Salt Choice

[jse_gonz]

To be honest the biggest reason is the residue that instant ocean leaves in mixing containers it is kind of miserable. Red Sea has always mixed clear and left none. But don't get me wrong some amazing tanks use instant ocean so it is really on what you want to pay for!

I have been using Tropic marine pro reef since I set up my tank early this year. And I love how quick and clean it mixes. With all the money I have invested in my tank, paying a little extra for a quality product is totally worth it for me.

 

[92Miata]

Massive tank crashes occur when too much water change using different salt occurs, i.e. the trace elements are way off from diff salt brands. Switching salt brand is simple, just have to pay attention to the trace element differences while switching and go slow so tank does not get shocked. On a side note, if it was me and the LFS gave me that advice (especially if they were selling u on more expensive salt brand), then I'd think twice about any of their suggestions.

The big problem is that a lot of people don't actually think about what they're doing when they switch - so you end up having someone do a 20% water change from their 14 dkh Reef Crystals tank to 8dkh TMPro (or vice-versa) and have a 2 degree alk swing in 10 minutes.

Or you have someone with a low alk/high calcium tank switch to a high alk/low ca salt too fast and cause a precipitation storm.

I run Reef Crystals (and hit it with Sodium Bisulfate to drop the dkh) because its cheap, and always available. Back a decade+ ago, I went through TM, TMPro, IO, and I think a couple others and I never found any really meaningful in-tank differences (aside from the obvious alk/ca/mag levels). I don't think its worth an extra $40 a bucket to keep some buckets free of sediment. Some people have different experiences/priorities/etc.

 

[PatW]

Virtually any of the major popular corals can be used to have a great tank. Bulk Reef Supply has videos comparing the various popular brands. I have used instant ocean and reef crystals. I am contemplating changing to tropic Marin.

 

[AJ192]

My fish store recommended aqua forest for my mixed reef but I might change to Red Sea blue bucket because my tank has changed and I don’t need the elevated levels

 

[Adam_1992]

I’ve just started out also. Red Sea Coral Pro is what I use and so far so good. I’ve learned quite a bit on here and YouTube also.
check out Aaron’s Aquariums on YouTube. He has some good content I learn from him all the time.