Salt Mixes
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jstdv8
Guest
instant ocean, oceanic, red sea, reef crystals. seems everyone has their favorite because each kind of salt has different elements in it from another.
pezenfuego
Active Member
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3230895
instant ocean, oceanic, red sea, reef crystals. seems everyone has their favorite because each kind of salt has different elements in it from another.
That about sums it up. Based simply on hear-say, I would say that reef crystals is the most popular. I personally don't like instant ocean and love oceanic. Here oceanic is very expensive in comparison, so I buy coralife.
http:///forum/post/3230895
instant ocean, oceanic, red sea, reef crystals. seems everyone has their favorite because each kind of salt has different elements in it from another.
That about sums it up. Based simply on hear-say, I would say that reef crystals is the most popular. I personally don't like instant ocean and love oceanic. Here oceanic is very expensive in comparison, so I buy coralife.
uneverno
Active Member
Everyone's gonna have an opinion on that one.
It's not so much that salt mixes contain different elements from one another. They are essentially the same, especially in the macro-element department (NaCl, Ca, etc.)
There have been comparitive assays done by several independent sources (viewable on-line) which will let you know which trace elements appear in what quantity in various salt mixes. Frankly, I find them to be a bit tedious to read and have always come away confused as to whether ~10% more/less Strontium, Beryllium, Gold or whatever in one mix compared to another actually makes a difference. IME, having used numerous brands, it does not.
Rather, I use the same salt mix that the LFS I most often frequent uses and run at the same salinity they do. It makes more sense to me to ease the acclimation process for my critters than to worry about whether or not they're getting enough of something I can't test for anyway.
Doing regular water changes is, IMO, far more important than which salt mix you use.
It's not so much that salt mixes contain different elements from one another. They are essentially the same, especially in the macro-element department (NaCl, Ca, etc.)
There have been comparitive assays done by several independent sources (viewable on-line) which will let you know which trace elements appear in what quantity in various salt mixes. Frankly, I find them to be a bit tedious to read and have always come away confused as to whether ~10% more/less Strontium, Beryllium, Gold or whatever in one mix compared to another actually makes a difference. IME, having used numerous brands, it does not.
Rather, I use the same salt mix that the LFS I most often frequent uses and run at the same salinity they do. It makes more sense to me to ease the acclimation process for my critters than to worry about whether or not they're getting enough of something I can't test for anyway.
Doing regular water changes is, IMO, far more important than which salt mix you use.
black cobra
Member
Tropic Marin Bio-Actif System right here
Very Very expensive but all my trace elements are spot on perfect and thats what I wanted so I didn't have to deal with dosing headaches.
Very Very expensive but all my trace elements are spot on perfect and thats what I wanted so I didn't have to deal with dosing headaches.
bizzmoneyb
Member
everyone has their opinion on this one..
the most popular seem to be instant ocean, reef crystals, oceanic and tropic marin pro reef. personally i wouldnt use instant ocean or reef crystals for reef tanks, but thats just me. i use tropic marin pro reef and love it. it is pricey tho.
the most popular seem to be instant ocean, reef crystals, oceanic and tropic marin pro reef. personally i wouldnt use instant ocean or reef crystals for reef tanks, but thats just me. i use tropic marin pro reef and love it. it is pricey tho.
tur4k
Member
I don't really want to hijack your thread, but is there any downside to using actual ocean water other then having to transport it?
I live in Miami and a lot of the LFS's stock ocean water. I've been using that for all of my water changes. At $0.50/gallon it really doesn't seem more expensive then buying salt mix.
I live in Miami and a lot of the LFS's stock ocean water. I've been using that for all of my water changes. At $0.50/gallon it really doesn't seem more expensive then buying salt mix.
pezenfuego
Active Member
Originally Posted by tur4k
http:///forum/post/3236942
Actually, if I really wanted to, I could drive over to Biscayne Bay and collect it myself. Is there a downside?
You definitely don't want beach water. If you can go deep into the ocean and collect it, then it's fine.
Think about the ocean as a giant protein skimmer. Waves crash down and tiny little microbubbles are formed. These bubbles carry with them dissolved organic waste and are moved closer and closer to the shore. Eventually they make it to the collection cup...which is the beach. Everything dead washes to shore and sits there to rot.
At least, that's the way I understand it. Maybe someone else has a different view.
http:///forum/post/3236942
Actually, if I really wanted to, I could drive over to Biscayne Bay and collect it myself. Is there a downside?
You definitely don't want beach water. If you can go deep into the ocean and collect it, then it's fine.
Think about the ocean as a giant protein skimmer. Waves crash down and tiny little microbubbles are formed. These bubbles carry with them dissolved organic waste and are moved closer and closer to the shore. Eventually they make it to the collection cup...which is the beach. Everything dead washes to shore and sits there to rot.
At least, that's the way I understand it. Maybe someone else has a different view.
btldreef
Moderator
I've used them all, Instant Ocean, Tropic Marin, Red Sea Pro, Reef Crystals, etc.
The one that keeps my tank the most constant and that makes the corals look the best is Coralife(Besides, you get a free tee shirt
)
Like everyone else has said, it's really personal opinion. The LFS that I frequent the most uses Coralife, so that may play a part in it as well.
In a reef tank, I wouldn't use Instant Ocean. My tank by far did the worst when I used that.
The only benefit of Tropic Marin was that I did not have to add an alkalinity buffer. But for what the alk buffer costs vs how much more Tropic Marin costs, it wasn't worth the extra money. I figured out that my tank needs 7ml a day of alk buffer and that costs nothing in comparison.
The one that keeps my tank the most constant and that makes the corals look the best is Coralife(Besides, you get a free tee shirt
Like everyone else has said, it's really personal opinion. The LFS that I frequent the most uses Coralife, so that may play a part in it as well.
In a reef tank, I wouldn't use Instant Ocean. My tank by far did the worst when I used that.
The only benefit of Tropic Marin was that I did not have to add an alkalinity buffer. But for what the alk buffer costs vs how much more Tropic Marin costs, it wasn't worth the extra money. I figured out that my tank needs 7ml a day of alk buffer and that costs nothing in comparison.
btldreef
Moderator
Originally Posted by mrdc
http:///forum/post/3237025
I've used them all and settled on Reef Crystals. I really never noticed a difference by changing brands.
Most people don't unless they have a ton of SPS in their tank
http:///forum/post/3237025
I've used them all and settled on Reef Crystals. I really never noticed a difference by changing brands.
Most people don't unless they have a ton of SPS in their tank
pezenfuego
Active Member
I found Instant Ocean to be awful. My levels were way off mark, especially calcium. Every other brand I've tried has been very similar.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy IO; I probably just got a bad batch.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy IO; I probably just got a bad batch.
btldreef
Moderator
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/3237051
I found Instant Ocean to be awful. My levels were way off mark, especially calcium. Every other brand I've tried has been very similar.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy IO; I probably just got a bad batch.
I noticed the same thing with IO, which is why I don't recommend it for REEF tanks. It's fine for FOWLR systems. On many forums people will tell you IO isn't great for REEF setups unless you want to dose all the time. Here seems to be one of the few places that IO is used a little more regularly.
http:///forum/post/3237051
I found Instant Ocean to be awful. My levels were way off mark, especially calcium. Every other brand I've tried has been very similar.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy IO; I probably just got a bad batch.
I noticed the same thing with IO, which is why I don't recommend it for REEF tanks. It's fine for FOWLR systems. On many forums people will tell you IO isn't great for REEF setups unless you want to dose all the time. Here seems to be one of the few places that IO is used a little more regularly.
btldreef
Moderator
Originally Posted by mrdc
http:///forum/post/3237062
I thought this was an interesting table. Not sure how well you will be able to see it.
I was trying to find that in my bookmarks this morning when I first saw this post but I think my husband may have deleted it since we now exclusively use Coralife and will not switch.
The nitrates/ammonia readings were interesting.
http:///forum/post/3237062
I thought this was an interesting table. Not sure how well you will be able to see it.
I was trying to find that in my bookmarks this morning when I first saw this post but I think my husband may have deleted it since we now exclusively use Coralife and will not switch.
The nitrates/ammonia readings were interesting.
bizzmoneyb
Member
Originally Posted by tur4k
http:///forum/post/3236902
I don't really want to hijack your thread, but is there any downside to using actual ocean water other then having to transport it?
I live in Miami and a lot of the LFS's stock ocean water. I've been using that for all of my water changes. At $0.50/gallon it really doesn't seem more expensive then buying salt mix.
I inquired about this when I first started.. im in South Florida as well. I had some people that do it and swear theyve never had a problem.
But you never know whats in the water youre getting.
So I just went with the RO/DI unit. Much better than lugging water jugs.
http:///forum/post/3236902
I don't really want to hijack your thread, but is there any downside to using actual ocean water other then having to transport it?
I live in Miami and a lot of the LFS's stock ocean water. I've been using that for all of my water changes. At $0.50/gallon it really doesn't seem more expensive then buying salt mix.
I inquired about this when I first started.. im in South Florida as well. I had some people that do it and swear theyve never had a problem.
But you never know whats in the water youre getting.
So I just went with the RO/DI unit. Much better than lugging water jugs.