scottnlisa
Member
I am curious on what everybody uses. I am Instant Ocean.
What salt mix do you use?
- Thread starter scottnlisa
- Start date
blue oasis
Member
I have been using Red Sea Pro for the last 3 years and i am very happy with it. I have a 90 gal Reef / fish tank and change 30gal of water every Sunday
steelgluer
Member
For poops and giggles I went and got me a pale of ***** salt for 29.99 was on sale. I tested it after mixing up 10 gallons of water dissolved very very fast, 1 scoop of salt per gallon of water and surprise 10 scoops put the salt at 1024
. Check alk was at only 7 low
not hard to raise that up. Checked cal was at 550
check mag was at 1350
. So I really dont see anything wrong with this salt, 29.99 for a 150 gallon bucket wasnt bad at all. I might go get another since it was cheap and is still on sale and test that to see if it reading are the same. Ill post back and let you all know since water change is due this saturday.
murray bmf
Member
I started with Instant Ocean but have since switched to Oceanic, mainly because of the pre-packaged 5 gal mix. I have had great results with both of them and only use Oceanic for the "easiness" factor.
btldreef
Moderator
I started with Tropic Marin Pro, then switched to Instant Ocean for the past year because TM is too expensive! Currently trying out Coralife which is the same price as Instant Ocean. My corals seem a little better with Coralife than Instant Ocean. I've also noticed fish acclimating better (have no idea what this can be contributed to, but it's working). My corals did the worst with Tropic Marin. Coralife also comes prepackaged in smaller bags inside the main bucket and you get a free tee shirt
Just seems to be the best so far.
murray bmf
Member
Originally Posted by Al Mc
http:///forum/post/3164579
Oceanic for 3+ years. Dissolves easily. You will never find consensus on this issue. Everyone has a favorite.
Now that is sound advise. I guess when you come down to it, I just use what works for me!
http:///forum/post/3164579
Oceanic for 3+ years. Dissolves easily. You will never find consensus on this issue. Everyone has a favorite.
Now that is sound advise. I guess when you come down to it, I just use what works for me!
mie
Active Member
Originally Posted by Dean1956
http:///forum/post/3163849
I have used IO since day one, but soon will be making my own salt
How will you do this?
I use reef crystals.
http:///forum/post/3163849
I have used IO since day one, but soon will be making my own salt
How will you do this?
I use reef crystals.
posiden
Active Member
While I do believe it is about what you like...........there are differences in salt brands. The different parameters giving by each brand will aid you in what you want to achieve with your tank.
For instance, some salt gives high Calcium. While other willl give you low Calcium. Choose the salt that helps YOU run the tank the way YOU want it.
Your tank is also going to tell you what it wants. Depending on how you stock it, your demands, will be different from others tanks. You may need a high Calcium salt, while another may not. I am not mentioning Alk cause in the end Alk doesn't really mean a darn thing. A 20% water change with a high Alk salt isn't going to effect you water. The reserve power just isn't there.
For instance, some salt gives high Calcium. While other willl give you low Calcium. Choose the salt that helps YOU run the tank the way YOU want it.
Your tank is also going to tell you what it wants. Depending on how you stock it, your demands, will be different from others tanks. You may need a high Calcium salt, while another may not. I am not mentioning Alk cause in the end Alk doesn't really mean a darn thing. A 20% water change with a high Alk salt isn't going to effect you water. The reserve power just isn't there.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I was told to go with instant ocean, but tehy were out of stock when i started out so i got red sea instead. I did see the huge cheap buckets of ***** brand, anyone else use these, they mkae 150 gallons for the same price as red sean and instant ocean for 50 gallons.
wifishman1
Member
reef crystals
cranberry
Active Member
Instant Ocean for over 10 years. It's what is available in every single LFS and Petshop around here. I don't actually buy it locally, but I like knowing I can get my same brand in an emergency.
I tried Teco, wasn't impressed with anything besides their bucket... their bucket was cool.
I tried Teco, wasn't impressed with anything besides their bucket... their bucket was cool.
mie
Active Member
Originally Posted by acrylic51
http:///forum/post/3167062
Reef Crystals, and yes you can buy the ingredients to make your own salt mix.
Is it worth it or pretty tough? How about the cost relation?
http:///forum/post/3167062
Reef Crystals, and yes you can buy the ingredients to make your own salt mix.
Is it worth it or pretty tough? How about the cost relation?
posiden
Active Member
Originally Posted by mie
http:///forum/post/3167686
Is it worth it or pretty tough? How about the cost relation?
The way I understand it, it is not worth the time or the money. In order to make a mix that is as pure as it can be. You need to spend some big dollars on the ingredients. The lesser expensive ingredients are not as pure. Then there is the batch size. It could be possible to save you money, however you would need to do a really big batch.
I have never done it, that is just what I get out of reading about.
http:///forum/post/3167686
Is it worth it or pretty tough? How about the cost relation?
The way I understand it, it is not worth the time or the money. In order to make a mix that is as pure as it can be. You need to spend some big dollars on the ingredients. The lesser expensive ingredients are not as pure. Then there is the batch size. It could be possible to save you money, however you would need to do a really big batch.
I have never done it, that is just what I get out of reading about.
dean1956
Member
Originally Posted by mie
http:///forum/post/3167686
Is it worth it or pretty tough? How about the cost relation?
Making it yourself will cost about 1/3 the price of buying it already made. You can buy salt crystals at 99.8 % pure and that is about as good as IO. The IO that I buy anymore has enough junk floating around after I mix it. I know of one guy that keeps his 14,000 gallon shark tank going with mixing his own salt so it is not that difficult to do but most people dont want the hassle of mess and storing the salts. Theres a recipe on the DIY forum here.
http:///forum/post/3167686
Is it worth it or pretty tough? How about the cost relation?
Making it yourself will cost about 1/3 the price of buying it already made. You can buy salt crystals at 99.8 % pure and that is about as good as IO. The IO that I buy anymore has enough junk floating around after I mix it. I know of one guy that keeps his 14,000 gallon shark tank going with mixing his own salt so it is not that difficult to do but most people dont want the hassle of mess and storing the salts. Theres a recipe on the DIY forum here.