Fellow Reefers,
I've had Marine tanks for the last 30+ years and specifically an ongoing Reef tank for the last 15 or so years.
During this time, I have used most of the popular salt mixes, such as Reef Crystals, HW Marinemix, Red Sea, Tropic Marin, etc. To be honest, I could not tell you if anyone was significantly better or worse.
I would always come back to Instant Ocean, as it has proven to be very reliable and, quite frankly, cheaper.
The one deficiency that I saw was that it was not "fortified" as some salt mixes are, but I rationalized that as my 38 gallon tank has a fair amount of Zoos, LPS and a lot of SPS, I would need to do a good deal of dosing regardless of the salt mix I was using.
However a couple of things have happened which caused me to reconsider:
1. The amount of dosing I've been doing.
2. Impact of Triton testing.
Regarding my dosing: I dose kalkwasser at night, which also serves as replacement water in my tank. However, this is not sufficient to maintain my alkalinity and calcium requirements. So I supplement with ESV 2 part. I would dose anywhere from 7 to 10 ml each, depending on test results.
The problem was, eventually, either the alkalinity or Calcium would fall out of my desired range (I like to keep my Alkalinity between 7 - 8 DKH , Calcium between 420 - 450).
When an imbalance occurred I would further supplement with Reef Advantage Calcium or Reef Builder, for Alkalinity - both Seachem products. I used them because they were a bit more concentrated than the ESV 2 part and the Reef Builder would not raise my PH as much as if I dosed more ESV Alaklinity.
These deviations calling for additional dosing were resulting in daily testing and was a general pain.
I wondered, if perhaps switching to a salt fortified for Reef tanks may improve the situation.
My recent Triton test was another cause for concern:
It showed a Lithium level of of 3524 ug/l !
I know that many people have advised that high Lithium levels are not a big concern, but the amount in my tank is literally off Triton's charts!
Plus, consider that when I had Triton testing done in 1/2015 my LI level was 560.9 ug/l (even that was off their scale).
Fortunately all inhabitants in the tank (Fish corals inverts) appear to be fine and thriving but if the trend continues, I fear something will eventually give.
Since it has been suggested that Instant Ocean has a high LI content, I decided to try another mix.
(For the record, I did 6% weekly water changes with IO).
Then too, I think Randy mentioned that one of the Seachem products may be high in Lithium.
As best as I can recall, it was NOT Reef Advantage Calcium or Reef Builder, but as I want to see if I can simplify my dosing procedures, I will discontinue the use of the Seachem products, for now.
Since most of my imbalances were due to deficient Calcium, I decided to simply have some Calcium from the BRS 2 part, on hand.
Not to keep you in suspense any further about the salt I decided to use; it is Tropic-Marin Pro Reef.
Two reasons for my decision:
1. When I looked at reviews for the other contending salts, there were plenty of proponents but there were enough detractors to make me think twice. But when it came to Tropic-Marin there were virtually no critics (at least from the reviews I saw) except perhaps for the cost.
The 2nd reason for using TM actually just bolstered my already made decision. It came from the Triton people who recommend this salt.
As they don't make this salt (they have their own, but it's used for a different reason) that is a very powerful endorsement.
So I've been using Tropic Marin Pro Reef for one month now (I've increased my water change schedule to 10% weekly although TM recommends 15). Here are my observations:
OVERALL APPEARANCE OF INHABITANTS - At this point I see NO difference in the health of my Fish, corals or inverts. Corals continue apparent growth rates as when using IO, further I do not detect any difference, in coloration, polyp extension etc.
DOSING - Let me just say that over the years, I have tried a lot of products that promised the world but were always nothing but a letdown. I can honestly say that this salt is working out even better than I hoped it would.
As usual, I dose my Kalk at night, but in the morning, I'm dosing 5 ml each of the ESV 2 part. I have dosed BRS Calcium (2 part formula) on two occasions, only as a top off and not due to significant depletion. ( I can remember when 400 PPM for calcium was the goal and if you went much above 420 PPM it could cause precipitation in the tank).
So I'm actually dosing less of the ESV 2 part, but retaining more of the components.
Instead of daily testing, I'm testing every other day, but will probably switch to twice a week, as the results have been far more consistent- almost clockwork.
The funny thing is when I first got the TM salt, I ran tests for all the things, I test for; namely KH, CA, K, and MG and compared it with a batch of IO salt.. The results were surprising and disappointing, as I expected significantly elevated levels in the TM batch. This was hardly the case. As I recollect the IO batch had as much, or almost as much in all the elements tested.
However, when added to the tank something is obviously happening - apparently for the better.
FURTHER TESTING - So I intend to send in another test to see, among other things, if the use of the TM salt helps to reduce my LI levels.
I'll probably send it in near the end of the year. By that time most of the IO salt should be replaced by the TM salt.
I am also thinking of testing with ATI this time as they also test your RODI Water, although as I live in NYC, where the tap water is excellent, I don't see a problem.
I'll let you know the results when I get em.
In the meantime, I'll let you know if any significant events occur, in the tank, between now and then.
David
I've had Marine tanks for the last 30+ years and specifically an ongoing Reef tank for the last 15 or so years.
During this time, I have used most of the popular salt mixes, such as Reef Crystals, HW Marinemix, Red Sea, Tropic Marin, etc. To be honest, I could not tell you if anyone was significantly better or worse.
I would always come back to Instant Ocean, as it has proven to be very reliable and, quite frankly, cheaper.
The one deficiency that I saw was that it was not "fortified" as some salt mixes are, but I rationalized that as my 38 gallon tank has a fair amount of Zoos, LPS and a lot of SPS, I would need to do a good deal of dosing regardless of the salt mix I was using.
However a couple of things have happened which caused me to reconsider:
1. The amount of dosing I've been doing.
2. Impact of Triton testing.
Regarding my dosing: I dose kalkwasser at night, which also serves as replacement water in my tank. However, this is not sufficient to maintain my alkalinity and calcium requirements. So I supplement with ESV 2 part. I would dose anywhere from 7 to 10 ml each, depending on test results.
The problem was, eventually, either the alkalinity or Calcium would fall out of my desired range (I like to keep my Alkalinity between 7 - 8 DKH , Calcium between 420 - 450).
When an imbalance occurred I would further supplement with Reef Advantage Calcium or Reef Builder, for Alkalinity - both Seachem products. I used them because they were a bit more concentrated than the ESV 2 part and the Reef Builder would not raise my PH as much as if I dosed more ESV Alaklinity.
These deviations calling for additional dosing were resulting in daily testing and was a general pain.
I wondered, if perhaps switching to a salt fortified for Reef tanks may improve the situation.
My recent Triton test was another cause for concern:
It showed a Lithium level of of 3524 ug/l !
I know that many people have advised that high Lithium levels are not a big concern, but the amount in my tank is literally off Triton's charts!
Plus, consider that when I had Triton testing done in 1/2015 my LI level was 560.9 ug/l (even that was off their scale).
Fortunately all inhabitants in the tank (Fish corals inverts) appear to be fine and thriving but if the trend continues, I fear something will eventually give.
Since it has been suggested that Instant Ocean has a high LI content, I decided to try another mix.
(For the record, I did 6% weekly water changes with IO).
Then too, I think Randy mentioned that one of the Seachem products may be high in Lithium.
As best as I can recall, it was NOT Reef Advantage Calcium or Reef Builder, but as I want to see if I can simplify my dosing procedures, I will discontinue the use of the Seachem products, for now.
Since most of my imbalances were due to deficient Calcium, I decided to simply have some Calcium from the BRS 2 part, on hand.
Not to keep you in suspense any further about the salt I decided to use; it is Tropic-Marin Pro Reef.
Two reasons for my decision:
1. When I looked at reviews for the other contending salts, there were plenty of proponents but there were enough detractors to make me think twice. But when it came to Tropic-Marin there were virtually no critics (at least from the reviews I saw) except perhaps for the cost.
The 2nd reason for using TM actually just bolstered my already made decision. It came from the Triton people who recommend this salt.
As they don't make this salt (they have their own, but it's used for a different reason) that is a very powerful endorsement.
So I've been using Tropic Marin Pro Reef for one month now (I've increased my water change schedule to 10% weekly although TM recommends 15). Here are my observations:
OVERALL APPEARANCE OF INHABITANTS - At this point I see NO difference in the health of my Fish, corals or inverts. Corals continue apparent growth rates as when using IO, further I do not detect any difference, in coloration, polyp extension etc.
DOSING - Let me just say that over the years, I have tried a lot of products that promised the world but were always nothing but a letdown. I can honestly say that this salt is working out even better than I hoped it would.
As usual, I dose my Kalk at night, but in the morning, I'm dosing 5 ml each of the ESV 2 part. I have dosed BRS Calcium (2 part formula) on two occasions, only as a top off and not due to significant depletion. ( I can remember when 400 PPM for calcium was the goal and if you went much above 420 PPM it could cause precipitation in the tank).
So I'm actually dosing less of the ESV 2 part, but retaining more of the components.
Instead of daily testing, I'm testing every other day, but will probably switch to twice a week, as the results have been far more consistent- almost clockwork.
The funny thing is when I first got the TM salt, I ran tests for all the things, I test for; namely KH, CA, K, and MG and compared it with a batch of IO salt.. The results were surprising and disappointing, as I expected significantly elevated levels in the TM batch. This was hardly the case. As I recollect the IO batch had as much, or almost as much in all the elements tested.
However, when added to the tank something is obviously happening - apparently for the better.
FURTHER TESTING - So I intend to send in another test to see, among other things, if the use of the TM salt helps to reduce my LI levels.
I'll probably send it in near the end of the year. By that time most of the IO salt should be replaced by the TM salt.
I am also thinking of testing with ATI this time as they also test your RODI Water, although as I live in NYC, where the tap water is excellent, I don't see a problem.
I'll let you know the results when I get em.
In the meantime, I'll let you know if any significant events occur, in the tank, between now and then.
David
