Need to hear from people who have STOPPED using Oceanic Salt

[kbmdale]

If all else fails....blame the salt mix.

and if that fails blame the sand....lol....


joking...

 

[Jus Reefin]

Well I can honestly blaim the SALT since there is no other reason or cause for my problems.

Used IO for 4 years, the first year of using Oceanic and the Algea Blooms were taking over the tank to the point I was ready to quit. Several test of my RO/DI water,filter changes and the water testing fine, little to no phosphates. Now after testing newly mixed salt water ( some tested right after mixing and some testing done 3 days after mixing) all produced higher Phosphate readings then my plain ol RO/DI water. The one thing I have noticed is the rate of Algea growth has slowed greatly since switching back and phosphate levels have dropped.

Bottom line it's my fault for making the switch to begin with ( if it ain't broke, don't fix it) but I'm still upset about my coral loss

 

[NYPD Frogman]

I used IO for a while and liked it,

Then I tried the "new thing" and went to oceaniac, I had problems with high CA, low ALK and low PH, this was when my tank was a softie tank.


I love IO and I am not going back.

Whiskey

I expierenced the same problem using oceanic salt, also I had detectable levels of PO4 with oceanic, I use RO water with a TDS of about 2PPM. when I found the PO4 I suspected the rubbermaid pail I use to mix so I tested the same salt, same RO/DI water in a food grade contianer and had the same results.
I use reef crystals now been changing 20gals weekly will proably do so for another month, than do 20 a month.

I used to use red sea salt but the LFS I used doesnt carry it any longre and the price did go up.

 

[BlueCorn]

Let me guess Capital?

They gave me the same line. I drove down to Exotic and got it for $39.99

My lfs was selling me the 200g bucket for $39.99 and said if they order any more it will be that price for the 50g jug. I know for a fact the LFS in my area make little to no profit on Salt. Now if they were selling to me for almost $70 a bucket i would know they were lying. To be honest at this point I could have a thousand people tell me they have no problems with Oceanic and even if the prices were not going up I still don't want to use it anymore. To many issues for me and the cost increase was the straw that broke the camels back

 

[Jus Reefin]

Actually it was O st. and Red Sea Aqaurium

 

[dannynguyen3573]

What is IO????

 

[Jus Reefin]

Insta Ocean

 

[impur]

I switched from oceanic to IO recently simply because of the lower alk in oceanic. I read about most SPS keepers using IO and the higher alk. I do weekly WCs on my 29 gal with a total water volume of about 40gal. After a month of using IO i could not get alk above 7dKH. I was dosing almost 2 teaspoons of baking soda a day. On top of that my calcium was constantly low around 360ppm. So i dosed 30mL b-ionic daily. This is in addition to dosing a gallon of kalk per day. I decided to test the new batch alone. I got a reading of 3dKH alk and 280ppm calcium!!! I couldn't believe it, did 2 more tests came out the same and then took a sample to 2 seperate LFS. Same result. I threw the salt away and got more oceanic. In total i ended up losing 3 SPS colonies.

 

[Phillips]

Reading through this thread, it sounds like several people have come across bad batches from different brands...kinda scary if you ask me. Unless I counted wrong, people have bought bad batches of Oceanic, Reff Crystals & IO.

I really don't like the idea of playing Russian roulette w/ my tank.

I personally have used Oceanic w/o any problems since I bought several bags of a really bad batch of IO a few years ago. I don't have any problems with Oceanic. It does have a lower alkalinity, around NSW levels, but my tank is doing really well. Only problems I have are w/ my corals trying to smother or sting each other to death.

 

[Jacob D]

Hey Rob, sorry to hear about the headaches and losses. I too have been wondering about some algae in my tank that has never really gone away, and if it's related to Oceanic. I tested my PO4 of fresh mixed saltwater using Salifert and it was about .1 (or .01?...don't recall, it was the lowest reading besides 0).

For those that tested the PO4 of your fresh salt water - what reading did you get (and what brand salt)?

I do like Oceanic otherwise. I drip kalkwasser so my CA is 460-480, ALK is right about 3 m/eq, and PH 8.1-8.2. I've heard that Kent salt puts up pretty good numbers in both CA and ALK but I have never really looked into it, I don't think any of my LFS carry it anyway. Anyone using it?

 

[fish_taste_good]

why switch if everything is ok?

 

[Jus Reefin]

why switch if everything is ok?

If you read the post it is explained

 

[thrlride]

So you get algae from oceanic after switching from IO. Sounds like a good example of blaming oceanic. But then you switch back to IO and your corals start to die and it is oceanic's fault?

Did I read that right?

 

[kite]

You guys get ripped on salt. :eek2: I pay 13 bucks for a bag the size of my dogs body. (golden retriever). The bag is about 20~lbs.

You people are getting money sucked out of you :worried2:

 

[Jus Reefin]

So you get algae from oceanic after switching from IO. Sounds like a good example of blaming oceanic. But then you switch back to IO and your corals start to die and it is oceanic's fault?

Did I read that right?

I guess you didn't read it right and obviously have not read much on the subject since many, many others have had the same issues.

I used IO for 5+ years with no Algea problems what so ever. 1 month after switching to Oceanic I had a ton of Algea. If I test my RO/DI water and it test good but I test my Oceanic SW and it has higher Phosphate reading who else is too blame???? Not to be rude but I would suggest reading up more before putting words in someones mouth. Like I said it's no ones fault but my own for switching in the first place.

Since people seem to think the Salt has nothing to do with perfectly healthy corals dieing 24-48hrs after a WG or having a Algea free Reef for 5+ years then I switch salts and all hell breaks loose, I would love suggestions on what else it could be.

 

[thrlride]

Re: UPDATE

Re: UPDATE

I agree that if you had no problems for years and then switch to Oceanic and all of a sudden have problems that the salt is the #1 candidate. My comment was more to this:

Well I made the switch but have only done 2 WG about 15g each time. So far I have lost a Brain coral a very thriving growing Acan lord ( grew from 2 1/2 polyps to over 10+ polyps in 5 months) and almost lost Acan Echinata, It bleached and was showing skeleton. It looks to be coming back now. Needless to say I am not very happy at all and will be writing a letter to Oceanic to complain. ( more to make me feel good since I know they won't give a damn) Also lost 2 Acro frags

You didn't say a thing (IIRC) about losing corals on Oceanic, only when you switched BACK to IO but you blame Oceanic for the losses.

That's what I was commenting on. BTW, since I use oceanic I've read a lot about people having trouble.

FWIW, I've read when switching from Oceanic to IO (or any salt change) you should really go slow. Like do four parts old salt to one part new salt and then do small water changes slowly upping the dosage of new vs. old.

This is just a general question for anyone that may be educated on the subject:

Why would he suffer coral loss when switching salt? Is it a chemical reaction between the two salts or just the change of salt in general? If it is just a switch in salt does that mean if a LFS uses Oceanic and you have IO the coral will die?

Or is it the chemical reaction idea?

 

[impur]

There has to be some other things involved than just the salt. You touch on a good point in that not every LFS or wholesaler uses the same salts. But we do not lose the corals we buy from them even if going from one salt to the next.

 

[Jus Reefin]

FWIW my feelings are it has to do with the mixture of the different chemicals in the 2 salts. I have talked to a few people that have went from IO to Oceanic and had some coral loss. My main beef with Oceanic is the Algea problem not the Coral loss. I knew the risk involved when I switched back to IO

On a side note I have set up a 30g tank using IO and have placed several Algea Infested Rocks in that tank to see if it will die or if I will have the same problems. This will really help me to make a conclusion in my mind.

 

[Jacob D]

Rob - keep us updated on the progress of your main tank w/ the salt switch. I know it can be a pain with the direction these threads start to go in but I'd really like to know how your main tank is doing in the next month or two, and I hope there are no more losses.

 

[Jus Reefin]

I will deff. keep you updated Jacob

Peace