What salt do you use and why?

[Doctor Derp]

It’s interesting how many people say they use it, for some reason I thought it would be the opposite.

Instant Ocean is used by most large public and research aquaria. People who deal with tens of thousands of gallons of system volume. I'll stick with the actual professionals.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Red Sea Blue bucket for me. I run Captiv8 (Trace element dosing much like Reef Moonshiners). This is the most consistent salt that gets me close to NSW levels for most the elements.

I do get the brown crud from the salt but it's all captured by a 5 micron sock on the return in my mixing tank.

That’s a cool storage system. I dare ask how big your tank is lol

That is a good idea to circulate the water through a sock. Does the brown residue ever come past the sock? I may try this idea and throw a small bag of carbon at the bottom. May be overkill but I hate the stained sides of the mixing bin. Makes me feel like even though it was 0 tds water it’s dirty.

 

[skey44]

I've used Tropic Marin Pro for 5 years. It does mix really clean, but after about a year it does accumulate a thin layer of an orangish brown residue on my mixing container. From the outside of the container it looks clean, but if you rub a paper towel inside it'll have residue on it. I use LDPE vertical storage bins so they are translucent, not dark like a brute can.

Its not cheap, but I usually buy it when it's on sale a few times a year. I just buy 4 or 5 boxes at a time so that I'm stocked up.

One advantage it does have is that it mixes fast. I can add salt and it's completely dissolved and ready to use in like 30 minutes. Normally this isn't an issue, but if you need water in a hurry it's nice.

I think it’s the best. Also the residue I have after a year is more just a bacteria film because I always leave salt mixed, I’ll have to get a paper towel to check if there’s a color I can’t see in my brute. It’s so CLEAN compared to reef crystals. Best salt out there IMO. It’s expensive but worth it.

 

[Euphyllia098]

I think it’s the best. Also the residue I have after a year is more just a bacteria film because I always leave salt mixed, I’ll have to get a paper towel to check if there’s a color I can’t see in my brute. It’s so CLEAN compared to reef crystals. Best salt out there IMO. It’s expensive but worth it.

Yes, let me know.

 

[skey44]

Yes, let me know.

No color to me. Just dark bacteria slime/film. This is after a year of keeping water mixed all the time. I don’t feel a need to clean it out, but might now that I know there’s a little funk. I was having a crazy white/tan film from RC that was just ridiculous. This is growth from my container, not from the salt imo. Big big difference. The RC clay is obviously a result of the salt and I felt the need to clean it after the first half bucket.
I’ve used a lot of salts as I worked in the industry for a while. Not the newer salts but I would buy whatever was cheapest (between a few trusted brands at the time) for store use, but I always came back to Tropic Marin for its easy mixing, balanced elements, and obvious to me results. Other salts were fine but TM was superior and a “you get what you pay for” type of product to me. This still holds true to this day. Now if I still ran a store or a farm or had a larger system I was having to replace a lot of water there would be a point where I’d compromise on quality for a less expensive product. Feel like IO or RC always for that bill fit that for me, cheap readily available and consistent. In my personal tank I prefer TM.

 

[X-37B]

That’s a cool storage system. I dare ask how big your tank is lol

That is a good idea to circulate the water through a sock. Does the brown residue ever come past the sock? I may try this idea and throw a small bag of carbon at the bottom. May be overkill but I hate the stained sides of the mixing bin. Makes me feel like even though it was 0 tds water it’s dirty.

Throw the bag of carbon in the sock. Sometimes something simple like the sock works wonders.
I use one when I clean a sumps chamber.

 

[djkms]

That’s a cool storage system. I dare ask how big your tank is lol

That is a good idea to circulate the water through a sock. Does the brown residue ever come past the sock? I may try this idea and throw a small bag of carbon at the bottom. May be overkill but I hate the stained sides of the mixing bin. Makes me feel like even though it was 0 tds water it’s dirty.

600 Gallon. It's a 5 micron sock, it catches all the crud. I only leave it on for a couple days and it clears it all out.

 

[Euphyllia098]

No color to me. Just dark bacteria slime/film. This is after a year of keeping water mixed all the time. I don’t feel a need to clean it out, but might now that I know there’s a little funk. I was having a crazy white/tan film from RC that was just ridiculous. This is growth from my container, not from the salt imo. Big big difference. The RC clay is obviously a result of the salt and I felt the need to clean it after the first half bucket.
I’ve used a lot of salts as I worked in the industry for a while. Not the newer salts but I would buy whatever was cheapest (between a few trusted brands at the time) for store use, but I always came back to Tropic Marin for its easy mixing, balanced elements, and obvious to me results. Other salts were fine but TM was superior and a “you get what you pay for” type of product to me. This still holds true to this day. Now if I still ran a store or a farm or had a larger system I was having to replace a lot of water there would be a point where I’d compromise on quality for a less expensive product. Feel like IO or RC always for that bill fit that for me, cheap readily available and consistent. In my personal tank I prefer TM.

That's the same buildup I get. Thanks for sharing.

 

[vlangel]

It’s interesting how many people say they use it, for some reason I thought it would be the opposite.

In past informal polls IO didn't seem to do as well so I am surprised too. Although it is a consistent salt that has stood the test of time so it seems fitting that it is as popular as it is.

 

[MC Blowfish]

I use Instant Ocean. I don't seem to be having any issues with it.

 

[ggudnuf2]

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.

I did have a fair amount myself and had to pull my mixing tank out to clean it this past weekend. I've been using red sea pro then blue for the past 8 months and my mixing tank was disgusting looking and have contemplating switching salts. I'm nervous to go to io just because of price. We spend thousands of $$ on fish and coral but we go budget on salt. I have a hard time with that one. I dose with the red sea line but I'm questioning the salt. A friend recommended Fritz, which is basically the same price as red sea, but if a lot of you are using it, maybe I should try io? Would appreciate any feedback.

 

[X-37B]

I did have a fair amount myself and had to pull my mixing tank out to clean it this past weekend. I've been using red sea pro then blue for the past 8 months and my mixing tank was disgusting looking and have contemplating switching salts. I'm nervous to go to io just because of price. We spend thousands of $$ on fish and coral but we go budget on salt. I have a hard time with that one. I dose with the red sea line but I'm questioning the salt. A friend recommended Fritz, which is basically the same price as red sea, but if a lot of you are using it, maybe I should try io? Would appreciate any feedback.

Interesting as I run blue bucket and my Brute is clean. I only do 16g's a month at one time.
Try some carbon in a nylon bag.
It worked well for IO crud.
Cleanest salt I have ever used was ESV.
Blue bucket is convenient as all lfs have it in stock. I only use 1 bucket every 10 months at 5% WC monthly.

 

[BriDroid]

I started my nano with Tropic Marin Pro-Reef. Then moved to Red Sea blue bucket for one bucket and back to Pro-Reef. I do store mixed saltwater and do auto water changes, and the Pro-Reef just seems to work. I did notice that my magnesium was really low when I was using the blue bucket and that was the main reason I went back to Pro-Reef.

 

[David S]

I've been using ESV for the last couple of years and seen very good results.
I have tried virtually all the popular salts. The reason I have gone with ESV is that I know all my elements will be mixed to the same proportion. Always.
That's important to me, as I have a Nano (38) tank and do small water changed (~1 gallon every other day).
If I had a large tank, I might consider other salt mixes, as I might use all or most of the salt, in one shot.
One disadvantage:
It's 4 part, so it takes a bit longer to mix.
Other than that, you can't beat it for consistency.

 

[FishLvR]

What I look for. Consistency, clarity, lab made, less clean up of mix buckets. Brands I am interested in trying is tropic marin. I have heard good things but when Nyos works so well why bother?

 

[Reef Jedi]

Throw the bag of carbon in the sock. Sometimes something simple like the sock works wonders.
I use one when I clean a sumps chamber.

I think I’ll definitely do this!

 

[Reef Jedi]

I started my nano with Tropic Marin Pro-Reef. Then moved to Red Sea blue bucket for one bucket and back to Pro-Reef. I do store mixed saltwater and do auto water changes, and the Pro-Reef just seems to work. I did notice that my magnesium was really low when I was using the blue bucket and that was the main reason I went back to Pro-Reef.

I’ve noticed that too regardless of what’s printed on the bucket. I also supplement because of that.

 

[Reef Jedi]

What I look for. Consistency, clarity, lab made, less clean up of mix buckets. Brands I am interested in trying is tropic marin. I have heard good things but when Nyos works so well why bother?

Are you using Nyos? I was eyeballing that the other night.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Instant Ocean is used by most large public and research aquaria. People who deal with tens of thousands of gallons of system volume. I'll stick with the actual professionals.

I think this is the general consensus I’m gathering from this discussion. For some reason I am shocked at the amount of people who use it and prefer it over other brands.

It seems companies like BRS who put out the video series highlighting the different brands really put emphasis on other brands besides IO and in some ways it’s over hyping the topic.

 

[PPBlimpy]

I use fritz rpm blue box. Its on the cheaper side, lock shop carries it and mixes well. Working on getting my mixing station up fully and will see how well it does stored for a week or two mix after mixing.