What salt is everybody using lately.. for close to NSW SPS / ULNS tanks? I give up..

[allsps40]

I was a really big RC user for years until they changed the formula and increased the alk. I got 3 buckets with alk over 14 and they all mixed up really really brown. I will not be using RC ever again sadly because of this. I got a bucket of IO after the brown RC and had the same brown water issues. So I went to D-D H2Ocean but the mag was way low in it and their customer service sucked and they basically told me that it was impossible for the mag to be at 1000-1100 which it was. I had no issues with using the salt but the experience with customer service left a bad taste in my mouth, when a company advertises a mag level of 1350-1400 and you test on many kits 1000-1100 something is off. So I went with RSCP and have had good results, you really need to mix up the bucket of salt really well if you only use a little at a time like I do. I personally no longer see the point in using a reef salt with the dosing that most of us do. I will be going to normal Red Sea which has very good parameters or maybe maybe going back to IO if it does not mix up tea brown again. I always had good results with the HW line of salts as well. IME you should just find a salt that fits your budget and is easy to get then just stick with it. Constantly switching salt mixes will change stability and any switch in salts should be done slow. Get the new salt before you are out of the old salt and mix the 2 until you are out of the old salt. This helps acclimate the corals to the new mix. Oh I have heard nothing but very good things about the EVS 3 part salt mix, I just cant get it locally.

 

[this is me]

I had the same problem when deciding on salt. I've been using TM-Pro since my early stage of this hobby. It mixes clear and with really nice parameters with ALK of 8.5dKH. Until about two years ago, the formula changed(There's a whole thread about this) and ALK suddenly dropped to 5dKH in some bucket. But that was not all, my corals started to recede and die off. The owner denied the change and stated it has always been like this.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1971241
I moved on to IO RC But ultimately bought IO when I saw it at my Petsmart(2minutes from home) for $35/160gal bucket!
The RC measured around 13dKH and always leave some hazy/brown residue on the bucket and the mixing pump. Regular IO is a little better at 11dKH and mixes clear. I do a 5gallon change on 55gal total volume and don't see that much of a jump. There is a concern if something happen, a large water change will cause quite a dramatic swing. But this dramatic swing is hard to avoid with any kind of salt. I'll stick with IO for awhile. So far so good.

 

[meshwheel]

Hey I would like to chime in on this one! I run RedSea Coral Pro or the Redsea regular salt and it's always been spot on! I have a 34 gallon SPS tank and it'S done well with the redsea.
One thing I have noticed, ecspecially with the buckets is the salt stratifies as it settles. So you do need to mix it.
I would imagine small boxes may be even worse as they are readily picked up due to their lighter weight.
And if your test kits are not accurate that even makes matters worse. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Mock]

I use aqua vitro's salinity.... It measures out perfect to what I keep almost every time.

DKH of 9 - 10, Mag of 1200-1300 and a Calcium of 400+...... I wont be changing. The key is to do like the OP is leaning and not to fight your Salt... Find you one that test out as close to the range you want and just use it.. You shouldn't be dosing a whole lot to try to reach certain levels you should just be dosing enough to keep your levels steady.

 

[Mock]

And on another note just about every salt is going to turn the buckets white if you are raising it to the temp of the tank while mixing.... 99% of them precipitate this way..

 

[Allmost]

Ive been using RBS from KZ for a while ... and that is exactly why I switched !

used TMPR before, [100 bucks for 150 gallons] but alk was high about9-10.

so switched to RBS[100 bucks for 100 Gallons], trick is, to DRY mix the salt, it takes ALOT more than this salt to mix 1 L of water than other salts, so the smaller particles settle at the bottom leaving you with carbonates ! once dry mixed, it mixes at KH of 7 ...

if you are running a true ULNS system, where water changes are a way to replenish elements and not lower nutrition, then RBS is the way to go ! you can do 5% every 2 weeks with it.[as parameters are spot on] but if you are going huge water changes I can see why this isnt the best option. [specially if you go through a box every month ]

 

[edsreef]

I use Kent salt and am happy with it.

 

[Acronic]

Im on regular IO and my alk is always steady at 7~7.5dKh in tank. It usually mixes to ~9dKh for me. Ive tried TMP and DD aswell but IO has the best success in my tanks. My only complaint is it mixes to a higher cal than I like but once in the tank, not even a blip on the radar calcium wise.

 

[MammothReefer]

Interesting, I find it odd that there are so many people who mix the same salt to different levels. What test kits are everybody using, and what salinity are you mixing it to? I can't believe there would be such a variances from box to box?

Me - This batch was 1.024, (42-44 gallons) (Used almost the entire 50g bag though). It mixed to 11.28, @ room temp (which is in the high 60's, low 70's). I used a Hanna meter, and a salifert, tested a few times as I was surprised it was so high at first, but it's not that far off from the 11 it should be.

I also used to use Reef Crystals for years, but they had a bad batch 4-5 years ago and it did some serious damage to my tank, now the parameters are just to high for my interests even if it is a good salt again. HW has always worked well for me however I wanted to switch away from it to see if I could justify the cost when compared to IO. It also mixes higher then what I was originally aiming for so I was in the same boat.

 

[chrishayes]

I use salifert test kits. IO RC when I used it was 11, 460, 1600 cal, alk mg. RSCP was 16, 440, 1400 and the IO I use now is 10, 420, 1350. Also as to the white precipitate with every salt mix, that just aint true...my IO leaves no residue at all and IORC used to leave just a dusty brown residue. Now that RSCP I got was like what a kalk resevoir looks like when empty. It was horrible. I gotta say it HAD to be a bad bucket as this couldnt be acceptable to any of the reefers out there, oh and I mix and bring to temp with a heater and large pump so it wasnt that I didnt mix it well.

 

[khalid]

I have been using BW Neomarine and have been happy with it.

ALK- 8
CAL- 400-420
Not sure about the Mag as I don't have a test kit for it. Also, it's not too pricey. Other than the pain in the a$$ lid I have no complaints about it.

 

[Acronic]

I havent calibrated my refracto in about a month so it might be off slightly but I mix to 1.026 and I also heat the water to approx tank temp at 80 degrees. IT doesnt supprise me that are reading are a bit different just from the temp difference. I test alk with an elos kit too.

 

[Allmost]

I use elos and hanna for alk.

but its very important to dry mix the bucket .... things settle in shipping. so unless you are mixing the whole bucket, you should dry mix it. I learned the hard way lol

 

[blakers82]

I use salifert test kits. IO RC when I used it was 11, 460, 1600 cal, alk mg. RSCP was 16, 440, 1400 and the IO I use now is 10, 420, 1350. Also as to the white precipitate with every salt mix, that just aint true...my IO leaves no residue at all and IORC used to leave just a dusty brown residue. Now that RSCP I got was like what a kalk resevoir looks like when empty. It was horrible. I gotta say it HAD to be a bad bucket as this couldnt be acceptable to any of the reefers out there, oh and I mix and bring to temp with a heater and large pump so it wasnt that I didnt mix it well.

Perhaps I missed it. What specific gravity did you mix your salt to?

 

[miwoodar]

FWIW, I'm back to RC these days. There was a point in time that I was willing to chase the 'best' salt. It's only a matter of time before the 'best' salt falls out of favor though and the next salt becomes the envy of the masses. Perhaps it will be a bad batch, perhaps too many mixing reports of wierd anomolies (verified or not), perhaps it will be that too many people hopped on the bandwagon, or maybe it will be a TOTM that uses something different enough for people to take note.

RC has been around forever. In spite of their mix-up a few years back, I would rather trust them than an up-start product.


(edit to add...yes, I test my buckets for the big three and recommend that every new bucket, regardless of brand, gets checked)

 

[MammothReefer]

I havent calibrated my refracto in about a month so it might be off slightly but I mix to 1.026 and I also heat the water to approx tank temp at 80 degrees. IT doesnt supprise me that are reading are a bit different just from the temp difference. I test alk with an elos kit too.

Oh, that's super key I used ELOS kits for a long time, and I tested them side by side w/my Salifert & Hanna. I found Elos kits always ran 2dkh lower then salifert/Hanna.. so if you are getting 9DKH w/an Elos kit. That's going to be 11 with a hanna/Salifert (if you hanna is correct according to all the threads I read)

 

[njreefermadness]

I like Diamond crystal, but my favorite is Mortons salt (Kosher), when it rains it pours. That kid in the yellow raincoat on the label is so cute! Sometimes I will use the store brand (Stop and Shop), which I find is just as salty as the name brands.

 

[moo0o]

I like Diamond crystal, but my favorite is Mortons salt (Kosher), when it rains it pours. That kid in the yellow raincoat on the label is so cute! Sometimes I will use the store brand (Stop and Shop), which I find is just as salty as the name brands.

Those salts aren't near NSW for calc,alk,mag, or any of the trace elements.

Please, re read OP's first post.

 

[Acronic]

Oh, that's super key I used ELOS kits for a long time, and I tested them side by side w/my Salifert & Hanna. I found Elos kits always ran 2dkh lower then salifert/Hanna.. so if you are getting 9DKH w/an Elos kit. That's going to be 11 with a hanna/Salifert (if you hanna is correct according to all the threads I read)

I see, I also have a sailfert kit for alk ill test and report the findings.

 

[chrishayes]

I mix to 1.025-6 with a calibrated every time refracto.