good salt mix, the best

[Giz]

What's up with oceanic salt. I,ve heard of people having problems. If that is not good to use, what is? Crystal Sea, Reef Crystals...

[neotekz]

instant ocean

[fireman03]

there has been debates over this for yrs. i myself started out w/ io and didn't like to dose i also found out when i tested my ro/di water that there was no p04 and when i tested io there was a trace. i also tried oceanic, mixes well, but trace of po4 and alk was low. i have now upgraded my tank from a 12g to a 150g and i am using tropic marine. everything is pretty much in there as far as chemicals and no p04.

[TwistedTiger]

Here is an article someone posted on another board that might help you.

salt mixes (http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=57)

[Steven Pro]

I like Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, or Tropic Marin.

[mikebon111]

Tropic Marine is awesome but I do not know that it's worth all the money.I'm currently using oceanic and I do not like all the calcium in it.When I am finished with this bucket of Oceanic I will be going back to IO

[SuperNerd]

what about the high ammonia in Instant Ocean? Anyone have any problems with that?

[swashbuckler]

high ammonia? where did you hear that?

[reptoreef]

A 50/50 mix of IO and Oceanic has been treating my system very well.

[dngonzales]

i like instant ocean

[SuperNerd]

Originally posted by swashbuckler
high ammonia? where did you hear that?

From the bottom link posted by TwistedTiger. Scroll down, it's in the second paragraph about instant ocean:


Originally posted by TwistedTiger
Here is an article someone posted on another board that might help you.

salt mixes (http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=57)

[boxfishpooalot]

I also use instant ocean. but you may also want to know that the chemistry moderator on RC (randy) also uses this.

[ktani]

I like Tropic Marin but due to higher cost, I use Aquaqmedic and like it second to TM.

Tried Oceanic and had horrible results, and had good experiences with Instant Ocean.

Kip

[Herbert T. Kornfeld]

Its hard to keep calcium levels high with IO...that is a problem that many will tell you. For this reason I use the Reef Crystals. I have a friend who uses Oceanic on a larger scale...a bucket a month...and he is overall happy with it because he gets a great deal on it...but there have been bad batches reported...something more likely with smaller companies. Larger companies = larger mixes = less variation = more stability.

[SuperNerd]

Originally posted by Herbert T. Kornfeld
Its hard to keep calcium levels high with IO...that is a problem that many will tell you. For this reason I use the Reef Crystals. I have a friend who uses Oceanic on a larger scale...a bucket a month...and he is overall happy with it because he gets a great deal on it...but there have been bad batches reported...something more likely with smaller companies. Larger companies = larger mixes = less variation = more stability.
So then what's better...reef crystals or instant ocean? I thought they were made by the same company.:confused:

Originally posted by boxfishpooalot
boxfishpooalot

Do they really?

[Psyire]

I like Kent Marine Salt. Each to their own really... each brand seems to lack in one area...

[daphaze1]

kent is good, i mix kent with some redsea or some reefcrystals. kent is too expensive for me sometimes to use alone heh.

btw: yea insant ocean and reefcrystals are the same company made by aquarium systems except reef crystals is their top of the line salt. just like tropic marine and tropic marine pro. personally i dont like tropic marine, but have seen tropic marine pro and it seems to be a lot better.

[benf]

Seems that it is time for another round of testing....as that test is a few years old!

[MiddletonMark]

I've been quite happy with Reef Crystals and IO when I used them. Wasn't happy with Oceanic, though I know a few who like it [I had low Alk problems].

I'm trying Tropic Marin Pro Reef recently and am quite happy with it. Not the cheapest, but my corals are valuable to me too :) I haven't seen anything definitive to show that it's better than the RC I used before, but the tank seems to be doing well and water chemistry easy to manage - so my next buckets will be this salt.

Recently some locals and I got together to test the salts we most commonly use [IO, RC, and my new trial of TMPR]. Looking back on it, I'm sad we didn't throw Oceanic, maybe some others [Seachem's new stuff] into the mix - but yet we wanted multiple samples of what we use, so it's what we did.
Anyway, I posted the results in the Chem Forum a little while back: Informal Salt Testing Results (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=607986)

[swashbuckler]

Interesting: about IO, which i myself use religiously.... "Hawaii Marine Institute’s research: Their research found it to have the lowest levels of inorganic phosphate of any of the salts tested, with just a quarter of the amount found in natural seawater. Nitrate levels were also among the lowest tested, at just five times the amount seen in natural seawater. However, ammonia levels were high (second only to Kent Marine), at about 51 times higher than seawater."

the presence of ammonia vexes me...

[smoknreefrs]

if you are not on a budget i would certainly use Tropic marin...its a bit more money but a better product...you really dont have to dose many additives, when i ix it at a specific gravity of 25, i have all the right numburs i need in my tank as far as cal, alk, mag, and so forth

[ReefRockerLive]

How good is the Salt by Sera?

[benf]

I have been using IO until this bucket when i switched to Reef Crystals...too soon for me to tell. One thing is for sure, the calcium is way low. Running around 300 at best. Had to do a lot of booosting.

[irvin3]

i use red sea.

[swashbuckler]

any hear about the ammonia in salt?

[no1b4me]

tropic marin here, happy but cost, maybe i have to switch back to IO

[kabboord]

Tropic Marin Pro has been treatin me well... I used Oceanic but had two water changes that pushed my calcium up above 550 and I was way over that shizzle. I had a very fixed regiment of 2 part dosing before I got my calcium reaction and Oceanic messed it all up...

[boxfishpooalot]

Originally posted by Andraska
Do they really?

Yes they do and im thinking of a name change:lol: names are hard...

[DocG]

Here is an unusual brand of salt that I would like to try but I can't get up here in Canada. I have heard a lot of good things about it but do not have direct experience to draw from so take this with a grain of salt:D

Bio-Sea Marinemix (http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SALT-BS-50&Category_Code=Salt)

I use instant ocean and it works OK but I am very frustrated with the inconsistency between batches and the chronically low pH, Calcium and Magnesium.

[swashbuckler]

no one hear about ammonia in IO?

[Iammatt219]

does anybody use corallife?

[daphaze1]

i like coralife better then io, but i never really use it by itself. i always mix it with something better like kent or reefcrystals.

[SuperNerd]

Originally posted by swashbuckler
no one hear about ammonia in IO?

I feel ya Swash...seems like they're ignoring us! :rolleye1:

Originally posted by DocG
I use instant ocean and it works OK but I am very frustrated with the inconsistency between batches and the chronically low pH, Calcium and Magnesium.

How do you fix your pH if the batches used are too low?

[daphaze1]

Andraska dont use IO if you think there is ammonia, its as simple as that. I pmmed you about it, there shouldn't be a problem and most likely its your own tank that is the problem if its with ammonia. There are a bunch of threads that talk about it if you just do a search, including your PH problem. There are several chemicals you can use to properly adjust your PH though. But if you can get a calcium reactor that'd be best or you can dose chemicals from kent something-reactor or fiji-gold, etc. There is a number of ways to adjust your PH. You can even put Orange juice. =D (not recommended)

[thrlride]

Some people have had problems with Oceanic. You'll always hear more complaints than anything else so keep that in mind.

I am using Oceanic and have seen many other tanks using the salt and all have been just fine.

[SuperNerd]

Originally posted by daphaze1
Andraska dont use IO if you think there is ammonia, its as simple as that. I pmmed you about it, there shouldn't be a problem and most likely its your own tank that is the problem if its with ammonia.

Thanks Daphaze,

It's not my tank. I have zero ammonia. I just read that info and wanted people's opinions on it before I decide to change salt mixes. :rolleyes:

[bolobean]

The only solution to the above is to diversify, buy three different brands and use a different one each water change. Then you will never really get burned. Just like the stockmarket.

[hollinhead]

Tropic Marin. my snails were on their back, stop using IO and tried TM and within minutes they were back on the rocks and glass

[mikebon111]

this looked worth a try so I decided to purchased a box. I'll let you know how it works out in a week.
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SALT-BS-50&Category_Code=Salt


Here is an unusual brand of salt that I would like to try but I can't get up here in Canada. I have heard a lot of good things about it but do not have direct experience to draw from so take this with a grain of salt

[daphaze1]

http://www.themarinecenter.com/salt.htm

www.customaquatic.com search salt boxes

they got some cheap salt too.

[thaiman]

Recently switched to Tropic Marin Pro. Everything is looking better. My Xenia was just staying small (which I liked) and now it has doubled in a week (time to prune). SPS are more elongated, carpet anemones are looking great.

I have used Kent and IO in the past, from now on Tropic Marin Pro is the only way I'll go.

[55reasons]

I was reading an article yesterday somewhere that Dr. Shimek wrote and I recall him stating that a colleague of his found that the IO was incapable (for reasons I have since forgotten), of sustaining certain organisms due to higher levels of toxins in the salt.

[SuperNerd]

Originally posted by 55reasons
I was reading an article yesterday somewhere that Dr. Shimek wrote and I recall him stating that a colleague of his found that the IO was incapable (for reasons I have since forgotten), of sustaining certain organisms due to higher levels of toxins in the salt.

Okay...now I'm a little worried because I just switched to Instant Ocean...

Which salt mix IS capable of sustaining the organisms Instant Ocean suppossedly cannot?

Which salt mix does Shimek recommend?

[SuperNerd]

Here is the article I think 55reasons was referring to:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-03/rs/feature/index.htm


...and how Anthony from wetwebmedia.com responded to someone asking a similar question. Scroll down to the subject:

"Salt Mixes ATT: Anthony 3/6/03"


...I think I'm starting to feel a little better now!:lol: