Cheaper Salt with AWC?

[spsick]

Ok so I’ve been using Red Sea blue bucket for years, and got around to setting up an AWC changing 10% weekly a while back. I dose BRS 2 part and TM part C.

The blue bucket leaves crud in the NSW mixing tank anyway, so why not switch to IO? This would actually allow me to use less 2 Part due to the higher levels in the salt.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You won't get any argument from me......short of correcting you on the title. It's not cheaper, it's less expensive!

IO is a quality salt that has year's of history and the most popular salt. To top it off, it is one of the salts that is reasonably priced. We have an LFS that sells a 200 gallon box for $35....can't beat that!

 

[58e970b2-3f88-4897-87ba-5]

I’m in the process of switching from Tropic Marin back to Instant Ocean.
I still needed to clean my mixing bucket and it still took a day to fully mix.
Seems the real differences are just price, parameters and availability.

 

[spsick]

You won't get any argument from me......short of correcting you on the title. It's not cheaper, it's less expensive!

IO is a quality salt that has year's of history and the most popular salt. To top it off, it is one of the salts that is reasonably priced. We have an LFS that sells a 200 gallon box for $35....can't beat that!

Touché because a person can be cheap but not a thing?

 

[DeepintheReef]

Instant Ocean will leave crud in your mixing bucket as well. Just a heads up

 

[spsick]

Instant Ocean will leave crud in your mixing bucket as well. Just a heads up

Oh for sure that’s a given

 

[ZoWhat]

If you can't afford 93-octane for your Porsche...... don't buy the Porsche

If you can't afford to heat the 5-bedroom 2-story house...... don't buy the house

just saying

 

[spsick]

If you can't afford 93-octane for your Porsche...... don't buy the Porsche

If you can't afford to heat the 5-bedroom 2-story house...... don't buy the house

just saying

I guess I don’t understand what you’re just saying here.

I didn’t say I can’t afford the salt i’m using. To use your analogy, I’m asking the question: Why use 110 octane race gas if my car can’t properly utilize it?

IO has higher alkalinity than RSBB and it costs less. If I’m doing AWC and dosing to maintain elements, why not choose the option that provides the same outcome with lower cost? If I were still doing manual water changes, yes I would want the salt with params that match my tank so I’m not causing drastic changes. With AWC it’s a slow dose so it would be stable and consistent.

IO is a tiny bit low in Ca and Mg so I would end up dosing a little more of these but idk how much of the $30 gap in salt price that would eat up.

 

[ZoWhat]

I guess I don’t understand what you’re just saying here.

I didn’t say I can’t afford the salt i’m using. To use your analogy, I’m asking the question: Why use 110 octane race gas if my car can’t properly utilize it?

IO has higher alkalinity than RSBB and it costs less. If I’m doing AWC and dosing to maintain elements, why not choose the option that provides the same outcome with lower cost? If I were still doing manual water changes, yes I would want the salt with params that match my tank so I’m not causing drastic changes. With AWC it’s a slow dose so it would be stable and consistent.

IO is a tiny bit low in Ca and Mg so I would end up dosing a little more of these but idk how much of the $30 gap in salt price that would eat up.

Oh Lord, I don't want to start a debate.

IO was developed as a salt for large public aquariums that are fish only.

I'm not understanding why you want big, beautiful, jawdropping corals but go inexpensive on the main thing they rely on: a highly developed salt with proper major, minor and trace elements.

IME the best form of dosing is NOT dosing 2part, NOT having up-teen dosing pumps mounted to a wall....

.... the best form of dosing is doing highly regimented waterchanges with a high grade salt.

Going back to my Porsche analogy.... its like saying I can save money on my Porsche costs by buying 87-octance, yet going down to AutoZone and buy a basket-full of 5 different gas treatments to treat the 87-octane gas.

I say...C'MON MAN, just buy the great stuff upfront and quit playing Chemist and quit trying to cheat the system, the regiment, the HUSBANDRY.

.

 

[SaltISlife]

I use IO reef crystals. I dont like regular IO. Magnesium and calcium is too low. Its always around 1200 and 380 or so.

With reef crystals is about 440 and 1400. At 1.0264 to 1.027.

Alk is 13 for me. But i use tap water and my tap alk is at 5 or 6 i believe. The alk drops to 9 after 2-3 days though.. even with a 50% water change in my 135g tank. I have 90+ corals. Many the size of basketballs. So i have to dose alk daily 1 at least a day. So salt with high alk isnt what i shoot for since its used up so wuickly. Its high calcium and magnesium. I dunno how much strontium it has but it says it has more than regular io and strontium is important for coral skeletons as well.


Usually chewy has the 160g buckets at 38$ recently it went to 45 though. The bags vary from 11.87 to 15 on days. I buy my salt in petsnart because they price natch anything on chewy as they own chewy

 

[spsick]

Oh Lord, I don't want to start a debate.

IO was developed as a salt for large public aquariums that are fish only.

I'm not understanding why you want big, beautiful, jawdropping corals but go inexpensive on the main thing they rely on: a highly developed salt with proper major, minor and trace elements.

IME the best form of dosing is NOT dosing 2part, NOT having up-teen dosing pumps mounted to a wall....

.... the best form of dosing is doing highly regimented waterchanges with a high grade salt.

Going back to my Porsche analogy.... its like saying I can save money on my Porsche costs by buying 87-octance, yet going down to AutoZone and buy a basket-full of 5 different gas treatments to treat the 87-octane gas.

I say...C'MON MAN, just buy the great stuff upfront and quit playing Chemist and quit trying to cheat the system, the regiment, the HUSBANDRY.

.

Cool thanks for your input. Seems like you came here to argue and dismiss an idea different than yours so kindly move along.

 

[ZoWhat]

Cool thanks for your input. Seems like you came here to argue and dismiss an idea different than yours so kindly move along.

This is a forum that presents different opinions.

You did come to this forum asking, "so why not switch to IO?"

So I rendered my opinion

It would be quite boring if all us R2R members were just yes-men, gospel choir singers. All in perfect agreement

I was just pointing out why ppl in general want to go cheap on salt but spend all kinds of money on additives.

I personally buy and use $600 worth of Fritz Blue RPM salt a year. I fully accept the cost as part of the hobby. Im not interested in cutting this cost in half with IO or an alternative.

Just my opinion....

You do you
I'll do me


.

 

[spsick]

This is a forum that presents different opinions.

You did come to this forum asking, "so why not switch to IO?"

So I rendered my opinion

It would be quite boring if all us R2R members were just yes-men, choir-supporters. All in perfect agreement

What you put in your tank is your choice. Doesnt effect my life at all. Use Morton Salt and mix in all the other 72 elements.

I was just pointing out why ppl in general want to go cheap on salt but spend all kinds of money on additives.

I personally buy and use $600 worth of Fritz Blue RPM salt a year. I accept the cost. Im not interested in cutting this cost in half with IO.

Just my opinion....

You do you
I'll do me


.

Mate you said you didn’t want to start a debate. You’re really making a lot of assumptions about what I do or want and being rude so again, thanks for your input and kindly move along so we don’t derail the thread further.

 

[homer1475]

Salt debates make me LOL. You always have that one person who wants to justify what they pay for "their favorite" salt, and it's always the best regardless of brand. And will argue that point to the death.

OP:
I have always used IO and find the mag to be relativly high, and have never needed to dose it in my tank. Always < 1400 mag, 400 cal, and about 10 alk.

EDIT:
And yes I buy it, BEACUSE IT'S CHEAP!!!! And have never seen any difference in my fish or corals from using more expensive brands.

 

[Brian_68]

This agrument assumes price is the determination of the quality of the salt which it is not. I have been using IO and RC for 30 years and SPS corals grow great, no additives other than Kalk.

 

[Uncle99]

This agrument assumes price is the determination of the quality of the salt which it is not. I have been using IO and RC for 30 years and SPS corals grow great, no additives other than Kalk.

I hear this argument about price doesn’t mean quality.

But I wonder how Tropic Marin can sell theirs for 3 times the price of IO, Fritz and Seachem.

Are we now saying that it’s all marketing and we are being fooled by things like “pharmaceutical grade” and “bio-active” stuff?

Really?

 

[xiaoxiy]

I did that exact thing!

I swapped from AquaForest to Instant Ocean when I started up my AWC. It's worked perfectly. It allows me to double water changes volumes for the same price. While Instant Ocean costs half the price, my tank hasn't noticed.

You can also use an acid buffer (I use seachem Acid Buffer) to titrate the DKH accordingly too, if you run closer to NSW levels.

 

[spsick]

I hear this argument about price doesn’t mean quality.

But I wonder how Tropic Marin can sell theirs for 3 times the price of IO, Fritz and Seachem.

Are we now saying that it’s all marketing and we are being fooled by things like “pharmaceutical grade” and “bio-active” stuff?

Really?

I absolutely think TM is higher quality and thus worth the higher price. It’s more pure, mixes up faster and cleaner than any other salt.

 

[Uncle99]

So by being more pure, mixing faster and cleaner, that’s worth 3x the cost?

If you said better coral and growth, I might open my wallet more.

I don’t doubt an aquarists assessment that high end salt is better, just can’t seem to find qualitative proof of that.

I have used TMP, RS and now Fritz, in 5 years and I can’t tell any difference at all between them except for mixing levels.

 

[homer1475]

As with anything else in this hobby....

Some are willing to pay more for say MP40's, when jebaos will work just fine. Thats not to say some salts aren't worth a heavier price, but how heavier is up to the user. If faster mixing, cleaner, and matches your parameters, is worth 3x more, then by all means have at it.

Some just prefer to pay less, and "tinker" to match whats needed.