Saltwater Correct Sea Salt Review

[snakeblitz33]

Hello guys and gals!
So, my buddy, Garry Elliott from Saltwater Correct sent me a free sampler in the mail of his salt mix. I am going to try it out on my system and see how well my tank responds. I'm going to upload a few pictures here in a few minutes of what I got in the mail.
I got a 25 gallon mix of the synthetic sea salt - it contains no caking agents... so the calcium chloride is packaged separately and added a few hours before you get ready to do the water change. This makes a lot sense to me, by packaging it seperately.
He also included a pack of calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride. So, I can mix those additives up as well and see how my tank responds.
On the synthetic salt label it says and I quote...
"For hobbyist who want alkalinity at 10dKH and calcium 450ppm: In order to provide chemical balanced imitation natural seawater, the calcium has been packaged separately to prevent the precipitation of solids (cloudiness) that may happen due to not having any anti-caking agents AKA free flowing agents in this mix. Mixing Instructions: Remove calcium packet and mix entire contents. Calcium can be added at time of mixing or add calcium a few hours before doing a partial water change. Use a strong water pump (1200gph) to stir salt and filtered water for 12 to 24 hours. This is called aging your water. Approximate sea salt mix values: Alkalinity 10dKH, Calcium 450ppm, Specific Gravity 1.026, pH 8.3, Magnesium 1350mg/L, Boron 4.5mg/L, Potassium 380mg/L. Test results may vary with different test methods and solvents. Organic Means: This product has no added YPS Anti-Caking Agents A.K.A Free Flowing Agents or EDTA."
We will see how it goes!

 

[snakeblitz33]

 

[acrylic51]

Hey Seth.....Garry is located in Pa isn't he.......

 

[acrylic51]

Wow!!!!! Small world......Garry's place is tucked away in Carlisle Pa.....I've known Garry for years.......When Garry ran his retail store(walk in) his tanks are incredible.......A real wealth of information if you talk to this guy, takes the hobby very seriously and takes the time with his customers.....I've used the salt in the past and Garry is always tweaking his products. Garry exclusively used his own products on his own systems, and as most know I'm very picky (anal) about details, and all I can say is

Another note about Garry is he didn't run tons of high tech gadgets, and his systems were still incredible.....Most shops have big huge skimmers, and Garry relied on basics. Garry built all of his skimmers and ran them with wood air stones and those monsters would skim........

 

[snakeblitz33]

Alright, so i mixed up a batch of this salt.
I opened up the salt bag and unexpectedly, the salt mix was a little moist. Usually when normal salt mixes get moisture in it, it gets really hard and cakes up. Well, since this salt has no anti-caking products in it, it doesnt! The calcium is also packaged seperately, which is a huge convenience. Sometimes you want to decrease your calcium level in the tank, and you can do that with this salt mix.
I did the water change and the tank clouded up as normal. After an hour or so, i could literally see it all clear up before my eyes.
Im going to observe my tank for a few days and see i there are any immediate results.
Using a two part organic salt mix makes a lot of sense. I still have some salt left and will make up another batch next weekend.
Garry also sent me some dry mixes of calcium, alkalinity and magnesium which i will start to use soon. I have to mix them up first.

 

[meowzer]

Hope it works for you.....I'm going back to IO Reef.....I have paid $100 for 3 tubs of salt, and IMO have seen NO improvement....as a matter of fact I think I lost more stuff since using it...one bucket was the aquavitro...and then the tropic marin pro reef
SO why pay 2x as much when I was getting better results with the other

 

[snakeblitz33]

saltwater correct isn't that much more expensive than reef crystals, including shipping. I think he ships it out in a flat rate shipping box.
With as few water changes I do, I might end up using it. If I see any improvement in my montipora after this water change - I'll definitely invest in another few bags.

 

[meowzer]

Well I will be curious to the results........I actually got a little lazy....I changed all the "small" tanks today.....and doing a w/c on the 225G tomorrow......I just got sick and tired of doing all this stuff.....and the tank looking awful and stuff still dieing

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah. Sometimes i want to just throw it all out. But the challenge of keeping everything alive and thriving always keeps me going.
Sorry that you arent having fun with your tanks.

 

[acrylic51]

Meowzer look Gary up and pick his brain......He's got a lot of info......

 

[snakeblitz33]

So far so good. I have noticed a small difference in the appearance of the coralline algae. The halimeda has perked up and greened up some. It seems like it is pretty good stuff.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Let me clarify about the tank clouding up. I believe i had disturbed a significant amount of detritus at the time of the water change. When the filtration kicked in, the tank was unbelieveably clear.
I am still impressed with this salt and i will hopefully be able to continue to use it for my next tank.