Switch to Reef Crystals?

reefer1970

New member
I've had my tank for two years. Only salt i've ever used is Salinity. People have told me they have great success with reef crystals and I'm throwing away money. I've noticed even with large water changes, I still lack appropriate calcium and Alk levels and heard Salinity is low in both. Any thoughts?
 
Salinity is great salt, it just mixes very cloudy and is fairly expensive. Reef Crystals (and instant ocean) are super popular salt mixes, but do suffer with some inconsistencies from batch to batch. Red Sea salt is a little more expensive and is also very popular for good reason.

What are you trying to maintain your parameters at? Are you dosing or running a calcium reactor? What corals are you keeping? The answers to those questions will help narrow down on the salt you should be using.
 
I don't use any of those noted. I'm not sure about the alleged inconsistencies from batch to batch in one salt vs the other but don't see any reason to think it is so. Higher price points don't seem to relate to higher quaiity . Changing salts can create inconsistency in a number of elements which is undesireable
 
I don't use any of those noted. I'm not sure about the alleged inconsistencies from batch to batch in one salt vs the other but don't see any reason to think it is so. Higher price points don't seem to relate to higher quaiity . Changing salts can create inconsistency in a number of elements which is undesireable

Here's a recent example of a number of members experiencing inconsistencies:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2485308

That said, unless a salt is individually batch tested and labeled (I think Salinity is), it's always good practice to test out your new water.

I'm currently using instant ocean with the expectation that I need to test and and correct each mix for cal and mg. I prefer to just use a salt that's closer to my target parameters so I'm not required to make corrections, so I'll probably be switching back to red sea or trying out the new Seachem Vibrant Sea salt which I believe is replacing their Reef Salt.
 
IO is the one I started with a few decades ago. RC is just IO with more Calcium alkalinity and Mg so I use that now. There are so some batches where the alk has been very high, so multiple small changes are always best.
 
Many tanks require daily calcium and alkalinity supplementation to keep the levels up. Your tank might be consuming enough for that to be an issue.

A lot of Tanks of the Month have run on Instant Ocean. I think it's fine to use, but not necessarily any better than any other well-known salt brand. It seems to have fewer (but not zero) complaints about bad batches, but that might just be luck. Salinity, Reef Crystals, and many other brands seem to be fine, with little difference in how well the animals do.
 
My beef with RC is that the alk and Ca are much higher than what I keep in my tank. So when I had a stable alk and Ca suppliment schedule when I changed water it changed the parms of the tank. And then when I went to an auto water change schedule I kept having to tweak things. That and the red/orange stuff in the mixing tank really annoyed me.

However, regular IO is closer to what I'd like, and my local store would rather stock RC. So I've gone to Tropic Marin salt. Much more expensive, but I don't change water quite so often as I did. Not sure I'm having appreciable results, however.
 
I think it also depends on your scale. I'm looking at a 1000+ gal tank and I need to use IO (or perhaps Fritz) for affordability. The rest will come from a Kalwasser doser.
 
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