Best salt mixes

[RJ Harris]

Looking for some advice for a better salt mix. Currently Im using instant ocean but thinking about switching I was thinking Red Sea. What does everybody else use? Also is there any reason to be concerned when mixing different brands of salt mix when and if I change? Have been using instant ocean for 2 years now since I've started in the sw world and its been good I guess. I mean it's salt mix and is easy to get. But what's everyone else use. Again thinking Red Sea

 

[Mike_J]

I used Red Sea salt for years and really liked it. I did switch over to the AquaForest reef salt almost a year ago and the rest of the program in full about 7 months ago. My corals responded really well to the AF reef salt and I like that it only takes 20 minutes to mix and is ready for use.

 

[RJ Harris]

Cool I'll have to look into that and check my lfs to see if they carry it. I haven't really paid attention bc I go and buy the salt I always get then get distracted at the frag tanks

 

[jason2459]

I like randy's response to these questions....

There is no best for eveyone.
Understand what the salt you choose provides and adjust from there as needed.
My best is IO as it's cheap, has decent parameters to go from, and doesn't include anything major I don't want which are mainly organics like aminos, probiotics, vitamins, etc.
Its easier to add what I want then remove.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Tried IO, RC, Fluval, then finally Red Sea Pro. Now I mix Red Sea Blue bucket with Pro to get around 8-9 dkh.
Triton has it spot on for parameters. I dislike the American salts for their lithium content. There's debate about "if" it's negative, but lookup urchin embryo development and lithium's affects. That's enough proof for me.

Otherwise I've been tempted to try some of the other European brands, but they're even more expensive.

 

[jason2459]

Tried IO, RC, Fluval, then finally Red Sea Pro. Now I mix Red Sea Blue bucket with Pro to get around 8-9 dkh.
Triton has it spot on for parameters. I dislike the American salts for their lithium content. There's debate about "if" it's negative, but lookup urchin embryo development and lithium's affects. That's enough proof for me.

Otherwise I've been tempted to try some of the other European brands, but they're even more expensive.

Are you trying to breed urchins or study their embryos?

If not I don't find it concerning.

If you do Tropic Marine Pro so far of what I've seen has the least amount of Li at just under 200ug/L.

 

[jason2459]

FWIW many fish breeders use IO just fine. Along with many highly successful home and commercial aquariums spanning many decades.

(I do not consider my aquarium to be one of those or care for it to be...)

 

[Robthorn]

Reefgrow for me. No salt is perfect but I go with a company that tries at least to get close to natural levels and uses more pure grades of individual elements when possible.
They are an American company but I don't see the previous statement as fair or reliable. Not all salts from any country are identical nor have they all been tested.
If the urchin statement refers to the Ron Shimek b.s. from years ago , he killed more corals with that study than anything else I have seen in over 20 years. I was part of the Crystal Sea death back then. Remember that is the same guy that wanted us all to run unmanaged deep sandbeds. 2 major strikes right there.
After all that mess I have seen more successful IO tanks than any other salt out there.

 

[David Engh]

I guess in never thought bout it to much. I use IO but I don't have corals in my tank so was never to concerned. I am thinking about adding some here shortly so is there anything that I should start preping for before I add them an where should my parameters be. I currently have just a fowlr tank with a mini maxi carpet anemone an it seems to be doing good if that would be a judgment in how corals would do

 

[jason2459]

I guess in never thought bout it to much. I use IO but I don't have corals in my tank so was never to concerned. I am thinking about adding some here shortly so is there anything that I should start preping for before I add them an where should my parameters be. I currently have just a fowlr tank with a mini maxi carpet anemone an it seems to be doing good if that would be a judgment in how corals would do

This is a good article to get a good understanding of ranges to target and what are good things to test for and track.
http://reef2reef.com/threads/optima...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

 

[David Engh]

Thanks hope it will work out cause I need more color in the tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Tried IO, RC, Fluval, then finally Red Sea Pro. Now I mix Red Sea Blue bucket with Pro to get around 8-9 dkh.
Triton has it spot on for parameters. I dislike the American salts for their lithium content. There's debate about "if" it's negative, but lookup urchin embryo development and lithium's affects. That's enough proof for me.

Otherwise I've been tempted to try some of the other European brands, but they're even more expensive.

You've seen data that shows the levels of lithium actually observed in IO caused issues?

 

[willthethrill]

I've been using Seachem Reef Salt for a while after seeing people's test results right after mixing up a new batch. Seems like it would be a more popular pick but it's funny I never see people choosing it when asked about "the best salts". I wonder why. It's also a little cheaper than Red Sea pro. I have 160g total volume and have been doing 20% bi-weekly water changes. I've been having success with that so I'm sticking to it. That's a lot of salt though lol so finding a middle ground between quality and price was important.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Tropic Marin Pro
Tropic Marin Pro
Tropic Marin Pro

IO and Reef Crystals have INSANELY High Alkalinity Levels.

It is Impossible for me to Keep Alkalinity Stable with those Salts.

So I Switched to Tropic Marin Pro (What most Reefers in Europe Use).

The Alkalinity is Spot on for me at around 8.5

Reef Cystals is around 14!

Didn't know it but I am even Happier that somebody in the Thread Mentioned it has the Lowest Lithium of any Salt out there :)

 

[RJ Harris]

So after reading everyone's comments and jumping over to jason2459's myth busting thread I think what I'm looking for is something that mixes fast, gives my coral the best amount of elements to grow quicker( as my tank is filled with diverent frags and corals everywhere if someone were to look at my tank they'd think I like corals more than fish.) and that won't adversely affect the system with things I don't want. I'm going to be doing some more fading on different salts today. Maybe my lack of experience or not but I've never really put much thought into anything about the salt and what's in it.

 

[RobBaglieri]

I've always used Red Sea Coral Pro. It does mix up very quickly, without heat, minimal agitation, at dkh 14 at 1.025. However, that does not equate to my tank being 14dkh after a 10% water change. My dkh is solid at 10 with minimal dosing. I only have a 20 gallon tank so cost isnt really a factor. With all that said, I've only be in the hobby for 1.5 years and this is the only salt I've ever used. Im not an expert on parameters but I've read all of Randys articles ;)

 

[jackson6745]

Coralife, $40 for 200g shipped. Nothing but awesome sps results for the last 12 years. I've seen more tanks that can't keep SPS using red sea coral pro than any other salt. Experienced SPS keepers....

 

[masterbuilder]

I use hw-Marinemix Reefer from BRS, on my third box. Not that its better than a few others out there, just that it has levels that are not insanely high like Red Sea Pro, Reef Crystals, etc. I haven't used it but Red Sea BLUE bucket looks like it should be in the running for a salt that you can find at many LFS.

 

[RJ Harris]

Another question. How many of you dose? I myself don't dose accept when i first upgrade to a tank larger than 40 gallons but I only used the small bottles of fluval to raise calcium and alk when I did water changes bc I thought it help my corals grow better or faster. But I haven't done that in a while. So that's another reason why I'm looking for a new salt. I want my lps and sps to grow. The only thing that I can actually see growth in are my pink birds nest three different Duncan's and my hammers. My Acans have done nothing and I have frags of different plates and brains and favia that have done nothing for months

 

[RobBaglieri]

Even though my salt mixes up at 440 Calcium and 14dkh, none of my LPS grew until I started testing and dosing. I dose 5mL a day of Red Sea Calcium and Alk.