What salt?
- Thread starter Rarend99
- Start date
ReeferItIs2
New member
I use red sea pro salt the bucket i won at the holiday swap but I just picked up some new stuff called bio sea marine mix...
ThreeMoneyJ
New member
Red Sea regular salt. I like the levels it mixes at.
1kwksvt
Member
With Brightwell I was always trying to get my alk out of the 6 kph range when I switched even thought the new buckets test at 11 kdh my tank runs 8 which gives me better sps growth.
Dapg8gt
New member
I run Kent and have been for maybe a year or so. It mixes clear in about an hour and alk about 9, cal 450ish,mag 1450+..its cheap and parameters work well for what I run. I tried it because of how highly grant and another club member Tom spoke of it. And stuck with it so far.
I've tried many salts over the years and ones I personally would not ever use again for a specific reason are:
#1 aqua vitro salinity due to the fact of if you plan to store mixed water it will precipitate almost all the alk/cal out of the mix. I used maybe 3 buckets total of it from Steve in DC cause its relatively cheap compared to other stores that carry it and I bought into the hype. After I caught wind of the issue I tested when first mixed alk was at 8 or 9 dkh.. 2 weeks later it was 1 dkh and like 200ppm cal and the bucket and pumps were covered with crap. Happened throughout all the buckets. I found myself having to add alk/cal just to do water changes after the first week of it mixed up. Everyone I know experienced the same thing and it's documented here on rc also. Even though the directions state mix for 24hr the manufacturer says it should be used within 4 hours of mixing to maintain the correct parameters. My thoughts if it can't stay in target in a bucket why would it in the tank..
#2 is brightwell neomarine. I just tried the switch about 2 months ago for the low numbers. I run my tank at about 7.8 - 8ish and the numbers matched almost perfect. Until I did a small water change initially noticed my coral trip out. A few days later did about a 10% change and that's when my tank took a nose dive. Rtn rampant on older colonies and newer frags. Turns out I got the tainted batch that was going around.
My gripe is brightwell knew it was bad yet never took it off the shelf some people lost their entire tanks. Most were offered a replacement bucket for the batch and after contacting them I really didn't pursue it. I'll take the $60 loss on the salt and never use it again. Even though I lost a few choice frags. The Oregon tort being the one I am really ****ed about.
Honestly a few months later my tank is still recovering from it. It's probably not a bad salt if it's not tainted but I can't see myself ever using it again.
Dang what a long post lol as you can tell I don't like either of those "top tier" salts ha ha.. I say go with any salt you want taking into consideration what you can get easily and what you would feel comfortable spending on it. I can't see myself spending $100 on a bucket of salt though. I'm happy with my $45 one.
I've tried many salts over the years and ones I personally would not ever use again for a specific reason are:
#1 aqua vitro salinity due to the fact of if you plan to store mixed water it will precipitate almost all the alk/cal out of the mix. I used maybe 3 buckets total of it from Steve in DC cause its relatively cheap compared to other stores that carry it and I bought into the hype. After I caught wind of the issue I tested when first mixed alk was at 8 or 9 dkh.. 2 weeks later it was 1 dkh and like 200ppm cal and the bucket and pumps were covered with crap. Happened throughout all the buckets. I found myself having to add alk/cal just to do water changes after the first week of it mixed up. Everyone I know experienced the same thing and it's documented here on rc also. Even though the directions state mix for 24hr the manufacturer says it should be used within 4 hours of mixing to maintain the correct parameters. My thoughts if it can't stay in target in a bucket why would it in the tank..
#2 is brightwell neomarine. I just tried the switch about 2 months ago for the low numbers. I run my tank at about 7.8 - 8ish and the numbers matched almost perfect. Until I did a small water change initially noticed my coral trip out. A few days later did about a 10% change and that's when my tank took a nose dive. Rtn rampant on older colonies and newer frags. Turns out I got the tainted batch that was going around.
My gripe is brightwell knew it was bad yet never took it off the shelf some people lost their entire tanks. Most were offered a replacement bucket for the batch and after contacting them I really didn't pursue it. I'll take the $60 loss on the salt and never use it again. Even though I lost a few choice frags. The Oregon tort being the one I am really ****ed about.
Honestly a few months later my tank is still recovering from it. It's probably not a bad salt if it's not tainted but I can't see myself ever using it again.
Dang what a long post lol as you can tell I don't like either of those "top tier" salts ha ha.. I say go with any salt you want taking into consideration what you can get easily and what you would feel comfortable spending on it. I can't see myself spending $100 on a bucket of salt though. I'm happy with my $45 one.
Last edited:
lokii_37
New member
What salt?
I may have to try the kent salt next time I order.
I was running the neo marine for awhile cuz that's what James recommended. I didn't have any issues with it other then the light wallet Reefbass mentioned.
I've been using reef crystals. My tank seems happy with it. It sounds like it comes shipped the same as the kent. 4 individual 50g bags and free shipping from DFS. Plus this time I get a free shirt.
I may have to try the kent salt next time I order.
I was running the neo marine for awhile cuz that's what James recommended. I didn't have any issues with it other then the light wallet Reefbass mentioned.
I've been using reef crystals. My tank seems happy with it. It sounds like it comes shipped the same as the kent. 4 individual 50g bags and free shipping from DFS. Plus this time I get a free shirt.
woodnaquanut
Active member
ESV's 4 part. I was using RS Coral Pro and getting lots of precip.
ESV because it mixes in minutes, leaves NO precip and is not dusty.
ESV because it mixes in minutes, leaves NO precip and is not dusty.
lokii_37
New member
That's the other reason I like the reef crystals. The 200g mix comes in a box with 4 bags. I can then mix the bags in an old bucket.
AMAYEU
New member
I use an odd brand called microbe-lift reef salt. Fortunately I only use a 220 gal bucket in a year as I run a 34g. It used to cost 65-70 a bucket but now its in the 80-85 range. I will probably bite the bullet and continue to use. I was thinking of changing to aquavitro or mixing my microbe and aquavitro, but now Daniels comment is making me stay away.
Rarend99
Active member
Vinny Kreyling
Premium Member
Regular old IO works for me.
Dragonvale
New member
When I had the 250 it was Kent. With the 50 cube I get to purchase the higher costing salts to see what I liked. Tried neo marine now on red sea pro. The reason for starting with neo marine was to do a dominant SPS cube. I looked at a lot of tanks of the month and started looking at their alks and saw a good amount on the lower side. So neo marine was choosen for that reason. But one FAIL was that everything in the cube was new and nothing established so an SPS dominated tank was a no go (I truly believe a 8-12 month established tank is needed for SPS again thats my opinion). Now I'm using red sea pro and everything as far as parameters thats needed is it this salt. I'm happy with it for sure. But since I'll be getting a 125, I'll be going back to Kent since cost for salt will only increase due to the amount needed for a larger tank.
CrippledStoner
New member
ESV easy to mix, ready fast, easy to match alk and cal to tank, if mix up by weight it always comes out the same every time, the most consistent salt mix no matter how much u mix up at a time
