Best salt for AWC

[Martin728]

Hey all! I wanted to reach out and see what salt folks are using for AWC applications? And what some of their opinions are.

I have a 20g reseviour setup with DOS doing daily water changes of 1.4g per day. I’m currently using AF probiotic for my salt. However I’m noticing a brown film starting to deposit on the bottom of the container as well as on the pump & heater. I don’t heat the water after it’s mixed and it takes about 2wks or so to burn through it.

I did some reading and I’m beginning to think the probiotic salts aren’t a good idea to use for this application. What is everyone else using? Is Red Sea blue or black bucket better or is there another brand more suited to this application.

LFS has Red Sea, AF & IO on the shelves and they keep pushing AF.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I’d firtst consider the alk level you want and choose your salt by that first.
I’ve never had an issue with mixing IO or RSb or RSCP.
I have had precip issue with fritz.

All salts seem to grow coral. Most have an unknown fealty to thier salt though.

 

[Martin728]

I’d firtst consider the alk level you want and choose your salt by that first.
I’ve never had an issue with mixing IO or RSb or RSCP.
I have had precip issue with fritz.

All salts seem to grow coral. Most have an unknown fealty to thier salt though.

You don’t see any potential hazards with the “probiotics”/bacteria dying off in the storage container? Possibly contributing to an algae bloom.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You don’t see any potential hazards with the “probiotics”/bacteria dying off in the storage container? Possibly contributing to an algae bloom.

I honestly don’t know the answer to that. But your logic makes sense.

 

[HolisticBear]

This has come up before, don't have thread handy, but the probiotics can die and start to trigger a cycle in your storage containers.

Agree with everything @saltyfilmfolks said

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

This has come up before, don't have thread handy, but the probiotics can die and start to trigger a cycle in your storage containers.

Agree with everything @saltyfilmfolks said

Yea. Makes sense doesn’t it.
Add water live bacteria, no flow dead bacteria = ammoina

 

[vetteguy53081]

Reef crystals and Kent also leaver that brown film. I believe its' from the various compounds in the mix such as magnesium, zink, etc.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

You don’t see any potential hazards with the “probiotics”/bacteria dying off in the storage container? Possibly contributing to an algae bloom.

This is a valid concern with regards to organic compounds (not sure about bacteria specifically, but I'm sure the concern would be similar). Reef Crystals, for example, has organics included that ostensibly are supposed to be a value-add, but they degrade over time and can compromise the quality of the saltwater if left sitting for long periods. I don't know for sure about AquaForest salts, but I would assume they also include similar components that may not age well if left sitting.

Personally, I don't think brown film in the mixing container is a good metric for assessing the quality of an aquarium salt mix. This is a common complaint among reefers with a salt like Instant Ocean, but many successful SPS-only reefs have been kept using nothing more than Instant Ocean and a quality two-part or calcium reactor. Jason Fox uses Instant Ocean exclusively in his systems, and his corals are some of the most sought-after aquacultured specimens in the US, if not the world. Brown film or not, there's no denying Instant Ocean works quite well even for the most sensitive of marine invertebrates. It's what I use, and I have no qualms putting it into my octopus tank.

I did not mean to turn this into an advertisement for Instant Ocean (although Instant Ocean has no organics or bacteria, so it would be a good candidate for an AWC setup) My point is that basically any commercially-available salt mix will grow corals. The best one for an AWC setup would be the one that has no organics and the one that does not precipitate when left sitting. If it meets those criteria, probably any mix will do.