what brand salt do u use?

[DMK]

wondering what most SUCCESSFUL sps tank keepers use. i started tank almost 3 years ago w/ crystal seas which i definately want to switch since i had a few SPS STN for no apparant reason. i will be starting zeo next month. want to switch before i start. thinking of using seachem reef salt, reef crystals or IO. i hear IO Ca is way too high though. i hear seachem reef salt Ca and Mg is way lower than advertised. not sure what to do. i want to make a move and stick w/ it.

 

[cidory]

Tropic Marin Pro Reef

 

[reefgeek84]

I am going to try Kent Marine reef salt and see how that goes.

 

[david8956]

i hear IO Ca is way too high though

Oceanic is real high in Ca, IO usually tests a little low (tests out at about 380 - 390 ppm for me) Alk on IO is good (11 dkh), while alk on Oceanic is real low (around 6 dkh when I was using it)

I just use IO, add 2 tbs calcium chloride (Dow Flake) to my water change water and everything is good.

 

[clkwrk]

kent here.

 

[DMK]

i'm leaning towards switching to reef crystals. not sure though. this morning it was seachem until i found out it tested alittle high for boron, 4XNSW.

 

[jsbzmcdaniel]

I just switched from IO to Reef Crystals. Too early to tell any improvement.

 

[collective21]

Oceanic with SeaChem Marine Buffer

 

[MacnReef]

Reef Crystals

 

[RevHtree]

Oceanic

 

[JB NY]

I've used IO, Reef Crystals, Tropic Marin, Oceanic, Crystal Sea, and Ocean Pure.

Currently using ocean pure (about 2 months), other than the magnesium being slightly (1150) too low, I like it.

I had been using Oceanic for almost two years and only switched to ocean pure because I got a chance to try a bunch of it at a good deal. Oceanic was zero problems and very easy for me to maintain my parameters without any supplementation. So far it is the salt I like the best.

IO, low in ca, low in mg, too high in alk. Have no plans on using it unless I have too.

Reef Crystals, Ok in ca, low in mg, too high in alk. Same as IO, I just have to supplement slightly less ca when using it. Not planning on using it again.

Tropic Marin, good ca, low in mg, high in alk. If it were not for the high alk (12dKH) I would like the salt better. For the high price it commands, I don't feel it is worth it.

Crystal sea, Never use it again, I lost a lot of corals when trying this salt as did many others. Not sure the final reason was ever found, but I do not recommend this salt at all in an SPS tank.

So my recommendations are Oceanic and Ocean Pure right now.

 

[druluv]

Tropic Marin Pro - very solid parm (mg appprox. 1290) that's good for an artificial sea salt.

 

[elephen]

Oceanic... Just switched from IO but I have never had any issues at all with my perams w/IO either. Just trying something different.

 

[Ben]

Seachem reef buffer has high boron but I think they fixed the issue with their reef salt. I just started using the seachem reefsalt and it tested 420 CA and 10 dKH, so for me it seems like a good salt.

 

[herefishyfishy2]

TM Pro here as well and liking it. Switched from IO with a brief experience with Oceanic. I believe I had a bad batch of Oceanic as it tested at .1 phosphate freshly made. Yikes

 

[orion76]

Kent did really well in the tests in the recent reports in Advanced Aquarist compared to many much more expensive salts.

Anyone here have good/bad experiences with Kent and know the Ca/Alk/Mg values when mixed with RODI water at 35ppt?

 

[kozmo02]

I just use IO, add 2 tbs calcium chloride (Dow Flake) to my water change water and everything is good. [/B]

can you elaborate on this please. if you feel like it may not be helpful to the thread please PM me with some info on this I would really appreciate it.

i use IO as well.

 

[JB NY]

Randy had an article on using dow flake instead of turbo calc (or somthing similar) to raise ca. With IO you also need to make sure you raise mg, as it is very low.

 

[david8956]

can you elaborate on this please

I just add 2 tbs of Dow Flake (calcium chloride) to 10 gal of freshly made water change water to bring the CA up to the 425 ppm range.

After that I just use Randy's "2 part", and using the 3rd part as he suggests my magnesium level is fine too. (I understand he has just tweaked the 3rd part due to elevated sulfates using Epsom Salts for too long, or using too much of it)

 

[DMK]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6537107#post6537107 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ben
Seachem reef buffer has high boron but I think they fixed the issue with their reef salt. I just started using the seachem reefsalt and it tested 420 CA and 10 dKH, so for me it seems like a good salt.

i was set to use seachem reef salt early this week but a member on the zeo site tested it and it came back w/ boron levels 4XNSW (16), way over what they state. for this reason only i may not use it, and instead use IO or oceanic, or a mix of each.