Changing From Tropic Marin to Instant Ocean?

[NickBee]

We’ve used up our 1st bucket of Tropic Marin over the last 4 months that we’ve had our tank up and running. I’m now finding out the TM is more expensive and not as available as IO. I know there was some analysis done on all the salt mixes somewhere. But I guess I’m wondering if it would be safe to change salt mixes at this point? We do 10% water changes every 2 weeks and it’s time for a change this weekend. Also being that we have a FOWLR does TM have an advantage for the higher price tag?

Thanks!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Switching is fine. Both are good choices, as is Reef Crystals. The IO will have a bit less calcium, and while I use it, I boost the IO with calcium (Dowflake) and magnesium (MAG flake).

 

[NickBee]

Great! I was planning to test and boost alk and cal anyway now that I have a grasp on 2-part dosing (thanks to you guys)...

Good stuff!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.
(I deleted your duplicate post to the other thread. )

Good luck.

 

[irishsea]

I use Tropic Marin myself and i to am thinking of changing i find my calcium is high 500.

 

[Radiography14]

Reef crystals is much cheaper and i find i have beetr luck controling my cal and alk. its just my opinion and i thought i would share this thought.

 

[The Chefin' Man]

I heard that radio. Switching from TM to IO is like going from bad to worse. Reef crystals pro is the way to go for the buck if you have it around you. You should not have to dose at all with RC. This is all IMO, I do not mean to ruffle feathers by all means.
around here a person can pick up a 160 gallon bucket for 44.00. Also Drsfosterandsmith.com have it at the same price with shipping at least that is what I have heard.

J.c.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Switching from TM to IO is like going from bad to worse.

What do you have against IO?

Personally, I think both of those are fine mixes, and that is reflected by many RC tanks of the month that use them. IMO, you might not want to focus so much on easily fixed issues, such as calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. Maybe worry more about the many things that you do not measure and are not easily fixed.

I use IO, and I boost the calcium by 70 ppm with Dowflake and magnesium by 150 ppm with MAG flake (to higher than NSW levels to offset loses in the tank).

 

[The Chefin' Man]

I do not have anything againt IO. That is just my opinioin, I personally think that it is a not so great product. It is just like a protein skimmer you can have a deltec or you can have a cpr. Well some people think that deltec are the best and in other instances others might think that the CPR would be too. Our applications vary in some many ways because the base of what we start with has a very large variable. The water in which we use is the biggest difference between everyones tanks. Granted water is water. But our water from house to house is like a sunset it will almost never be alike. See what I am saying, Even with using RO/DI water our trace minerals will vary. SO what I am saying is that From my Tank I have found that reef crystals would be the best salt suited for my water. Now if you did a survey for a week with the three salts you might find that Io or any other brand might be better than the on that you are using. Does this make sense? I am not trying to sound sarcastic.

 

[The Chefin' Man]

Damn double post

 

[The Chefin' Man]

Wow , my stupidity at it finest moment. sorry guys

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

But what about IO makes you not select it?

 

[The Chefin' Man]

When I tested the the IO with my water several times. The Instant Ocean was inconsistant with the properties that I was looking for. Honestly I have been using IO for several years and I have grown not to really care this product. Especially for the way that this brand mixes with RO/DI water (Granules clump). It is not the humidity in the house, and I do not leave the bucket open for long periods of time either. I know that Instant Ocean is pretty much a staple in Reef Keeping and if my memory serves me correct they have been around the longest.

Instant Ocean has the highest Titanium level. Its Aluminum level is also high, but less than half of the highest salt mix. I have also read that IO has elements of Arsenic, Copper, and lithium.

But again this is just my personal preference I am just a Chef with a chemistry degree in food and not Marine chemistry.

 

[reefmatenate]

I would have to also agree with Randy your backround does not agree with what reefers have been having success with. IO has a very good reputation and many reefers use it. you said water vary's even when using RO/DI which just isnt true when you use an RO/DI using a TDS meter if it reads zero then my water would be the same as say someone living in California. I will once again say there is some debate and you should do what works best and easiest for you but don't diss if you don't have the scientific background to enforce your information.

 

[Pennoyer]

decided not to possibly hijack. will ask my ???? in a new thread

 

[The Chefin' Man]

Hey Nate,

I am not going to bother with the scientific data Sir (I am not a Dr. of Chemistry I am a Dr. of food). If you are worried about data you can look that up yourself. And I am not dissing IO as you would say. I said in my opinion I prefer to use Reef Crystals. By the way Nate, I not only said that IO was a less than poor product. I also said that Tropic Marin sucks; are you going to disagree with that?

Even when using RO/DI water your TDS reading will be the same as someone in Cali, but your trace minerals will differ. If you would like to do a test between our water you can send me a sample and we can do a trace element test after our water has run through our RO/DI systems. And then I can prove to you that our water is different between trace elements. So no they will not be the same. Or we can call the local water company and ask for a chemical data sheet and I assure that there will be a difference between mine and yours. This may seem crazy but this is why some people have to dose their water and others do not. When I was using Instant Ocean I had to dose my tank just like everyone else. Now that I have switched to a different salt (Reef Crystals). Again this is just my experience. I do agree with you and I said this in a previous post that this was just a personal preference.


Nick you might not want to just switch right over to a different brand. You might want to slowly transfer over to the new brand of salt by mixing the two in ratios.

 

[The Chefin' Man]

By the way Randy you have a nice tank! What kind of wood did you use to build your stand and canopy out of? I hope I did not Hinder you with my opinion about IO.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Evereyone is welcome to opinioins here.

Thanks. The stand is walnut.

 

[The Chefin' Man]

Randy, do you see what I am saying about the differences between trace elements in our waters? They do vary from city to city. I really think that this is a ligit debate, correct? Just the wrong post.

J.c.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure what you mean,a nd I'm not sure what you are identifying as trace elements. I do not recommend that aquarists use tap water (out of concern for copper etc), so the trace elements that IO users get should be the same worldwide.

Reef Crystals is a fine choice, but I can boost my IO with calcium and magnesium for much less than the cost of Reef Crystals, and I do not know of anything else that is added to RC over IO that I'd actually want boosted.