Active Member
I agree with Mud on the salinity levels......I use Reef Crystals and have for quite some time....I did try Oceanic for about 6 months......Really easy to dissolve.....But the most important thing I noticed is the corals didn't look as good with the Oceanic than with the Reef Crystals so I switched back.....There have been several threads on this site and others about all the so called "glory" of Oceanic, so it's really up to the individual user as to what works for him or her
T
thomas712
Guest
Good Lord not another one of these threads, do a search and please don't get me started on this topic.
I'll never use instant ocean again.
I'll never use instant ocean again.
mudplayerx
Active Member
I've been using it since day one with no problems. Also, I found out that you can use "pickling lime" instead of kalkwasser and its like 1/25th the price. So with cheap salt and cheap calcium, I'm golden!!!
mikeyjer
Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
I've been using it since day one with no problems. Also, I found out that you can use "pickling lime" instead of kalkwasser and its like 1/25th the price. So with cheap salt and cheap calcium, I'm golden!!!
That's EXACTLY what I said in another thread, the thing with "Pickling Lime" A chemist told me to use that. He used to have saltwater tank and that's what he uses. :happyfish
I've been using it since day one with no problems. Also, I found out that you can use "pickling lime" instead of kalkwasser and its like 1/25th the price. So with cheap salt and cheap calcium, I'm golden!!!
That's EXACTLY what I said in another thread, the thing with "Pickling Lime" A chemist told me to use that. He used to have saltwater tank and that's what he uses. :happyfish
jonny bolt
Member
I think this arguement is like "Chevy vs. Ford". What do you drive? I think its funny to read people who rabidly defend one companies product. Its all opinion based. Instant Ocean has been used for longer than some salts have even existed. I've talked with 2 chemistry majors at U.N.H. and they both told me the differences between salts, if any, are minute in reality. Some add a little more of this, and some add a little more of that. Not to mention that if you do the proper amount of water changes, you replenish some of the lost minerals, etc. All the major salts out there work, if they didnt, they wouldnt be sold. Find one you like and stick with it. I use Oceanic, Tropic Marin, and Instant Ocean. Every few months, I buy whatever is on sale
escape2thewater
Active Member
Originally Posted by Thomas712
Good Lord not another one of these threads, do a search and please don't get me started on this topic.
I'll never use instant ocean again.
^^the man speaks from experience^^ BAD experience. A couple years ago he got a bad batch of IO and it killed off almost everything in his tank. Im sure if you do a search you can find the thread on it, its a mile long.
Escape
Good Lord not another one of these threads, do a search and please don't get me started on this topic.
I'll never use instant ocean again.
^^the man speaks from experience^^ BAD experience. A couple years ago he got a bad batch of IO and it killed off almost everything in his tank. Im sure if you do a search you can find the thread on it, its a mile long.
Escape
newfishguy
Member
It's personal preference. They are all good and bad in one way or another.
T
thomas712
Guest
OK ~ if there is any doubt about the salt mix you use then listen up.
1. If it mixes cloudy and stays cloudy then don't use it.
2. When using a new bag, box, or bucket of any salt it is always a good idea to mix it up and then test it for calcium and alkalinity as well as magnesium if you have that test kit as well, before adding it to your tank.
3. If the magnesium is insufficiant then your water chemistry might not remain stable, that is your calcium and alkalinity may not stay in balance for long. Mg is what keeps the other two from doing the yo-yo affect. Mg also helps us to keep the other two up to the levels that we require for a reef.
All salt mixes can have inconsistancies to them no matter who makes them. It is always wise to test it before adding it. If I had done that, my tank back then might not have been nearly wiped out.
I've delt with Instant Ocean for years, and never got the results that I did with Oceanic salt. With IO salt and my tank it was always a constant battle of dosing this and dosing that. When I went to Oceanic my tank sprung to life, coralline came and stayed, corals responded positivly. I have used many salts, and I drip kalkwasser. so far best results for MY TANK have been with Oceanic.
1. If it mixes cloudy and stays cloudy then don't use it.
2. When using a new bag, box, or bucket of any salt it is always a good idea to mix it up and then test it for calcium and alkalinity as well as magnesium if you have that test kit as well, before adding it to your tank.
3. If the magnesium is insufficiant then your water chemistry might not remain stable, that is your calcium and alkalinity may not stay in balance for long. Mg is what keeps the other two from doing the yo-yo affect. Mg also helps us to keep the other two up to the levels that we require for a reef.
All salt mixes can have inconsistancies to them no matter who makes them. It is always wise to test it before adding it. If I had done that, my tank back then might not have been nearly wiped out.
I've delt with Instant Ocean for years, and never got the results that I did with Oceanic salt. With IO salt and my tank it was always a constant battle of dosing this and dosing that. When I went to Oceanic my tank sprung to life, coralline came and stayed, corals responded positivly. I have used many salts, and I drip kalkwasser. so far best results for MY TANK have been with Oceanic.
snailheave
Active Member
i haven't done a water change in two months
this thread makes me want to perform one
jonny bolt
Member
fatcats, could you send me the link to that spreadsheet? jbolt@stripers247 . com
