Difference in SeaChem Marine Salt & Reef Salt

[Radioheadx14]

What is the difference between SeaChem Marine Salt and Reef Salt? I have a mostly SPS tank and I just bought a bucket of marine salt.
Here is the basics based on the sticky in this forum:
SeaChem Marine Salt
Ca 500
Alk 10
Mg 1400

SeaChem Reef Salt
Ca 540
Alk 10
mg 1450

Seachem's website says to use reef salt with corals... but whats the point? I read somewhere that marine salt doesn't have the same levels of trace elements as the Reef Salt. What elements(someone suggested iodine, Which I can add)?

Anyone know what the difference is beyond Ca and Mg?

 

[bertoni]

The Marine products have a lot of borate in them, which can be a problem with a reef tank. The borate alkalinity makes it hard to know the carbon alkalinity level, and if it accumulates, it can become toxic to invertebrates. The Reef salt also has an elevated borate level, but it's not as bad as the Marine salt, or the Marine Buffer.

The borate is added to help peg the pH a bit higher, but it's a bad trade-off for a reef tank, IMO.

 

[Radioheadx14]

Should I return it or do you think it would be ok?

 

[bertoni]

I would return it, but the tank might be okay. The issue is that you won't know the carbonate alkalinity level because the borate will render the alkalinity kit fairly useless. If you have any valuable stony corals, I absolutely would recommend returning it.

 

[Radioheadx14]

How is it still on the market if you think its that bad of a product?

 

[bertoni]

Well, I wouldn't say the Marine salt is a bad product, but it is special-purpose.

 

[soulsigma]

Well, I wouldn't say the Marine salt is a bad product, but it is special-purpose.

Marine Salts are for Fish only tanks:rollface:

 

[Radioheadx14]

There is a guy local to me that said Seachem is the best and he would never use anything else. He has been in the hobby for 20 years and has amazing tanks and corals.

I still don't know whats different about seachem marine salt and seachem reef salt besides a little extra Mg and Ca.

 

[HighlandReefer]

The SeaChem salt contains a higher level of borate then natural seawater. It used to be that SeaChem added quite a bit more borate, but they have cut it back considerably now. When the borate was higher, it did have a substantial impact on alk readings using standard hobby grade kits. Now that they have cut it back there is only about a 10% impact on your true carbonate readings. Carbonate is what your coral actually use of your total alk. The impact now is about 1 dKH, so you may want to keep your alk level about 1 dKH higher then you really want to maintain your carbonate where you want it. SeaChem reduced their Borate content from about 12X down to 4X the amount you find in natural seawater.

FWIW, Randy & Boomer may have had a lot to do with SeaChem reducing the borate level in their newer mix.

Randy provides more details regarding the old SeaChem mix with much higher borate levels in these articles:


Boron in a Reef Tank (and its effect on pH buffering)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2002/chem.htm

The Seachem Borate Alkalinity Test Kit
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2003/chem.htm

The Salifert Boron Test Kit
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2003/chem.htm

Borate thread with Randy's comments regarding the old SeaChem mix with much higher borate levels:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13892214&#post13892214

 

[HighlandReefer]

This is a more recent thread where Randy corrected me regarding the new SeaChem salt with less borate: :lol:

Borate in SeaChem Salt
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1772160&highlight=seachem+borate

 

[Radioheadx14]

I think I'm going to try it. If I don't like it, I will switch next time around. I just wanted to get away from reef crystals because I get cyano everytime I do a water change.

 

[HighlandReefer]

They add vitamins to RC, which may have something to do with it.

FWIW, Instant Ocean doesn't have vitamins added to it.

 

[Radioheadx14]

Is IO missing anything other than more Ca, Mg and vitamins than RC?

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

I use seachem reef and love it....I use Kent tech a/b/mg though:thumbsup:

 

[HighlandReefer]

It is my understanding that other then the content of alk, calcium and mag & that RC has vitamins in it, IO & RC are pretty much the same.

Instant Ocean (new)
calcium: 400
alk: 11
mag: 1350

Reef Crystals (new)
490
13
1440

 

[Radioheadx14]

I received a reply from seachem on the difference between the two:

Hello Nate,

Thanks for the email and for purchasing the Marine Salt! Both the Marine and Reef Salt contain the same types of trace components, the main difference between the two is that the Reef Salt has more elevated levels of calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, iodide, and strontium. *This is because in a reef tank, you have many more inhabitants consuming these things than in a marine only tank, so having more elevated levels will allow for better stabilization in between water changes. *With that being said, it is perfectly acceptable to use the Marine Salt in a reef tank. *If you notice that your levels are falling below your satisfaction, then you can always supplement or you can switch to using the Reef Salt. *Additionally, here is a helpful quote about our Reef Salt that can be found on the FAQ page:

Q: Why is your Reef Saltâ„¢better for my reef? What about borate content?

A: Our Reef Saltâ„¢is better for the following reasons: (a) provides a stable level of calcium and alkalinity, (b) stable long term pH, (c) more magnesium (d) less ammonia content, (e) no silicate based drying agents used [i.e. no more brown diatom algae often seen with other salt mixes], (f) the black container protects trace elements from decomposition due to light or moisture (a problem with white punctured bags), (g) use of more soluble calcium and magnesium carbonates/borates, (h) no phosphate, no nitrates present (i) the higher borate content allows for both better pH control and higher stable calcium levels.

I hope this information was helpful and let us know if you need further assistance. *Have a wonderful day!

Should I worry about iodine and strontium if I am doing 2 5g water changes a week on a 37g sps tank with around a 12g sump? I have some iodine for zoa baths that I could add if needed. Any opinions on there two elements?

 

[bertoni]

There's not really any evidence that strontium or iodine are all that important in a reef tank:


http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/chem.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/chem.htm

Their comments about the Marine Salt are true only if you have a good way of measuring borate alkalinity and total alkalinity separately, which their alkalinity kit claims to do. It's not clear that it works very well, though:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2003/chem.htm