All other salts are double the price of Instant Ocean. Is it really worth it?

[sfin52]

Any problem of getting out after first shipment?

Petco is really good at shipping

 

[sfin52]

Yea. You have to be cautious about retailers doing reviews for brand names. They will have a bias for brands with higher velocity and/or better profit margin. I trust users review more than I trust retailers. Or gurus like @Dana Riddle or @Randy Holmes-Farley

BRS used to be fairly good at info on products now they are a corporation more worried about bottom line. This what happens when you get corporate partners.

 

[jda]

All that anybody should want in a salt is stability, lack of contaminants and lack of chemistry issues. Nearly all salts have had these things except for IO and RC which I cannot remember a single actual instance of since I got into this in the early 1990s. TM was good and reliable until now. Oceanic was reliable until they stopped making it, although the values of some things were quite high. You get a few hobbyists complaining about bad batches here or there, but I mean actual, verifiable issues. SeaChem, Red Sea (this is evaporated seawater so you get what you get), Kent, CoralLife, etc.

Speed of mixing, parameters when mixed, etc. are fools gold to me since speed does not matter in the grand scheme of things and you can easily adjust the parameters to your taste- and you should. Find a consistent salt, set up a consistent batch and do your math, get some Muriatic Acid, Calcium Chloride, Mag Chloride (if needed) and make it your own. You only have to figure it out once, if the salt stays consistent. If you can, use the whole bag of any salt to prevent settling separation - it happens... I don't care what the BRS Infomercial says.

FWIW - I ordered 4 boxes of IO and got RC instead. I emailed and they told me that it was my lucky day and that I could keep the superior (more expensive, I guess) for free. I told them that was not the case and they refunded a nice hunk. In any case, I have 800 gallons of RC to use up. This just means a bit more Muriatic Acid and less dowflake in the mix for my recipe - it took me like 2 minutes to figure out and a test a day or two later.

 

[ReeferSamster]

You know, it's the have and have nots, lol. Like Hatfield and McCoys!

Or the wise and the foolish.
Just kidding.

The brand names are irrelevant. IO just happens to be the brand that is half price.
Brand A costs X dollars.
Brand B costs twice as much!
Well then, what are the perceived benefits of doubling the price? Its quite a logical inquiry.

I was just genuinely curious to hear from other users experiences sharing any concrete benefits they've found in other salt.

Or is it just BS marketing and brand name fanboy stuff. ("pharma grade salt!" "Vitamins in our salt grow your coral faster!" ;Chicken ) I really wanted to know.

My reeftank has been boring lately and I have the urge to upgrade or tinker with something in my tank.

 

[blaxsun]

Turkish salt for the win! (just kidding - Tropic Marin salt user anticipating a long wait...)

 

[Downfall]

Any problem of getting out after first shipment?

TBD but per their FAQ section you can cancel the subscription any time as long as it's at least 24 hours prior to the next shipment.

 

[GARRIGA]

 

[MaxTremors]

Any problem of getting out after first shipment?

Nope. And you can take advantage of it multiple times. Just need a new email address, can use same address and card. Don’t ask me how I know.

Edit: and as far as salt goes, I’ve used most of the major brands over the years. Currently, and for the last year I’ve been using Fritz RPM. I usually end up paying around $50 for 200g, so not much more than IO. I just don’t want elevated Alk, and I like that it dissolves/mixes clear in minutes. I’ve never had any QC issues with Fritz, though most salt brands have had issues at some point. I do think that amino acids are important and dose them daily, but I don’t know if I’d want them mixed into my salt. I do think this topic is a little bit absurd though, there are higher and lower end options for everything, and I think painting it as IO being one price and every other salt being twice as much is disingenuous, you don’t get to use discounted prices for IO and then use MSRP for every other brand. If you find IO to be satisfactory for your tank, good for you. Personally, I don’t like the levels it mixes to. IDK, this whole thread just seems like it’s trying to stir the pot. Or mix the salt.

 

[ReeferSamster]

Nope. And you can take advantage of it multiple times. Just need a new email address, can use same address and card. Don’t ask me how I know.

Thank you for your experience. .
Good to know.

 

[dedragon]

Interesting, I've mixed my instant ocean (regular - not reef crystals) for about 2 hours max and it appears to totally dissolve. Does redsea salt mix faster? But I also have a 500 gph pump in the mixing barrel and i pour the salt in slowly, so that might be the reason for the speed of mixing.

Way quicker, under 20 minutes.

 

[dedragon]

I love the speed of red sea mixing. I haven't had access to hwmarinemix. Does it mix at about the same speed at red seas?

HW was fast and clean (no left over residue) notsure if was as fast as red sea as i havent used it in over 8 years, but as I recall around 30min to an hour tops but i need a new batch to test that for sure

 

[DivingTheWorld]

You need to be really careful with Instant Ocean. It can do this with little frags and become a real hassle with all the needed trimming. Use at your own risk!

 

[ninjamyst]

Love IO and RC. Cheap, mixes fast, no residue.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Use what u like and works for you. And if u switch from a higher alk salt to a lower just do it slowly over time. We all know our systems like stability. Haven’t done a water change in a while lol but hey it’s been consistent. Tests help.

 

[ReeferSamster]

IO being one price and every other salt being twice as much is disingenuous, you don’t get to use discounted prices for IO and then use MSRP for every other brand.

I'm not being disingenuous. Everyday prices for IO is $11.99 for a 50 gallon bag. Its not on sale. That is approximately half the price of other salt everyday prices and in many cases even less than half the price.

I know these prices, because I was shopping around for better value and comparing salts which is what led to this thread. Google all the prices for all the brands yourself and let me know if they are approximately double the price of below.

Everyday prices $11.99 IO 50 gallon bags.

No one really answered the question of the title of the thread so far except: Mixes faster.
Please read the title of the thread:

All other salts are double the price of Instant Ocean. Is it really worth it?​

Its not about brand loyalty or that IO is the best salt. Omg. Its just an honest question: Is it worth double the price and if that is your experience, please share!

I was simply shopping around and shocked to find such a price disparity because I've always just purchased IO through the years without comparing

 

[JMetaxas]

Huge Reef Crystals fan here. Paid about $7.50 per 50 gallon mix last time. I’m laughing all the way to the bank using this great salt mix.

People assume that paying double means they‘re getting a superior product. WRONG. It only means the seller is making double.

Decent deal going on there for 200 gallons worth: https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-reef-salt-aquariums/dp/165469

 

[MaxTremors]

I'm not being disingenuous. Everyday prices for IO is $11.99 for a 50 gallon bag. Its not on sale. That is approximately half the price of other salt everyday prices.

I know these prices, because I was shopping around for better value and comparing salts which is what led to this thread.

Google all the prices for all the brands yourself and let me know if they are approximately double the price of below.

Everyday prices $11.99 IO 50 gallon bags.

All I want to know is if anyone had experiences to them for justifying such a large price difference. That is all.

I was simply shopping around and shocked to find such a price disparity because I've always just purchased IO through the years without comparing

The MSRP of a 50lb bag of IO is $25.49 (even says so in the link you posted). Just because it’s frequently sold at a discount doesn’t change that fact, there are plenty of retailers that sell it at MSRP. So again, it’s disingenuous to post the cheapest price you can find for IO but not the cheapest price you can find for the other brands.

 

[ReeferSamster]

The MSRP of a 50lb bag of IO is $25.49 (even says so in the link you posted). Just because it’s frequently sold at a discount doesn’t change that fact, there are plenty of retailers that sell it at MSRP. So again, it’s disingenuous to post the cheapest price you can find for IO but not the cheapest price you can find for the other brands.

MSRP: Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price? That's back in the brick and mortar days, you know when we used to ride horses and carriages? MSRP is an obsolete concept in E-Com. No one pays MSRP.
In fact, Amazon doesn't even ask for the MSRP as a required field when you start a new product rollout in vendorcentral as an 1P FBA seller.

All the prices for all the salts I've listed are everyday retail prices. Even on amazon itself, check out the cost of other salt! They are about double the price there or anywhere!

Amazon has no favoritism with brandnames like BRS might have, regarding which are prime approved. Amazon is run by SkyNet: AI algorithm that lists popular sellers higher on the page. That is all. They don't care about brandnames as long as they fit under Amazon's margin requisites. Its a big computer that runs the sales SOP. They'll probably start selling Terminators soon and we should find John Connor ASAP!

I've done ecommerce management for the last 7 years. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-byun-98880217b?trk=public_profile_samename-profile

 

[flashsmith]

If anyone uses it... Coralvue has AF sea salt for $10@ 70 gallon bucket on clearance. I bought a couple reef crystals over the Holidays at $35 for the bucket and took advantage of the $7.63 price yesterday. I buy whatever is cheapest at the time. I used up a free box of Fritz RPM from SWA and went right to IO no issues. Before that I used a bucket of AF. Mixed very clean and before that Red Sea.

 

[markwayts]

If it doesn't make or break your aquarium why spend double the money for salt?

Why spend double the money for a heater? Piece of mind that's why. I only use one bucket of salt a year. Honestly if you add it up i pay more for frozen mysis than my blue bucket of red sea salt.