seachem products

[loyal reef]

Hi All,

Does anyone use seachem products what do you think of them?
thanks david oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SCOTLAND:beer:

 

[Dr. Reef]

Seachem is one of the most reputable companies in this hobby. they make good solid products. i have used several of their lineup and am very happy with them.

 

[tmz]

It depends on which product,ime.

 

[bertoni]

Some of their products are fine. Some I wouldn't use. For example, the polygluconate calcium supplements probably are adding alkalinity, and they can cause a lot of cyanobacterial growth.

 

[DHyslop]

And it should be kept in mind that the ones that are effective are still dramatically overpriced compared to other sources.

 

[Steve Wright2]

Och aye the noo, loyal reef

I have used many Seachem products and in general been happy with them
I do not have as many options where I live, DIY in a foriegn language is not a risk I want to take with my corals, and BRS would reject my order

I have used and still use
Reef advantage calcium - dry
Reef builder dry - but swapped to Reef Buffer 8.3 as it seems to stay in solution better
Reef Advantage Magnesium (Epsom salts probably - but I like to swap with either Warner Marin or Brightwells occasionally )
Purigen - water clarity
Matrix carbon - best available to me here IMO
Reef Fusion 1 and 2 - for a smaller set up

probably more, just cannot remember them now

Steve

 

[tmz]

I haven't done a price analyses but I don't think they are dramatically overpriced compared to other products. Are there specific comparisons available to support that point of view?

 

[DHyslop]

I'm comparing to the cost of running two part.

 

[bertoni]

The magnesium supplement is dramatically overpriced, in my opinion, given that it's basically just epsom salts.

 

[tmz]

Price comparisons of commercially produced hobby supplements to generic supplements will always favor the generics.

All in all Seachem is competitive with other commercial hobby products, better than some; worse than others, depending on the specific product and the consumer's personal preference.

Their newer magnesium product,Reef Advantage Magnesium has both mag chloride and mag sulfate. in a "optimal blend" btw:

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/ReefAdvMagnesium.html

 

[bertoni]

It doesn't say magnesium chloride on the page. Are you sure it has magnesium chloride in it? They've posted here in the past saying that it doesn't.

 

[Steve Wright2]

I seem to recall them saying the product was Mag Sulfate and sodium chloride
but that information was something I recall seeing a couple of years ago

it was at that point I decided to bring in the other products mentioned into the equation, just to try and get some Mag sulfate into the mix

may have changed since then though

Steve

 

[tmz]

This is from the product description:

Reef Advantage Magnesium™ is a concentrated (80,000 ppm) optimized blend of magnesium, chloride, and sulfate salts designed to restore depleted levels of magnesium with minimal impact to the ionic ratios found in natural sea water.

OK, I missed the comma. There is still an accounting for the chloride /sulfate mix calimed in this product now though. I know it was criticized in the past for being just mag sulfate.

Out of curiosity I looked at the manufacturer's product descriptions of several other commercial magnesium products, only one claims anhydrous magnesium sulfate; all claim ionic balance or imply a blend of some sort:

Kent Tech M -"ionically balanced": no further detail
Red Sea-" a blend of magnesium salts"
ESV-"will not disrupt ionic balance"
Brigthwell " anhydrous magnesium sulfate and anhydrous magnesium chloride".Brightwell also makes a kalk product that claims to dose magnesium along with the calcium hydroxide which is chemically impossible . So, their descriptions are at best questionable.

I'm gald I use generic mag sulfate and mag chloride since it's less expensive and gives me a chance to actually know what I'm adding to the aquarium which is nearly impossible with commercial products unless one engages in or can find an analyses of some sort .

The Sea Chem magnesium product , as they describe it now, seems to fit right in with the other commercial stuff though.

 

[MellowReefer]

I use their Matrix, Cupramine, Mag, Reef Builder and Reef Advantage Calcium and will be trying their salt mix when I run out of Reef Crystals. Anyone use their salt mix? They have a new low price on Drs. F&S for the 200 lb box ($47.69, free shipping if you order something else to get to $50)

I know I could get other brands cheaper but I like them. When I have called them they have the best customer service. Sometimes I just like supporting a company with such good customer service and I feel like I can trust their quality and that's worth a few extra dollars to me. Just like you go to a restaurant that's clean and the staff is nice to you instead of going to the cheaper place down the street.

 

[DHyslop]

Price comparisons of commercially produced hobby supplements to generic supplements will always favor the generics.

Does that make the commercial labels any less of a ripoff? Is SeaChem pharmaceutical grade?

 

[tmz]

Does that make the commercial labels any less of a ripoff? Is SeaChem pharmaceutical grade?

:strange: Did you just figure that out? It's pointless and argumentative and contains no useful information. I doubt all the folks who use commercial products or equipment for one thing or another think they are dumb enough to be ripped off. The question was about the entire product line not some particular generic product you may have in mind.
Seachem is competitive with other commercial manufacturer's in my opinion.

 

[bertoni]

The SeaChem description in the past has said they used NaCl to provide the chloride. The Kent Tech-M has magnesium chloride, as do the ESV and Salifert products. I have checked and used those products. I guess I'd believe the Brightwell label in this case.

 

[greg1786]

Fwiw i used seachems reef complete and the mag supplement for a long time. They worked well and i got good results. I switched to the two part reef fusion and i also liked it. I did have a small amount of trouble keeping my mag up with the two part however and i was using reef crystals to boot. It never got really that low just felt like i was dosing more than necessary and not getting results i wanted. I switched recently to the red sea coral foundation abc and everything including my mag has been rock solid. I feel that the red sea is more concentrated too because im not using nearly as much of there supplements. This makes me feel im getting more bang for my buck. One product by seachem that i do love and wouldnever consider switching from though is the prime. I use ro water and the tds is always 1 or less but it makes me feel safe when i use the prime. And comparative to other conditioners ive used in the past this is by far the most concetrated. Dont get me wrong though i think its just a personal preference thing because seachems products are highly touted among aquarists of all skill level i just am most fond of the red sea supplement line. Good luck with your decision

 

[j tavares]

Personally I like seachem compared to the other snake oil products on the market, I have been reefing 26 yrs and never had a seachem product disappoint, Purigen, matrix carbon, phosguard, reef complete dry and liquid, reef builder and reef plus , all have served me well. I believe they are fairly priced compared to others and WORK! I also belive the aluminum and cyano creating myths were created by competitors and I have used both in several tanks w/o issues over ten or more years. One well known purveyor of products once told me HIS salt Product was superior to HAWAIIN Marinemix which I used for years w GREAT results so No pun intented TAKE EVERYTHING in this hobby WIt h a GRAIN OF SALt. by the way I never trusted this guys products anyway. I will stick w Seachem.

 

[mandarinfanatic]

I use their Matrix, Cupramine, Mag, Reef Builder and Reef Advantage Calcium and will be trying their salt mix when I run out of Reef Crystals. Anyone use their salt mix? They have a new low price on Drs. F&S for the 200 lb box ($47.69, free shipping if you order something else to get to $50)

I know I could get other brands cheaper but I like them. When I have called them they have the best customer service. Sometimes I just like supporting a company with such good customer service and I feel like I can trust their quality and that's worth a few extra dollars to me. Just like you go to a restaurant that's clean and the staff is nice to you instead of going to the cheaper place down the street.

i use their reefsalt. nine month old tank
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