Reef Tank Salt Mix

[bla403]

I was using Red Sea Coral Pro salt for about the first 6 months of my reef and my LFS stopped carrying it so I switched to what they had (Seachem Reef Salt).
Lately I have noticed some inconsitent batches and I wanted to switch to something else and just start buying online.
A lot of folks here say to use Reef Crystals but I see a lot of posts/reviews saying that lately their batches are inconsistent also. Any thoughts?
Red Sea had a different smell to it and Seachem takes ALOT longer to mix in.
Feel free to post what you use and the quirks you have found.

 

[jimmyr1rider]

I use the ESV 4 part seawater system- is awesome- you taylor your salt if you like. The readings are consistent even though is 4 parts is very easy to mix and comes with everything you need to mix it- all the scoops to make any sized batch you want to and the beaker for the liquid part a and b. Isnt much more than reef crystals . May be worth a looking at.
dry parts
Part 1 sodium chloride- salinity
part 2- magnesium sulfate- mag
liquid part a&b major, minor and trace elements

 

[btldreef]

I have tried just about every salt on the market and settled with Coralife.
Here's my pros/cons/comments on a few:
Instant Ocean:
Ca level was never high enough. Corals just looked okay, but nothing had vibrant colors and no growth. LOTS OF ALGAE GROWTH
Tropic Marin Pro:
constantly had nitrite problems while using this salt, and for the extra money, that just wasn't worth it. Same effects on coral as the IO.
Coralife:
no alkalinity buffer, so more than likely you will have to add a liquid buffer, really not a big deal, most tanks need a buffer added to them regardless. My corals grow like crazy and have much more vibrant colors. Less algae issues. Only costs $4 more a container than IO and you get a t-shirt, LOL
Seachem:
INCONSISTENT. AMMONIA READINGS! I tell everyone I can to steer clear of this salt.
Kent:
Hard to find, inconsistent batches. When I had a good batch, corals did excellent, when I had a bad batch, inverts died.
Red Sea Pro:
Ca and dKH readings were always really, really high. Corals had the best coloration, but weren't fully extending and I feared that the high dKH readings would kill the corals over time, especially the SPS and Acans.
I am considering trying Brightwell's in the near future, but I fear it will be like Kent since their products are very similar (Brightwell used to work for Kent). Brightwell's is getting excellent reviews on another forum I belong to right now.

 

[bla403]

Thanks for the info it helped alot. Yeah im not much a fan of Seachem. I recently had a salinity issue after a recent vacation that caused my ammonia to spike but I cleared it up... Even after some time I am seeing some green in my test kit but I think its just the test kit is bad or at least I hope.

 

[bla403]

Just noticed a new brand that I havent seen before.
D-D H2Ocean Magnesium Pro PLUS Salt Mix
Anyone ever use this:?

 

[btldreef]

Never heard of that brand.
I'm skeptical about trying off brands, just because what if you can't find it anymore? Than you have to repeat the whole process of trying out other salts and throwing your whole system into chaos again. I try to stick with the easier to find bigger name brands.
I didn't mention this in my write up earlier, but I've tried a lot of off brand, do it yourself kind of salts, which this is probably similar to and found that the batches are extremely inconsistent.

 

[bla403]

I'm either going to go back to red sea coral pro (I did notice higher calcium readings back then) or try coralife. I found a place online thathas good prices and 6 dollar shipping on buckets... Slot of places charge 20 bucks on top of shipping!!!

 

[mrdc]

Anyone have any experience with Seachem's salt mix?

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by mrdc
http:///forum/post/3245786
Anyone have any experience with Seachem's salt mix?
It's one of the one's I commented on. GARBAGE. IMO, the worst salt on the market. The batches are very inconsistent and always got an ammonia reading as well as many other people have while using this salt. There's another thread on the forum right now where a kid is having all sorts of problems with his water parameters and most of it stems from the SeaChem Salt. I tell everyone I can to avoid this salt like it's the plague.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Bla403
http:///forum/post/3245785
I'm either going to go back to red sea coral pro (I did notice higher calcium readings back then) or try coralife. I found a place online thathas good prices and 6 dollar shipping on buckets... Slot of places charge 20 bucks on top of shipping!!!
The only issue with coralife is that they don't have an alkalinity buffer like most other salts, so don't be surprised if you need to add that. Alkalinity buffers are cheap enough though. For my 155, I have to add 5mL a day.
Red Sea Coral Pro has a higher Ca concentration than most other salts I believe, not by much, but enough to notice a difference. You may notice it with Coralife as well, but you need to test for Ca, dKH and Mag all together since they all go hand in hand to really know if they readings are accurate and working. For ex: A high dKH, w/ low Mag and Ca means something is up.

 

[mrdc]

Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3245791
It's one of the one's I commented on. GARBAGE. IMO, the worst salt on the market. The batches are very inconsistent and always got an ammonia reading as well as many other people have while using this salt. There's another thread on the forum right now where a kid is having all sorts of problems with his water parameters and most of it stems from the SeaChem Salt. I tell everyone I can to avoid this salt like it's the plague.
Thanks. I should had read more carefully!

 

[bla403]

My lfs pushed me to try seachem stating that it has higher magnesium levels that really benefits the corals. Like I said above, I'm not really a fan.

 

[killer whale]

Originally Posted by Bla403
http:///forum/post/3245186
I was using Red Sea Coral Pro salt for about the first 6 months of my reef and my LFS stopped carrying it so I switched to what they had (Seachem Reef Salt).
Lately I have noticed some inconsitent batches and I wanted to switch to something else and just start buying online.
A lot of folks here say to use Reef Crystals but I see a lot of posts/reviews saying that lately their batches are inconsistent also. Any thoughts?
Red Sea had a different smell to it and Seachem takes ALOT longer to mix in.
Feel free to post what you use and the quirks you have found.
I've recently switched from Instant Ocean to Oceanic. I've been very pleased with the results in my reef tank. Found it very consistent and easy to dissolve. In addition of calcium and trace elements that instant ocean lacked

 

[black cobra]

Tropic marin Bio Actif.... dont waste your money. My Calcium levels were 300ppm and Magnesium was 1000ppm

I have since switched to CoralLife by Oceanic and I am golden at 420/1250. It also costs $30 compared to $100 for TMBA

 

[lil.guppy]

I switched from Instant Ocean Reef Crystals to just original Instant Ocean. The Reef Crystals made my calcium levels too high and I like to add my own coral additives.

 

[killer whale]

Originally Posted by black cobra
http:///forum/post/3245836
tropic marin bio actif.... Dont waste your money. My calcium levels were 300ppm and magnesium was 1000ppm

i have since switched to corallife by oceanic and i am golden at 420/1250. It also costs $30 compared to $100 for tmba
amen you gotta love the price break.

 

[daftboy]

not to hi jack but I just bought Tropic marin .. there reg. line... is this no good .. should I return it ?

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Daftboy
http:///forum/post/3245914
not to hi jack but I just bought Tropic marin .. there reg. line... is this no good .. should I return it ?
You were using SeaChem and anything is better than that garbage. I'm not a huge fan of Tropic Marin, didn't notice much difference other than price, but I tried Pro. People that use Tropic Marin Pro usually swear by it.
I'm a Coralife fan myself.

 

[bla403]

Got 2 buckets of coralife for 90 bucks shipped!!
Hope I get some of the coral reactions that you spoke about as I have some corals whose cold has faded and One that is whiting out. Params and light are good but it's gone downhill with this last bucket of seachem salt

 

[bla403]

Got 2 buckets of coralife for 90 bucks shipped!!
Hope I get some of the coral reactions that you spoke about as I have some corals whose cold has faded and One that is whiting out. Params and light are good but it's gone downhill with this last bucket of seachem salt