preferred salt?

[hambandit]

i have been using instant ocean for my little tank but here in a couple weeks when the 125 gets up i think im going to switch. I havent been using any additives but calcium, but from what i hear the instant ocean isnt too hot for a reef. what's your preferred salt?

i should do a little more work on the chemistry of the new setup as well, any ideas as to where i should start?

probably by buying a decent test kit, lol

 

[Rue]

I'm using Ocean Pure for what it's worth...but haven't anything to compare it too...however, it came highly recommended for reefs...

 

[Medicine Man]

Just made the switch to Red Sea Coral Pro Salt after a couple of years with Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals. Have to say colors and polyp extension is better than before. Its only been about 1.5 months and 4 water changes but definite improvement. Just my opinion.

 

[aquaconnect]

I went from Tropic Marin Pro Reef to Seachem Reef salt and love it. It mixes just right and I have no phosphate like I did with TM Pro Reef and and Instant Ocean products.

 

[rharwood]

I also use Seachem Reef salt instead of Instant Ocean. It seems to work well for me.


Randy

 

[hambandit]

i think im going to give seachem a shot. any advice on how would be the best to migrate to the larger setup? the current 55 will be the sump of the new system, and im not quite sure how is best to do this

 

[Shaun120]

Tropic Marin Pro Reef...no phos problems for me.

 

[DrBegalke]

lab testing

lab testing

Anyone interested it doing a lab-grade analysis of different salt mixes?

Here is the thread for proposed lab analysis of salt mixes

 

[aquaphilic]

I use Reef Crystals and my tank seems to like it fine, but I don't. It bugs me that it doesn't dissolve completely at room temp.

I am planning to try Instant Ocean next because that is what Randy Holmes-Farley uses and I am sold on his credentials and methods. He does supplement IO with Ca and Mag, but that is okay with me. I like the idea of customizing.

 

[triggerjay]

IO here... have had cyano problems most of the tanks life though.. don't know if its the salt or not..

Jason

 

[OzarksReef]

John,

I've been using Instant Ocean with good results. By the way, it doesn't seem to dissolve well/quickly either. I did use a box of Oceanic Natural Sea Salt mix, and it dissolves very quickly. The mix is extremely fine and was easy to use. I've heard mixed reviews on the quality of the product though.

I upgraded from a 55 to a 125 just over two months ago. The process actually went pretty smoothly. For what it's worth, here's how I approached it:

- Set up the 125 tank and stand - leveled everything and got it placed just how I wanted it. (I actually had to move the 55 to do this because it was set up where the new tank was going).

- Put all livestock and rock in 5-gallon buckets with powerheads (probably not necessary, but made me feel better).

- Placed new substrate in the 125-gallon - used about 5 cups of my old substrate on top of new stuff to seed it. I had several anoxic areas in my old sandbed and didn't want to transfer too much of it over.

- Drained as much of the water from the 55 as I could (probably around 85-90%) and added it to the 125. Then I filled it about 75% with new saltwater.

- Added the live rock and corals - I didn't acclimate them, but they didn't seem to mind. Probably would have been a good idea tho! I even have a bubbletip anemone that was attached to a huge piece of rock - had no choice but to put him right in. No problems!

The move from 55 to 125 took a total of about 3 hours - not enough time to really stress any of the livestock. I also made sure to adjust the thermostat to 77 degrees so the temps stayed stable in the buckets.

I have been monitoring the water parameters every week since the move and have not had any "bounce back" in ammonia or nitrites. I didn't add any new livestock for a month after the move.

Good luck with your move!

David