Salty Loyality! How often do you switch?

PHXReefguy · Apr 2, 2020

I too mix the blue and black bucket from Red Sea.

Falco · Apr 2, 2020

I went from Fritz to TM Pro Reef and now and using ESV. I will not be changing from ESV anytime in the near future, hands down the best salt I have ever used. A bit pricey but well with the cost in my opinion. Also their tech support (Bob) has been amazing when I had questions early on.

Tuffloud1 · Apr 2, 2020

I have never understood the endless debates about salt.

The only substantial difference between the various salts is the alk/calcium/mag levels all of which are remedied by a simple adjustment to match to your tank parameters.

Instant Ocean works and it is the cheapest. 38 bucks for 200 gallons. Why pay more for something else?

Allan3 · Apr 2, 2020

I was using Reef Crystals until BRS did the Salt videos, then I switched to Tropic Marin Pro. Now everything mixes quicker & with less residue & my saltwater bins stay cleaner much longer. I won’t be switching anytime in the near future.

35ppt · Apr 2, 2020

Tuffloud1 said:
I have never understood the endless debates about salt.

The only substantial difference between the various salts is the alk/calcium/mag levels all of which are remedied by a simple adjustment to match to your tank parameters.

Instant Ocean works and it is the cheapest. 38 bucks for 200 gallons. Why pay more for something else?

I got sick of getting boxes with crazy high Ca and there is no way to bring it down.

NinnJinn · Apr 2, 2020

When I first set up my 125 gallon tank I started out with coral Pro. When it was time for more salt I found that instant ocean has been around for like 40 some years and was much much cheaper. So I switched to that.

Now, if a well-known company with the same quality or better salt than instant ocean comes along that's cheaper than instant ocean then yes, I would switch...

Tuffloud1 · Apr 2, 2020

35ppt said:
I got sick of getting boxes with crazy high Ca and there is no way to bring it down.

Why is high calcium bad? That much less you have to dose separately.

I personally never have this issue with IO. Always consistently 10 dkh, 430-460 calcium.

lakai · Apr 2, 2020

Used Tropic Marin Pro but switched to IO, on my 5th bucket now and I'm not seeing why its worth spending 3x per bucket for tropic marin. IO mixes clean and doesn't leave brown gunk in my containers.

35ppt · Apr 2, 2020

Tuffloud1 said:
Why is high calcium bad? That much less you have to dose separately.

I personally never have this issue with IO. Always consistently 10 dkh, 430-460 calcium.

I don't keep my tank at over 500 Ca so when doing a WC I would see a spike. True it's not like it's an Alk spike but a spike nonetheless. And I have personally gotten two boxes in a row like that..

JCTReefer · Apr 2, 2020

Started out with instant ocean in the beginning. Have used Kent, Seachem, Oceanic, and Red Sea (Blue Bucket). Blue Bucket is what I’ve been using for the last 2-3 years. Matches my tank parameters. Come on @revhtree, whatcha using!!

!!

Tuffloud1 · Apr 2, 2020

35ppt said:
I don't keep my tank at over 500 Ca so when doing a WC I would see a spike. True it's not like it's an Alk spike but a spike nonetheless. And I have personally gotten two boxes in a row like that..

Dang! I’ve never had close to that high.

I still probably wouldn’t worry about it because I do AWC, running every 10 minutes, 24/7. I just use about 10-15ml of muriatic acid to lower the alk to 8 in my 55 gallon container.

Billldg · Apr 2, 2020

I have never switched salts, I love HW Marine Reefer mix. The only reason I would switch is that I can't get HW Marine Reefer mix anymore.

35ppt · Apr 2, 2020

Tuffloud1 said:
Dang! I’ve never had close to that high.

I still probably wouldn’t worry about it because I do AWC, running every 10 minutes, 24/7.

Yea, with that application it wouldn't mater too much. But I'm over here doing 15-25% WCs on tanks less than 40 gallons. It matters to me. And when I got that box with over 700Ca and 16 or more dkh it was a box I got for a move. I brought RODI and my mixing station to the new place, set it up and left it to mix overnight just as I'd done countless times before. I show up the next day with my reef in tow and the water is cloudy as hel and parameters testing off the charts. It was a long drive so by the time I realized the problem the LFS are closed so I had no choice but to use the high parameter water. I got premade water the next day and everything lived except a cleaner shrimp. But was a terrible experience. I didn't hold it against IO but when the replacement box came and it's parameters were out of wack too I said f-it and changed to a slightly more expensive salt.

Sinibotia · Apr 2, 2020

I started with premixed saltwater and now just use plain old instant ocean. Unless I knew it would work better, I wouldn't switch.

725196 · Apr 2, 2020

I am currently in the proof switching from RC to Tropic Marin Pro. It will be over the course of the next few months as I want the change to be gradual. Looking forward to seeing the changes.

Bpb · Apr 2, 2020

They’re all the same

divewsharks · Apr 2, 2020

In my 20 years of reefing, I've use Coralife, IO, RC, Oceanic, Salinity, ESV, Fritz, Red Sea Blue Bucket, TLF AccuraSea, and have a bucket of Trop Marin waiting for after AccuraSea runs out.
I choose based on: no brown crap to clean out; availability; and having parameters at or lower than what my tank is stable at.

Justin Swinney · Apr 2, 2020

35ppt said:
I started with IO because it was cheap. Worked fine for over two years until I got a box that mixed up to like 16dkh/700Ca and that was after it took it two days of mixing to clear up due to precipitation. Just a bad box so I complained and they sent another box. Mixed up to 14dkh/500Ca which was workable but not great. So I switched to HW, mixed to ~9dkh/490Ca... dkh is good but I don't like the Ca spike I get every WC. So I've got a box of Fritz on the way. If I don't like this one I'm going to try Tropic Marin Pro.

I like the cleaner salts because it saves me time but it really just comes down the parameter stability. I want a salt that mixes up to the same parameters box to box.

/and of course parameters that are close to what I keep.

i use fritz 8.5-9dkh/ 430-460cal