Thinking of changing my aquarium salt. Any recommendations or hints?

[TheWhiteFord]

I use this stuff to! Works great for my tank!

 

[hart24601]

Tried many types. RC, red sea, HW marineworks, ESV and a few others I can't remember right now.

Settled on Instant Ocean, below is the tank on IO. Never really saw any differences between salts.

 

[TheWhiteFord]

I have been using the hw- Marinemix for the last 6 months and I have had amazing growth and coloration with all my corals! It has very consistent levels.

 

[NanoDJS]

I just setup a 210 gallon mixed tank system with Fritz Pro , its my first time using it but so far it has been on point and mixed clear and on the money for ph and dkh right off the bat , I m impressed

 

[tomtom2245]

I use Reef Crystals because it's the one my LFS carries the most of and always runs good sales on it plus I have never had any problems with it. I have also used ESV before and loved that salt as well. I really liked the immediately available aspect of the ESV. I could use it for a water change or whatever as soon as it was mixed, no waiting for pH to settle.

 

[tankstudy]

I have been using the hw- Marinemix for the last 6 months and I have had amazing growth and coloration with all my corals! It has very consistent levels.

Most salts are pretty consistent from my experience. Its just that you have to use most if not all the salt at once. The mixture isn't going to always be evenly spread out, so if you only use a bit at a time, you may get more of one compound in one part of the bag/bucket and so your going to see higher or lower levels of the parameters.

I use to buy the buckets of salt, awesome money saver, and found out that making small batches of saltwater could sometimes produce a large inconsistency. Now I just buy enough salt or salt that comes in packages that I can use 80-100% in one go.

 

[hart24601]

So the moral of the story seems to be use whatever you want! Haha.

I forgot to put in my post above that TMP was my favorite salt, but I moved back to IO because it didn't seem to matter at all.

 

[Pugfishluv3]

So the moral of the story seems to be use whatever you want! Haha.

I forgot to put in my post above that TMP was my favorite salt, but I moved back to IO because it didn't seem to matter at all.

Basically use what works for your tank and wallet lol

 

[BigJim]

I use HW Marinemix Reefer because it mixes very close to the parameters I want in my tank. I am considering switching to Fritz Pro because it has similar parameters and is less expensive.

 

[Bluefish9]

The one consistent thing I gather from all of these 10million "which salt" threads is that good husbandry far outweighs the minuscule differences in salt!

 

[Elementalj]

The one consistent thing I gather from all of these 10million "which salt" threads is that good husbandry far outweighs the minuscule differences in salt!

Hear hear! [emoji481][emoji482]

 

[troiusmaximus]

I guess what I'm seeing is that we can make almost any salt mix work. And nobody seems to be saying never use XYZ salt, it sucks!

Any conventional wisdom on how to change from one salt to another? To tankstudy's point even with a single specific salt their can be enough variation to notice a difference from one change to another.

I was looking at aqua forest because I had never considered probiotics. It seems like maybe AF is also incorporating some form of carbon in it to feed the bacteria? So if you don't want an ULNS you need to be careful using it?

 

[TheWhiteFord]

Most salts are pretty consistent from my experience. Its just that you have to use most if not all the salt at once. The mixture isn't going to always be evenly spread out, so if you only use a bit at a time, you may get more of one compound in one part of the bag/bucket and so your going to see higher or lower levels of the parameters.

I use to buy the buckets of salt, awesome money saver, and found out that making small batches of saltwater could sometimes produce a large inconsistency. Now I just buy enough salt or salt that comes in packages that I can use 80-100% in one go.

Makes sense I change like 35 gallons at a time so I use a little less than 1/3 of a box per water change. This would explain why it is consistent

 

[d2mini]

I've tried pretty much all and have always gone back to Salinity. Great salt. And great buckets. haha

 

[aereaus]

There are several good salts...pick the one that closely matches your target parameters. fritz rpm is wonders in a low nutrient sps tank...good stuff.

 

[RONBATTLE]

VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE, GREAT INFO....I HAVE BEEN USING THE RED SEA PRO, TRYING HW MARINEMIS REEFER ON ANOTHER TANK....THANK S FOR THE GREAT ANALYSIA CHARTS, NOW I HAVE A HEADACHE...LOL...BUT SERIOUSLY GOOD INFO, LOTS OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT....REACHING FOR THE COGNAC...

 

[jeffrey holloway]

Switched from Red Sea Pro to the Red sea Blue to keep my Alk at NSW levels. Very happy with both.

 

[Phil Cusimano]

I currently buy saltwater premixed from my LFS. They use Salinity from Seachem or so they tell me (how else would I know [emoji12]). Now that I have decided to install my own RO/DI unit and go back to mixing my own water, I am trying to decide which brand of salt to use.

Should I stick with Seachem? Go back to Oceanic which is what I used before buying the premixed saltwater? Or does anyone have a salt mix they swear by?

I stumbled upon a YouTube video advertising Aqua Forest salts. Anyone using those? Also if I am changing salts are there any issues to think through there to make sure I don't harm my corals or fish?

FWIW, I personally love HW- Marinemix Reefer Salt mix ... and second fav is Red Sea IMHO

 

[fmp47]

I'm very happy with RC except the brown deposit in the mixing container.

 

[MaiReef]

Every few changes, just uses a vinegar water solution and the "brown stuff" comes off with a brush. I uses a filter on the pump that recirculates the water for mixing and that reduces it a bunch.