2023, what salt mix do you use?

[Rhino]

I wish they did it in bags, I have too many buckets, lol.

That’s fair. At the price of a 5 gallon bucket at a home store anymore though I plan to just start assigning them to outdoor duty after they are empty lol.

 

[homer1475]

Just to be clear, this is not a reef salt. It is equivalent to the purple bucket.

The reef salt is more expensive ($72.99 on BRS), but it's a pretty fair price IMHO for the quality. In terms of quality it is very much on par with tropic Marin, and has a lot more magnesium than most mixes do (~1400).

LOL really hard!

What exactly makes a salt mix a "reef" salt, and not just salt? Elevated parameters? I can do that with 2 part and it's still loads cheaper then their "reef" salt.

It's called marketing, and you obviously have fallen for it.

Before there were "reef" salts, we just used salt. Then some marketing genius decided to elevate the parameters, and call it a reef salt.

Again, all marketing.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

LOL really hard!

What exactly makes a salt mix a "reef" salt, and not just salt? Elevated parameters? I can do that with 2 part and it's still loads cheaper then their "reef" salt.

It's called marketing, and you obviously have fallen for it.

Before there were "reef" salts, we just used salt. Then some marketing genius decided to elevate the parameters, and call it a reef salt.

Again, all marketing.

Yes....marketing play a pivoting role in which salt we may decide to buy. However if you get past the marketing stuff... there are more than just elevated parameters. Purity, parameters that match specific demands, storage, degradation. They are not all created equal.

 

[homer1475]

Umm salt doesn't degrade as long as it does not have organics in it, and parameters that match specific demands? Really, thats called marketing. You can adjust any salt you want with some acid, or simple 2 part.

As long as a salt doesn't have organics in it, salt is salt. I wouldn't be surprised if most manufacturers source the same materials from the same companies.

 

[zoomonster]

It’s easy to find IO cheap, I have never paid over $45 for a bucket. Petsmart frequently has 20% off when you do in store pickup. Got this yesterday

Same difference. Bucket is equivalent to 3 bags and a box is 4 bags. Just happen to prefer bags as that is the amount I mix at a time for water changes. And of course, price difference between IO and reef crystals. So yeah, I paid a couple dollars more but got it next day, on a Sunday at that, Fedex to door.

And yeah, checked Petco and 20% off is only good if they have which local store does not.

 

[frydaddy]

Between petco, petsmart, chewy, and amazon, I've never paid more than $30 per bucket of IO delivered to my door. Usually get it in the $25-$28 range and stock up. Down side is I don't know what to do with all the empty buckets, so next bulk order will have to be boxes.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I use AF reef salt for my reefs, and recently swapped to AF salt (the fish only one) for QT purposes. It is cheaper than IO (if you get the 200 gallon bag), it mixes super clean in about 15 minutes (whereas IO purple bucket takes a VERY long time to clear up), and has ICP results for each batch...

I HIGHLY recommend AF salts. I switched from tropic Marin and will not be going back.

That’s what I am leaning towards. $73 for 200g and ICP test every batch. Second would be fritz at about the same price but seems more availability.

Mostly not going instant ocean as some of you here mentioned, it’s dirty and my friend is having the same issues.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

What do you want in a salt? Is price the number one priority? Is cleanliness and consistency a top priority? Is matching your parameters a priority?

Lots of variables to just blindly recommend salts. I’ve tested my fair share (found in my signature) and can tell you there are a bunch I wouldn’t use and a bunch I would. Just depends on what you want in a salt

Price, consistency, cleanliness and alk at around 8, so that leaves me af and fritz both at about 73

 

[jhadaway]

HW-Marinemix Reefer Salt Mix 160 Gallons - HW Wiegandt
I always get it on sale in the biggest box they carry-160gal. Usually $76.49. It mixes clean and fast and the alk is usually around 8 for me. I did red sea for a bit noticed some sludge buildup in the mixing tank. I used instant ocean for a QT and it was on the dirty side for me.

 

[rtparty]

Price, consistency, cleanliness and alk at around 8, so that leaves me af and fritz both at about 73

If you want clean and consistent, Fritz ain’t it.

AccurSea is a good choice. HW Reefer is an awesome choice as well. Especially since it isn’t MAP and goes on sale often. ESV can also work here. Just add a little less of the alkalinity portion. Robert Stark told me you can use about 10% less than the recipe and not throw everything off too much.

 

[Nano_Man]

I’ve just changed to natural sea water and when tested everything I want . Before changing I used instant ocean for years

 

[Eddielg]

50/50 instant ocean/ reef crystals

 

[leepink23]

Instant ocean blue bucket. Just got 3 of the 160 gallon buckets for $80 total delivered from petsmart.

 

[biecacka]

Reef Crystals or Instant Ocean, depending on what's available. It's good enough for public aquariums, and it's good enough for me.

Same here. I also believe Jason Fox uses it.
wasn’t there sone tests done showing that whatever residue people had left behind from mixing was harmless?


corey

 

[Second Shot]

TLF Accurasea. I like the pre portioned bags and parameters seem to be where I like them. For years I used instant ocean and then Red Sea blue bucket. All fine. Just easier to use the TLF

 

[MikeDesjean]

I used it before, one out of 10 times I would have brown stuffs floating on the surface and that the reason why.

I find when the water is heated I get a brown patch of stuff floating. When it’s mixed room temp/ cold I don’t get brown build up on top of water.

I do agree though that the IO leaves residue, but not in the tank, and near me it’s $50 a box for 200g and I can’t seem to get myself to spend the extra on something different.

I also stayed with IO and tried RC, I will say I did some bigger water changes with it and my alk never went above 9.

Now I’m back on IO based on the price and dosing All for Reef and everything is looking good.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

Instant Ocean for 12+ years

 

[Sump Crab]

I used IO for years, then reef crystals for years, then blue bucket for years. After noticing zero difference between the three concerning my tank I just switched back to IO again as it’s cheap. I would use any of them depending on what I can get the best deal on.

 

[Devisissy]

15 years in hobby. Salts I've used. Kent, hw, fritz, red sea blue and black, nyos.

Nyos is amazing. I can't believe people are not talking more about this salt. I've been using it since the day it came out to the public. Each batch is Triton tested and the batch's alk, CA, mag is right on the top of the bucket without having to give out your email or sign in. The Triton test you scan with your phone for instant results. No giving out your info. It's insanely clean. No residue even after several mixes in the bucket. Almost instant mix. Company states use it within minutes or store. They claim that their salt is made in such a way that precipitation will not occur. Consistency. From the top of the bucket to the bottom I got the same results. So no more rolling or stirring bags of salt. I'll never switch back. This salt has really made tank maintenance so much easier for me.

Red sea was so inconsistent unless I rolled it all around, and was one of the dirtiest salts I've used. Five mixes and there would be a layer of mud in everything. Then there were all the rules in mixing. And I know why they have them. Alk would drop if the salt wasn't used almost immediately. Kent was much cleaner and my second favorite, but it took a long time to mix and the calcium was through the roof. Hw was my hopeful but the water was tinged yellow and the mix had a very small shelf life after mixed just like the red sea. Fritz crashed my tank years ago. Granted they were new and hadn't ironed out the kinks yet. Owner actually texted me through Facebook to explain why. That was a different time for sure.

Nyos is one of those salts that just takes the concern out of this piece of the hobby. I can just trust it.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

15 years in hobby. Salts I've used. Kent, hw, fritz, red sea blue and black, nyos.

Nyos is amazing. I can't believe people are not talking more about this salt. I've been using it since the day it came out to the public. Each batch is Triton tested and the batch's alk, CA, mag is right on the top of the bucket without having to give out your email or sign in. The Triton test you scan with your phone for instant results. No giving out your info. It's insanely clean. No residue even after several mixes in the bucket. Almost instant mix. Company states use it within minutes or store. They claim that their salt is made in such a way that precipitation will not occur. Consistency. From the top of the bucket to the bottom I got the same results. So no more rolling or stirring bags of salt. I'll never switch back. This salt has really made tank maintenance so much easier for me.

Red sea was so inconsistent unless I rolled it all around, and was one of the dirtiest salts I've used. Five mixes and there would be a layer of mud in everything. Then there were all the rules in mixing. And I know why they have them. Alk would drop if the salt wasn't used almost immediately. Kent was much cleaner and my second favorite, but it took a long time to mix and the calcium was through the roof. Hw was my hopeful but the water was tinged yellow and the mix had a very small shelf life after mixed just like the red sea. Fritz crashed my tank years ago. Granted they were new and hadn't ironed out the kinks yet. Owner actually texted me through Facebook to explain why. That was a different time for sure.

Nyos is one of those salts that just takes the concern out of this piece of the hobby. I can just trust it.

First it doesn’t tell me how many gallons does 20kg make, second it’s lot more expensive that fritz to me. I typically change out 35g weekly.