IO vs. Reef Crystals

spongebobby

spongebobby

Member
Well with the ground completely saturated this morning I decided to make up some batches of SW. I bought a bucket of reef crystals and had a bucket of IO. I mixed up equal amounts of both just to see what the exact differences were. And here they are::

Reef Crystals:
ALK-- 8 dkh
CAL-- 450mg/l

IO
ALK-- 15 dkh
CAL-- 370mg/l

I checked the alk on the IO three different times and got the same thing all three times. Looks like I will be switching to Reef Crystals. Also it appered that the RC dissolved alot faster than IO.
All tests were conducted with Salifert test kits less than 3 months old.

Just a FYI for everyone..
 
I just ordered 4 from drfostersandsmith for $37 each and the shipping was only $12. I switched beacause the coralife was giving readings about the same as sopngebobby IO test. OK calcium and high alk My tests on the RC was about the same as his as well. My alk was one higher. I did use salifert test kits. Tetra9999 if no one sells it local-you are more than welcome to buy one from me for $40
 
Wow hey thanks for sharing the Info. I've used the IO and the CL and had about the same test results. But I have a Hagan lab testing kit which is nice to know its testing along with the salifert kits. I think I'm going to try the RC. Thanks again.
 
According to my test, Coralife tested much higher in Calcium and Mag than IO. Here are my findings all at 1.023 using Salifert kits.

IO - Cal 325, Alk 13dkh, Mag 1030

RC - Cal 500, Alk 12.5dkh, Mag 1290

Coralife - Cal 560, Alk 10dkh, Mag 1320
 
maybe I got a bad bucket of coralife? Anyway now I have enough salt to last me for a year or two!
 
1350 ppm for Mag

I've been using Coralife for awhile now. No problems on this end

I do think Reef Crystals is a fine salt and not much more than IO.
 
With my IO I always test out at 380 CA, 11dKH and 1250 mag. I use salifert.

1350 is a good number to aim for on the mag although when I bump it I plug 1400 into it so that when I get around to checking it in about a month it will still be close enough to NSW which is about 1280.

I wouldn't be worried as much about the extra alk as I would other things. In my tank I'll use 2-3 dKh and 20 ppm ca out of the tank in 1 day (in the summer, about half that in the winter) if I don't use the limewater to replace all the evaporation or any other dosing.

If you can get the reefcrystals for close enough to the same price then I'd go with it over the IO but the IO components can be bumped up for about 15 cents per 32 gallons if you use the homemade 2 part. They are basically the same mix with someone in a factory doing what I do at home.

FWIW GWA has 200 gallon IO boxes for about 40 bucks. No bucket that way though. :(

I will say using the IO as compared to when I used coralife my tank looks much better, corals look better, everything. I'm not sure if that's due to the Coralife having such high levels of lithium or not but I chose to change since I knew there was something so far out of range and whether it matters or not, I knew about it and I couldn't use it anymore. Now it doesn't bother me so much that if IO would be unavailable and I was needing more salt, I'd buy it still. Just not when I have a choice.
 
Hey Doc, I agree. Your numbers are probably with salt mixed at around 1.026, so thats about right. Remember I mixed at 1.023.

I keep forgetting, I have a FO tank. Thats why the Coralife works OK for me. I see a few complaints about Coralife with people that have reefs.

In my experience, IO and RC are both fine and consisent salts.

FWIW, when my Coralife runs out I'm going to Reef Crystals and staying there. After trying all of these salts, my tank looks best and stays the most consistent with RC. I have sheets and sheets of logs to prove it. :)

BTW - my backs a little sore....can I get an adjustment :D
 
Sure but it will probably be sore again from the long drive home again!

On the salt, there have been some corporate buyouts of some of the biggies out there and past experiences may go out the window over the next year or so. I just hope that no for the worst like the current Kent salt fiasco. Here's some of the new corporate structures:
(I cut and pasted this from another thread so check out the facts yourself)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6901250#post6901250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shaun120

For those of you who care or were interested Central Garden and Pet owns:

Oceanic ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Quality went to crap after acquired(I'll inject that it always was cr@#)
Kent Marine ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Well you know what is happening
ESU ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Energy Savers Unlimited make Coralife, Deep Ocean, ESU Reptile, PONDLIFE, and Birdlife products.
All-Glass Aquariums ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Was the company that ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œboughtââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ Oceanic

And the publication ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazineââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ is their baby

They also make tons of different products related to lawn and garden chemicals, pet food, and even pottery. Basically there huge and make a ton of stuff.

Source: http://www.central.com/

My theory is that Kent Marine does not care about the situation nor will its parent company be to upset about our misfortuneââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦again use your dollars to voice your opinions. Just my two cents! Oh by the way I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t work for one of their competitors, I just hate crapy companies, and a little research gave me a little insight into why Oceanic tanks went down the tubesââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦Hummmm got to love cost control at the expense of quality.
Click to expand...
 
I personally prefer only to use Tropical Salt or Oceanic salt. I started last year with Oceanic salt first and then tried the Tropical salt which I liked best becuase its more like a powder than a grain and it desovles much faster. I've lost my sheet on the specs during the move and the only thing I do remember was the Alk was at 10 dkh. However on my next buy I want to try Seachem's new Reef salt mix.
 
Well, I'm just glad we have many different brands to choose from. I think every tank has different demands and its nice to have a choice. I suppose what happened at Kent could have happened to anyone. I suspect the handling of the affair could have been better. Now I'm hearing Seachem is making a good salt. I might check it out. We could use a good updated survey like the one in '89 showing the composition of the salts we buy now. I'm sure we all want to know what is going in our tanks.
 
On the seachem salt, or any other product for that matter, do a search for seachem in the chemistry fourm. Don't just read the salt discussion/arguments but even the ones on test kits, supplements, etc. Draw your own conclusions from studying that including the sidestepping by the owner of sechem when he jumps in and then an encore performance by his head chemist.
 
Yes, I am well aware of the discussions between Seachem and RHF. It was actually great reading. Its refreshing to see someone who gives advice on actual facts and experience instead of someone trying to sell something. However, lets face facts. Seachem like many other companies in this business make SOME nice products. I TRY to keep an open mind when choosing products for my hobby.
 
I just read the 2003 inland thread you posted.

What a joke.................................. To think they wasted $15000 on that plus time.

I would like to see a real study....... like the 89 report. :)

Sorry.......JMO
 
The 2006 seemed like a stab at Dr. Shimek didn't it? I started to read some of the chat about it in some threads but got tired of reading the soap opera.
 
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