What salt do you use and why?

[exnisstech]

Interesting it mixes dirty, being synthetic/lab grade I would have guessed it didn’t leave a residue or as much as blue bucket for example. I wonder if it used the same caking agent or at least that’s how it was explained to me about the residue from blue bucket. I’m really debating going back to IO. Difference this time is I’m storing it. Where as the 20 years I used Io I always mixed and used it with in 24 hours.

It leaves a brown residue and will have scale build up over time. I'm not sure of the cause of the residue but I think I remember @Randy Holmes-Farley saying something about clay but my memory is bad. I read that he is using IO on his 1% per day AWC system.

 

[Freenow54]

It leaves a brown residue and will have scale build up over time. I'm not sure of the cause of the residue but I think I remember @Randy Holmes-Farley saying something about clay but my memory is bad. I read that he is using IO on his 1% per day AWC system.

sorry IO ?

 

[exnisstech]

sorry IO ?

Instant Ocean

 

[Reef Jedi]

IO regular because it’s cheap and I have no problems with it.

Do you store it or just mix and use?

 

[kevgib67]

I’ve been using Fritz for two reasons. I have an awesome lfs and I don’t want them going anywhere and it’s the only salt they carry and because it’s what they use in their system and I have have got all of my fish and half my corals from there. My first 16 years I used IO.

 

[mmorrison55]

Aquaforest. I Cant prove it, but claims to have good quality controls and they even have a means to search your batch codes parameters

Check your salt | Seawater Aquatics | Aquaforest

Check the quality of Aquaforest salt! The products are made in the EU under strict laboratory control, meeting the highest quality standards.

aquaforest.eu

And cost wise, it pretty much the same as IO.

1. So much cheaper than most premium salts,
2. mixes clean,
3. seems to have good quality control.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

What salt do you use and why?

What benefits do you think your choice has over others?

I used instant ocean regular for 20 years. The last two tanks I’ve used Red Sea blue bucket and I’m not too impressed with the residue it leaves in the mixing bin. I run an awc so it needs to be stored for a month.

Regular old instant ocean. Its worked just fine for for over 20 years. Its cheap and works, why change? I learned a long time ago that changing things chasing "better" just ends up making things worse.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

You just reminded me about residue in my containers. Always wondered what it was. Any idea ?

I've been told it's due to the anticaking agent. Never been a big issue for me, I just give the trash can a quick scrub whenever I think about it. Takes less than 5 min.

 

[eggie]

This is why I switched from IO for these last two tanks. However I’m really considering going back to it. Do you get a lot of brown/red residue in your mixing/storage bin? That’s one thing I’ve noticed blue bucket has left behind.

No. I only mix what I use at the moment 5-10 gallons. Red Sea clears up fast as well

 

[BeanAnimal]

Instant Ocean. Cheap, and consistent quality.

Challenge — ask your exotic salt vendor to disclose the source of their raw materials and who blends their salt for them. Most will not tell you. To be even remotely competitive, it is unlikely that most of these companies are doing it themselves, and instead are simply buying from one of the few sources out there, and likely doing so geo based. Meaning the “same” salt on two different continents could easily be two different source blenders and different raw materials.

There may be others, but here are manufacturers that I know of. I assume almost all other brands come from one of these by contract - or China.

• Spectrum, U.S.
• Fritz, U.S,
• Tropic Marin, Germany
• HW Wiegandt, Germany
• Red Sea, Israel
• Aquaforest, Poland
• ESV, U.S.
• Aqua Medic, Germany
• D-D, U.K.

 

[ColorMeGone]

AquaForest.
Started out with it and it works fine so no need to change.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Instant Ocean. Cheap, and consistent quality.

Challenge — ask your exotic salt vendor to disclose the source of their raw materials and who blends their salt for them. Most will not tell you. To be even remotely competitive, it is unlikely that most of these companies are doing it themselves, and instead are simply buying from one of the few sources out there, and likely doing so geo based. Meaning the “same” salt on two different continents could easily be two different source blenders and different raw materials.

There may be others, but here are manufacturers that I know of. I assume almost all other brands come from one of these by contract - or China.

• Spectrum, U.S.
• Fritz, U.S,
• Tropic Marin, Germany
• HW Wiegandt, Germany
• Red Sea, Israel
• Aquaforest, Poland
• ESV, U.S.
• Aqua Medic, Germany
• D-D, U.K.

Wow this is very interesting. You bring up a very interesting take on sources and blending raw materials regardless of what the “name brand” tells you.

 

[penfold2]

I use ESV, which is kind of an oddball because it's a 4 part salt. You mix dry sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate, and then add two liquid components that contain all the other ingredients. The advantage is that it always mixes up consistently because there is nothing to separate. The dry parts are single ingredients, and the rest is predissolved. It's slightly more time consuming to mix, but not by much. It also has an alkalinity of about 9dKH, which is what I keep my tank at.

 

[mook1178]

Instant ocean

Inexpensive, mixes easily, no residue for me, but I never have it mixed for more than 24 hours. I but the case instead of the bucket. I have seen people having to remix the bucket. I have no issues with the case. 4 fifty gallon bags that don't really settle in shipping

 

[KStatefan]

ESV because I wanted to try it.

 

[Reef Jedi]

ESV because I wanted to try it.

What were you using before?

 

[York1]

mortons

 

[KStatefan]

What were you using before?

Instant Ocean

 

[X-37B]

Blue bucket because it's close to my parameters.
5% a month across 4 systems is only 16g's a months so a bucket lasts 10 months.
Mix to 1.0126@77°F and its ready to go in less than an hour.

 

[X-37B]

mortons

Funny! I worked for Morton for 7 years. I never considered their salt, lol!