Do we foresee Instant Ocean supply chain issues?

[SnowyFox]

Nearly every public aquarium uses it....enough said!

I'm genuinely curious if that has more to do with the large scale that public aquariums operate at. How many different options actually exist at a bulk level to support millions of gallons of water in a financially viable way?

 

[Reefer Matt]

My LFS has me covered for RC for a while.

 

[skey44]

Dang, I think my LfS is already having some trouble getting TMPR bucket in stock. Need to swing by and get some! Luckily I’ve cut back on water changes recently.

 

[SlowAndStupid]

Chewy has the item in stock, just ordered a bucket for ~$39 with shipping and taxes. After it ships they will also give me a $20 gift certificate (use code WELCOME) that I can use to purchase fish food for free.

You can do it too - use your head.

You didn't read closely enough. They do not have the 200 gallon boxes that I typically get autoshipped. They didn't right before I double checked prior to posting and they still don't now. They did have the buckets which I said I purchased instead. Incidentally they are currently out of all instant ocean now (not reef crystals).

 

[BZOFIQ]

You didn't read closely enough. They do not have the 200 gallon boxes that I typically get autoshipped. They didn't right before I double checked prior to posting and they still don't now. They did have the buckets which I said I purchased instead. Incidentally they are currently out of all instant ocean now (not reef crystals).

You're right about not reading closely enough and yes, they are indeed out of stock now.

P3tSm@rt will do nearly same deal with autoship but without the $20 gift cert.

P3tc0 has caught up with the autoship trick, they must be checking more than unique email address and removed the discount as soon as you provide your ship to address. so the way around it would be to ship to different address, aka your parents, work, cousin, etc. or ask your friends to order for you and then reimburse them.

 

[animateash]

I have an autoship set up for 2 boxes monthly and they were out of stock this month through chewy. I checked elsewhere and they were out too. I was able to get buckets but it does have me concerned.

Yep--same here. That's what first set off my radar.

 

[Reefer Matt]

It could be a repackaging delay too. When the Neptune Trident reagent was unavailable a couple months ago, I assume it was because they repackaged the product. Because it just came back in stock and looks different now. They don’t tell us that unfortunately. But just another guess on any salt issues.

 

[Reefer Matt]

https://a.co/d/6cZi2qt

https://a.co/d/4KLiEEC

 

[animateash]

Moonshiners and no water change is always an option lol
Imagine a generation of reefers became moonshiners in a year because Instant Ocean was $100 for a 25lb bag

I'm keeping dwarf seahorses, which require really small tank size and frequent water changes. That's what may have be more on alert than your average reef tank keeper, who probably doesn't have to mix new water as often. Stretching time between changes is absolutely an option for those with more typical set ups.

 

[rtparty]

Nearly every public aquarium uses it....enough said!

If Aqua Forest (insert any company) walked in and offered them the same quality/parameters for less, they’d switch

 

[UMALUM]

What trace elements are missing from IO ? Curious because it's what I've used for for 8 years and I've never added any trace elements.

Just a friendly heads up. My last fresh icp of reef crystals was deficient in 3 macro and 6 minor elements.

Barium not detected
Cobalt not detected
Iron .0007
Potassium 322.7
Manganese not detected
Nickel not detected
Strontium 6.342
Vanadium not detected
Zinc .001

This was enough for me to jump on the A and K train as well as pohls K balance. I do believe that my pinks and purples are a lot more vibrant.

 

[exnisstech]

Just a friendly heads up. My last fresh icp of reef crystals was deficient in 3 macro and 6 minor elements.

Barium not detected
Cobalt not detected
Iron .0007
Potassium 322.7
Manganese not detected
Nickel not detected
Strontium 6.342
Vanadium not detected
Zinc .001

This was enough for me to jump on the A and K train as well as pohls K balance. I do believe that my pinks and purples are a lot more vibrant.

 

[rtparty]

I would bet IO puts about as much thought into trace elements as they do the big 3….which is very little.

Read the dozens of threads on IO salts. Some people will swear Reef Crystals is meant to mix at 9dkh even though IO themselves don’t state that. Others will claim over the last 28.63 years they’ve used 2,176 boxes of IO and it’s always mixed at 10.5dkh. No question. Guaranteed. Others will claim their RC always mixes at 12-13dkh…..etc etc etc. My experience is they are all correct

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Interesting. One thing that I didn't contemplate is people planning for this. The existence of this thread is proof enough that many people are going to start buying an abnormal amount. That effect often scales rapidly and overwhelms the supply chain.

I vaguely remember some people struggling to find toilet paper a few years back :thinking-face:

 

[braaap]

IO is probably best positioned to maintain stock. Thing is it could be as simple as buckets or, bucket handles that get some companies. There will be a lot of new pressure on the US made components. Luckily there are boxes :)

This is true. Brightwell is very well positioned too. I’ve actually been working with the plant manager of salt production in Louisiana on some issues with their buckets. They are switching bucket suppliers due to some issues we found and are going to try and encourage the boxes instead. Their boxes are the same volume and are about $10 cheaper. Also better for the environment for those concerned.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

This is true. Brightwell is very well positioned too. I’ve actually been working with the plant manager of salt production in Louisiana on some issues with their buckets. They are switching bucket suppliers due to some issues we found and are going to try and encourage the boxes instead. Their boxes are the same volume and are about $10 cheaper. Also better for the environment for those concerned.

If I'm a good reefer, when i do all my water changes I get a new bucket! :grinning-face-with-sweat:

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

I'm genuinely curious if that has more to do with the large scale that public aquariums operate at. How many different options actually exist at a bulk level to support millions of gallons of water in a financially viable way?

My experience is large commercial facilities tend to use what ever is cheapest and consistently available. I don’t think anyone is discussing “best” :)

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

I would bet IO puts about as much thought into trace elements as they do the big 3….which is very little.

Read the dozens of threads on IO salts. Some people will swear Reef Crystals is meant to mix at 9dkh even though IO themselves don’t state that. Others will claim over the last 28.63 years they’ve used 2,176 boxes of IO and it’s always mixed at 10.5dkh. No question. Guaranteed. Others will claim their RC always mixes at 12-13dkh…..etc etc etc. My experience is they are all correct

lol it’s funny because it’s probably true :)

I think this is somewhat like comparing a select, choice and prime steak. They all look like steak and similar nutritional value. One just has more fat than the next. It’s only better if you appreciate fat.

I think there is a portion of the hobby that wants to believe that IO is both the cheapest and best simultaneously. While that kinda value does exist there are very few examples of that in the world.

I think there is also a segment that was to treat IO like inferior poison. Thats obviously not true either.

Hard fact. You can use IO and produce an awesome tank. It is exceedingly unlikely that the salt is going to prevent the average reefer from achieving their goals.

Also hard fact. Some salts certainly pay more attention to trace elements, impurities and consistency than others. Saying otherwise just isn’t true.

Outside of the obvious advantage of avoiding the crud in your bin it’s going to come down to belief more than fact because the differences are likely long term, nuanced and not likely be attributed to salt choice.

Is science diet or whole blended chicken meaningfully better than meow mix?. Are they worth it? The ingredients make it obvious to me but how would you measure that or prove it? Doesn’t matter if meow mix is what my wallet agrees with :)

 

[rtparty]

lol funny .

I think this is somewhat like comparing a select, choice and prime steak. They all look like steak and similar nutritional value. One just has more fat than the next. It’s only better if you appreciate fat.

I think there is a portion of the hobby that wants to believe that IO is both the cheapest and best simultaneously. While that kinda value does exist there are very few examples of that in the world.

Hard fact. You can use IO and produce an awesome tank. It is exceedingly unlikely that the salt is going to prevent the average reefer from achieving their goals.

Also hard fact. Some salts certainly pay more attention to trace elements, impurities and consistency than others. Saying otherwise just isn’t true.

Outside of the obvious advantage of avoiding the crud in your bin it’s going to come down to belief more than fact because the differences are likely long term, nuanced and not likely be attributed to salt choice.

Is science diet or whole blended chicken meaningfully better than meow mix?. Are they worth it? The ingredients make it obvious to me but how would you measure that or prove it? Doesn’t matter if meow mix is what my wallet agrees with :)

Fully agree.

IO salt will absolutely work just fine and I recommend it to friends and family that I know only care about the price and want something that works.

 

[braaap]

If I'm a good reefer, when i do all my water changes I get a new bucket! :grinning-face-with-sweat:

Did you see any plastic residue in your salt? I’d you are using brightwell. My buckets the lid/rim were shaving off leaving microplastics in the mix.