From the horse’s mouth:
I spoke with the Seachem rep a few days ago, and this is what he told me. There is a lot of propaganda about salt, which one does what, which one is better and so on. After 3 years of testing every salt base in the world, Instant Ocean is the best base salt on the market period. What you add to it is what makes the difference.
Seachem, you may not know uses the IO base salt, and then mixes there own from there and has two salt mixes. The one we know about is there Reef Salt the other is there Marine Salt. The Marine salt is very easy to describe, it is comparable to Instant Ocean’s Reef Crystals and that is it, a very good salt. The Reef Salt is more comparable to Tropic Marin with these main differences, first TM does have more trace elements in the salt, they are chelated so they release over time. This is great if you can use the salt within six months from its mix date, if not they break down in the mix are rendered useless. The Seachem salt is also rich in trace elements that can be subsidized with additives. In addition it will buffer the PH to 8.4 and uses a Boron level that is three times that of natural seawater to help maintain a high KH. And no!!! There is no study or evidence in any way that has determined that this is too high of a level for anything, in fact if you look into TM you find the same thing. Also the Seachem Reef Salt has elevated levels of Calcium, Strontium and Iodide (not toxic iodine) for advanced coral propagation. So for my money, I will use the Seachem Reef Salt, with TM at an average of $70-75 a bucket and the Seachem at an average of $45-55 a bucket plus $10-15 for a 250mL bottle of Reef plus. To me it is an easy choice, and for those whom prefer the TM by all means, it is an excellent salt!!! I just can’t justify the expense when the Seachem is as good and cheaper.
Just some facts from Seachem and an independent lab study.
Scott
