What salt brands do you recommend?

X-37B

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I ran ESV for 5 years then switched back to IO regular when I could not get it due to covid.
I see no difference in my systems except IO is a much lower cost.
20211102_170312.jpg
 

vetteguy53081

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Very rhetoric question as everyone has a favorite and of 50 people, you will get 12 different types.
I currently use Tropic Marin.
Prior to that was Aquaforest.
Before that and for a long time was SeaChem Salinity (got hard to find) and originally was Red sea Pro and Reef Crystals.
 

Billldg

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Agree with @vetteguy53081, you will get so many answers to this one simple question based on what they are using. I have used HW Marine Reefer mix and loved it. I only just switched to Tropic Marin Pro because of the lack of availability of HW Marine Reefer mix. What you need to look at is what parameters you want and how much you will have to adjust the salt mix based on your wanted parameters. Switching from HW Marine Reefer mix, I will only have to tweak the Alk on the Tropic Marin Pro to get the parameters I want.

I will only go off of what I have used personally. I know for a fact that many other VERY successful reefers have used, and swear by, every other brand out there. ;)
 
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MnFish1

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Brightwell neomarine - without question
 

Reef.

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I ran ESV for 5 years then switched back to IO regular when I could not get it due to covid.
I see no difference in my systems except IO is a much lower cost.
20211102_170312.jpg

can I ask, do you lower the alk in your salt, if so how and do you add any trace elements? or are you happy with the salt as standard?
 

X-37B

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can I ask, do you lower the alk in your salt, if so how and do you add any trace elements? or are you happy with the salt as standard?
I use sodium bisulfate to lower alk.
I use EZ trace at 6ml a day.
I have used IO for over 30 years so yes im happy with it.
 

Wasabiroot

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Pick a salt closest to the parameters you're looking for in the big 3. Otherwise any salt is probably fine. I used to take salt mix a bit more seriously but a quick peruse through the Tank of the Month posts show many excellent magazine worthy tanks using Reef Crystals or something else basic. Regular maintenance and routine seems more important.
 

LiveFreeAndReef

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Pick a salt you can get reliably, no sense in picking some exotic top-shelf stuff if you can't get it when you need it. Salts are salts, and there's minimal differences between them. Find something in your price range that you can get readily, and stick with that
 

alain Bouchard

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I want to change salts because my “lfs” Petco won’t be stocking salt soon. We had been using instant ocean, but now all they have is a diff salt under the instant ocean name. I don’t trust this salt because it has caused me two bacterial blooms.
do you have corals? but you can take mostly any brands, any type of salt. Most of the rest is marketing strategy. only reason I had to change salt in my years of reefing was price, availability and brown residue left by some brands in the mixing tank.
 

BVF

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I use reef crystals and I do get the brown crud in my mixing station, but it doesn't bother me. I'm considering switching to regular I/O though. As you can tell I prioritize the price of the salt that I use.
What is this brown crud people are talking about with Reef Crystals? I haven’t seen any of this.
 

muzikalmatt

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What is this brown crud people are talking about with Reef Crystals? I haven’t seen any of this.
From my experience, if you store saltwater made with reef crystals long enough (especially heated), it leaves a brown residue on the container which can also get into your tank unless you filter it out with a sediment filter. While no one has reported any specific issues with this stuff getting in the tank, it's definitely annoying to have to clean it out of your storage bin constantly. I'm considering switching myself just to not have to deal with it anymore.
 

Gtinnel

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What is this brown crud people are talking about with Reef Crystals? I haven’t seen any of this.
When you mix up Reef Crystals and let it sit in a mixing station, I'm not sure if occurs if quickly used, there is a brown residue left in the mixing container. I've seen different explanations to what it is but most people seem to say it some kind of anti-caking agent that gets added to prevent clumping, but I honestly have no idea. All I can positively say is that it, as confirmed by Randy Holmes Farley, it doesn't cause any harm to the tank.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I’ve been looking to change salt brands for a while, but I can’t settle on a brand. Do you recommend any specific brands? Any to avoid?

I don't think it matters much, as long as you know the pros and cons of the one you are using.
 

Gtinnel

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From my experience, if you store saltwater made with reef crystals long enough (especially heated), it leaves a brown residue on the container which can also get into your tank unless you filter it out with a sediment filter. While no one has reported any specific issues with this stuff getting in the tank, it's definitely annoying to have to clean it out of your storage bin constantly. I'm considering switching myself just to not have to deal with it anymore.
Mine does it with unheated water, and I've considered switching to regular I/O because of it. It will occasionally plug my AWC line causing me to have to clean the end of the line. I rarely clean the mixing container because of it though.
 
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