Red Sea vs Red Sea pro for

[randyadammartin]

I am choosing between two salts

1. Red Sea (blue top)
2. Red Sea Coral Pro (black top)

I’ve done my research on cost basis of both salts and it’s about he same cost per bucket. I like that I can look up the batch mixing results online.

my tank has a large birdsnest (12x6x8) and other than that I have candy cane coral, some euphila. A hammer, bubble coral, montipora and a ton of zoa.

I can get Red Sea pro locally but if I want Red Sea (blue) I have to order from brs. It’s for this reason I am considering the Red Sea pro.

it seems like you get a higher alkalinity 12dkh vs 8.4dkh alkalinity and slightly higher magnesium. Is there going to be any disadvantage to keeping such a high alkalinity? Will this burn any of my zoas ? It seems to me that perhaps I'm
Going spend more more money dosing soda ash to keep the alkalinity +\- 0.25 dkh. Soda ash is so cheap though.

Need opinions on which is the right salt for
Me?

 

[Jekyl]

I am choosing between two salts

1. Red Sea (blue top)
2. Red Sea Coral Pro (black top)

I’ve done my research on cost basis of both salts and it’s about he same cost per bucket. I like that I can look up the batch mixing results online.

my tank has a large birdsnest (12x6x8) and other than that I have candy cane coral, some euphila. A hammer, bubble coral, montipora and a ton of zoa.

I can get Red Sea pro locally but if I want Red Sea (blue) I have to order from brs. It’s for this reason I am considering the Red Sea pro.

it seems like you get a higher alkalinity 12dkh vs 8.4dkh alkalinity and slightly higher magnesium. Is there going to be any disadvantage to keeping such a high alkalinity? Will this burn any of my zoas ? It seems to me that perhaps I'm
Going spend more more money dosing soda ash to keep the alkalinity +\- 0.25 dkh. Soda ash is so cheap though.

Need opinions on which is the right salt for
Me?

The alkalinity doesn't stay that high. I use coral pro and I still have to dose to maintain my alk at 9.0. The idea is that the salt replenishes the lacking parameters during water changes.

 

[randyadammartin]

Wouldn’t it be better rather than spiking the alkalinity to 12 then watch it drop to 8.4 if you just started off with something that kept it at 8.4?
I don’t have an sps dominated tank.

 

[Jekyl]

Wouldn’t it be better rather than spiking the alkalinity to 12 then watch it drop to 8.4 if you just started off with something that kept it at 8.4?
I don’t have an sps dominated tank.

You're not going to be doing 100% water changes.

 

[Jekyl]

Any salt works. One being better than another is debatable. Pick one that's easily available. The rest can be taken care of with dosing if needed. I like the coral pro because it mixes clean and I'm accustomed to it.

 

[Spare time]

High alk allows corals to grow faster (but if u have 0 nitrate and 0.00 phosphate it can be bad). The main difference is that coral pro has elevated alk vs blue bucket has only slightly elevated alk (both have elevated calcium and magnesium to that are proportional to the alk)

 

[randyadammartin]

High alk allows corals to grow faster (but if u have 0 nitrate and 0.00 phosphate it can be bad). The main difference is that coral pro has elevated alk vs blue bucket has only slightly elevated alk (both have elevated calcium and magnesium to that are proportional to the alk)

okay so my current situation is have my “old” 55 gallon . It just has a Fluval fx6 for filtration, no skimmer etc. I am custom building a tank parallel to it, but that’s another thread.

The point is I take care of phosphates/nitrates by once a week 55% water changes . Whatever salt I go with I want it to support that.

for dosing the slightest bit of soda ash keeps the alkalinity up.

Randy

 

[Jekyl]

okay so my current situation is have my “old” 55 gallon . It just has a Fluval fx6 for filtration, no skimmer etc. I am custom building a tank parallel to it, but that’s another thread.

The point is I take care of phosphates/nitrates by once a week 55% water changes . Whatever salt I go with I want it to support that.

for dosing the slightest bit of soda ash keeps the alkalinity up.

Randy

Just get instant ocean. It's cheap and available everywhere

 

[randyadammartin]

I have instant ocean reef crystals currently. Very unhappy with its unpredictability water change to water change. Same bucket I may get 12 or 10dkh.

I was using instant ocean original
However the cost to add the necessary magnesium negates the cost savings. This is why I am switching to either pro or
Blue Red Sea .

the part of reef crystals that I do not
Like is the wildly high magnesium and calcium.

I am getting 600-645 calcium and almost 1600 magnesium !

 

[randyadammartin]

What I like is I can get Red Sea pro a few miles from my house. If I want the Red Sea blue I have to drive 45 mins away. This is why I am debating this.

the magnesium/calcium between the two salts are very close. 8.4 vs 12 dkh how bad is that going to be ?

Randy

 

[attiland]

okay so my current situation is have my “old” 55 gallon . It just has a Fluval fx6 for filtration, no skimmer etc. I am custom building a tank parallel to it, but that’s another thread.

The point is I take care of phosphates/nitrates by once a week 55% water changes . Whatever salt I go with I want it to support that.

for dosing the slightest bit of soda ash keeps the alkalinity up.

Randy

Even Red Sea say when swap salt go suer slow. 10% water changes weekly max.
If you need 55% water changes to keep you nitrates and phosphates in check you need to look into some other way of doing it.
what about an algae reactor/ scrubber?

 

[randyadammartin]

Even Red Sea say when swap salt go suer slow. 10% water changes weekly max.
If you need 55% water changes to keep you nitrates and phosphates in check you need to look into some other way of doing it.
what about an algae reactor/ scrubber?

scroll up. This is my old setup and I’m not investing anymore money in it. It’s just being maintained while the new tank is finished up (cabinetry, polishing , rock scape, plumbing and building the sump.

the good news is that most of that listed above is done. The tank then needs to cycle.

 

[Spare time]

okay so my current situation is have my “old” 55 gallon . It just has a Fluval fx6 for filtration, no skimmer etc. I am custom building a tank parallel to it, but that’s another thread.

The point is I take care of phosphates/nitrates by once a week 55% water changes . Whatever salt I go with I want it to support that.

for dosing the slightest bit of soda ash keeps the alkalinity up.

Randy

In that case it doesn't matter. My number 1 priority with salt is having it mix fast so I stick with the red sea brand (plus some other things but that is the biggest priority).

The blue bucket can be stored pre mixed for longer without precipitation issues but other than that I don't think you will see a benefit.


I will say though that 55% water change a week on a 55 gallon seems a bit extreme (and expensive). Be careful not to keep nitrate and phosphate at 0.

 

[randyadammartin]

 

[homer1475]

I have instant ocean reef crystals currently. Very unhappy with its unpredictability water change to water change. Same bucket I may get 12 or 10dkh.

I was using instant ocean original
However the cost to add the necessary magnesium negates the cost savings. This is why I am switching to either pro or
Blue Red Sea .

the part of reef crystals that I do not
Like is the wildly high magnesium and calcium.

I am getting 600-645 calcium and almost 1600 magnesium !

I've used regular old purple box IO for many years. I have never needed to supplement MAG as it is always high(anywhere between 1350 and 1500). I do add some muriatic acid to lower the ALK(I like my tank in the 7.0 to 7.5 range).

If yours is mixing up to something different, roll the bucket around. Stratification is a real thing in buckets of salt. So much so BRS did an investigates video, and found it to be a reef certainty.

 

[homer1475]

At the end of the day, salt is salt.

There is nothing magical about certain salts over other brands of salt. The manufacturer would have you believe different(how else can you explain a bucket of tropic marin being $100 when a bucket of IO is $35?). Or how red sea tells you to switch over slowly to thier salt...Wait what???? I find most of the claims by manufacturers to be complete BS, and it has been proved many times over!


Don't believe, or bye into the hype and excellent marketing teams of these other salt manufacturers. Buy what salt matches the parameters you want to keep, or the one that fits your wallet.

 

[Anthony Kochevar]

I've used the Coral Pro(purple bucket) for years and never had a issue. I've only got a 3 gallon pico mixed reef and everything is doing fine.