Best salt?

S

schnebbles

New member
I'm going to be ordering my first salt. I was told reef crystals are great but I know I will want coral when the time comes. Should I buy a salt that specifically says it's better for the corals now or just wait?

I was looking at the Coral Pro in the black bucket but if it's just wasting money at this point, I'll wait until I have the corals and gradually switch which is how I read to switch if you do ever switch salt.

Brand new here so I'm just learning.

tia!
 
I use reef crystals in my 28g nano and so far so good! Gets the job done for me and my corals seem happy.
 
Everyone seems to have their own preferences and you'll likely get a lot of differing opinions. For me the reef salt of choice is hands down Tropic Marin Pro Reef.
 
For me, ESV B-Ionic salt system is the easiest and most consistent salt mix available. My corals love it... I won't use anything else.
 
A sea K said:
Everyone seems to have their own preferences and you'll likely get a lot of differing opinions. For me the reef salt of choice is hands down Tropic Marin Pro Reef.
Click to expand...

+1

Tropic Marin Pro is Awesome

Salts like Reef Crystals are Terrible (14 Alkalinity - Are you Kidding Me!)

How are you supposed to Keep Alkalinity Stable with it that High.

Tropic Marin Pro has Alkalinity at 8.5 Which is Spot on Where I Keep It.

Keeping Alkalinity is Crucial When Reefing.
 
schnebbles said:
I'm going to be ordering my first salt. I was told reef crystals are great but I know I will want coral when the time comes. Should I buy a salt that specifically says it's better for the corals now or just wait?



I was looking at the Coral Pro in the black bucket but if it's just wasting money at this point, I'll wait until I have the corals and gradually switch which is how I read to switch if you do ever switch salt.



Brand new here so I'm just learning.



tia!
Click to expand...



Since this is your first and you have no corals, you may want to consider Instant Ocean (not reef crystals) it's cheap and you will replace it many times before your 1st expensive coral. After you're past new tank syndrome and put more calcium/trace element consuming corals, etc in your tank you can switch to tropic Marin or the likes if you test and determine I/O does not keep up with the demand.

The above said some/many hobbyists would rather use cheaper salt and supplement to their own tests. Most breakdowns (triton) show the more expensive salts (except TM) have more "stuff" than is normally found in natural sea water. All salts for the hobby are synthetic no matter how natural they claim to be. KISS alk 8.5 cal 400, 35ppt, the rest don't matter much unless you regularly test for them and supplement often.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Reef crystals for a while. Higher alk keeps up with the demand in my coral. But like most say everyone likes their own.
 
If you just starting your tank, don't waste your money on expensive salt. You are not going to see any additional benefits. Use the tried and true instant ocean.
 
They're all pretty much same to me, especially when you have to dose because the salt won't keep up with the demand. Those regular water changes just aren't cutting it anymore.
 
Yeah starting out i am using IO. I have a bag of reef crystals I haven't touched but with my alk being so low I may mix in a bit with my next water change. All depends on the types of corals.you want to keep as well.
Softies and LPS tend to need less then the SPS.

Go with IO until you are least done cycling. Don't want to be throwing away expensive salt wasted on a cycle.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
 
that Fish Guy said:
+1

Tropic Marin Pro is Awesome

Salts like Reef Crystals are Terrible (14 Alkalinity - Are you Kidding Me!)

How are you supposed to Keep Alkalinity Stable with it that High.

Tropic Marin Pro has Alkalinity at 8.5 Which is Spot on Where I Keep It.

Keeping Alkalinity is Crucial When Reefing.
Click to expand...
How big of a water change are you doing? It would take a rather large water change for the alkalinity of a saltmixes to make a big impact. Doing smaller changes much less so.

Tropic marine pro is a fine salt. So is reef crystals too. Many great looking tanks use both along with just about every other major brand out there including basic Instant Ocean.
 
I would start out with something like Instant Ocean and get the tank cycled and established. This also get you past a steep learning curve. You will not need a special Reef grade salt in the beginning. They basically just have elevated Calcium and Mag. Some may have a lower alk. Once you get comfortable and want to start looking at keeping LPS or SPS type of corals then you may want to consider the best way to move forward. That may or may not include changing salt brands. There are pros and cons either way you go. I'm currently running I/O in a lightly stocked mixed Reef with no issues.
 
Last edited:
I started with just plain Instant Ocean at first and you can get a 200 gallon box for like 40.00 many times on Dr. Foster and Smith website and Free Shipping. No need to waste expensive salt if you don't have corals IMHO. I do use Red Sea Pro now and my corals love it. You'll get a lot of different salt names to be honest.
 
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