Kent Marine news

[Oldschooler]

...Just a heads up, for those of you who like/use Kent stuff. I've heard from a VERY reliable source that Kent is "broke" and will be selling off their business, more or less. This may explain why EvilMel from the OTHER Tn reef club posted they were going in on a deal for Kent salt. May also explain why at least one LFS switched from Kent to pushing Oceanic salt.

Anyway, this was just an FYI post for those who care. If you are a Kent junkie, you may want to familiarize yourself with Seachem or Two Little Fishies REAL quick!

~Roberto

[wooglin]

I heard that new Oceanic salt rules. What have you heard? Are you going to carry it?

[Sir Knight]

I'm going to be mixing up some Oceanic salt this weekend. I received a free 5 gallon sample. If you guys and ladies are interested I will be posting the results in ETRC
( calcium level,alk,etc)


:beer:

[fishdoc11]

Im guessing I'll have to find something else besides Techcb. I've heard ESV b ionic is good. Anybody else use it?
thanks, Chris

[reewik]

I guess I will have to bet a new type of Kalk. Although due to going out of business I would guess the suppliers will be getting some great deals so watch for those deals.

Fishdoc11,

I have used b ionic in my tank from 96'. I also only had one or two sps so I caould not telll you if it worked all that great or not. I have heard good things about it though.

Joe Wall,

Make a thread when you get some info. I for one would like to see if there is a positive change or not to the system using Oceanic salt.

[cwa46]

Originally posted by reewik
I guess I will have to bet a new type of Kalk. Although due to going out of business I would guess the suppliers will be getting some great deals so watch for those deals.

Fishdoc11,

I have used b ionic in my tank from 96'. I also only had one or two sps so I caould not telll you if it worked all that great or not. I have heard good things about it though.

Joe Wall,

Make a thread when you get some info. I for one would like to see if there is a positive change or not to the system using Oceanic salt.

Just use pickling lime, its very inexpensive and is what you were buying anyway!

[wooglin]

Pickling lime can be a very good deal. Just be sure to find out which brands are good, and which ones turn the water yellow. I think Mrs. Something is the one you want.

[Oldschooler]

Please keep in mind my source *may* be incorrect. So, in other words, don't panic. And cwa is correct- MANY of the things we buy are already existing products simply re-packaged and marked up! Get me started sometime on the reptile trade! But, that is the name of the game. I've heard that Weis' Coral Vital is mostly just fermented prune juice. LOL Could be...

And as far as the salt goes... Didn't we all agree in another thread that there really wasn't a whole lot of room for salt to be "good" or "bad"? LOL

~Roberto

[aquaman67]

Custom Sea Life, now Kent...what gives?

You'd think with as much money is in this hobby that companies would be making money had over fist...guess not.

I use Kent products...I really like the metal scraper blades for the long handle scraper.

Oh, yeah, and my RO/DI is Kent too, lucky me!

[kevlouie]

There is a very interesting article topside (reef discussion) about Dow's ice melter (calcium chloride) and how it may be a cheap calcium supplement. Randy from the chemistry forum is the author, so its gospel. I think the kalk/pickling lime you guys are talking about is Mrs. Wages.

[wooglin]

I use the 4lb tub of ESV. It is so cheap, its not worth it to go track down Mrs. Wages.

[kevlouie]

Not so fast, a large bag of Mrs. Wages is $1.89 at Kroger. The ESV is probably purer though.

[cwa46]

Its all food grade.

[aquaman67]

The ice melter is calcium chloride. It's the same as Kent's Turbo Calcium. You can use it to supplement calcium, but since it doesn't raise alkalinity too, it shouldn't be used as the only source of calcium. It's just a booster.

Kalk and pickling lime are calcium hydroxide which will raise both calcium and alkalinity.

You shouldn't use just ice melter or Turbo calcium only as that will drive down your alkalinity.

Let's say you drip kalk and your calcium is 350 and your alk is 8 dKH. You can add some calcium chloride (ice melter or Turbo) to get you calcium to 400.

[wooglin]

I have heard that some pickling lime will turn your water yellow, dont know which one, but have heard Mrs. Wages is the one to go with. My esv 4lb tub was 18 dollars. I think it will last me a year. I am not sure how many pounds you get for 2 dollars at the grocery store.

[Sir Knight]

Mrs. Wages is sold by the pound online it's 1.85 lb + shipping. I have been using this stuff for a while now and had no problems.
I can not comment on yellowing of my water as I run carbon on my tank 24/7 so this may be taking the yellowing out.

I use Mrs. Wages in my neilson reactor for make up water, I also use a calcium reactor.

I talked to a very reliable source today and Kent is selling out. The way I understand it is the owner is going to be around for 2 or 3 years. I can not remember the name of the company that is taking over but it has been going on for about a month.

The deal that Mel got on the salt has been available for at else 2 + years, so it had nothing to do with the sale.

I wouldn't count Kent out, but I have been wrong before.

[rcmike]

I second the pickeling lime. I just got some yesterday for the first time and it is definately the same stuff. I had a little cloud poof up when I was pouring it into another container and it would take your breath away and make your eyes water just like kalk.

[rvitko]

Kent isn't bankrupt- they sold out. It is no longer owned by Jack Kent but now it is owned by Central Garden and Pet- the industry giant that also owns Oceanic, All Glass, TFH, Nylabone, Wardleys/Hartz Mountain and many others.

[Sir Knight]

Thanks rvitko,
That's the place. I'm getting old and my two brain cells can not retain a lot of information anymore

:thumbsup:

[reewik]

I might have to make some pickles... I mean get some of that Mr. Wages.

[fishdoc11]

Glad to hear it is just changing owners. Although that could be a bad thing as well.
Chris

[Oldschooler]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by aquaman67

You'd think with as much money is in this hobby that companies would be making money had over fist...guess not.

Know "not". There is, at any given time, HUGE money being spent in this, and any other hobby, but alas, it is not human nature to want to pay more than the least possible. Just because a company moves huge amounts of money does NOT mean they were able to profit.

I personally believe the true, most underlying reason the economy, as a whole, is "bad", is that NO ONE pays full, old-market value for ANYTHING anymore. In reality, we don't even KNOW what stuff is worth anymore. The "worth" of lime, kalk, salt, etc. is THE LOWEST PRICE we can manage to find it for. Anything above that is (as I'm told day-in, day-out) "a rip-off". Wal-Mart, Sam's, the internet, mail-order, etc. has made us a nation of spoiled brats (hey- I'm included, so don't get huffy) who believe anyone charging more than the lowest price available is somehow "ripping off" the public. Profit is evil. Of course, SOME companies and individuals still profit, but for the most part, the proverbial "economy" was a nation of people- average folk like you and me- who happened to make their living re-selling products and services for more money than we originally purchased or produced them for.

In a way, I kinda feel sorry for Kent, even though I never was really crazy about their products. I TOTALLY understand many of the things they had to deal with. Competition can be a lovely thing, IF it exists in a fair way. The "Beta" was a better machine, IMO, than the VHS recorder, but, we all know how that one ended...

~Roberto

[reewik]

You are showing you are with the beta comment Robert.

[wooglin]

I think he meant you are showing your age. Beta was the best. Bust so are Video Discs. They are much better than DVD's, but alas they to died.

[Oldschooler]

Thanks, Woog, for the clarification! It's four-forty a.m. as I read this, 'cause I came home from work and COLLAPSED on the bed upon entry, and I know I wasted a good ten minutes re-reading Eric's post, going, "Huh?" LOL

Then, I scrolled down and read your timely translation! LOL I can now resume my life! I swear, stuff like that eats me UP. I wouldn't have been able to move from this spot until I'd have figured it out!!! :D