What's your favorite brand salt mix ?

[dr.big]

Does someone has the same problem as me with the high Alk in all brands? We almost all have alk between 7-10 and almost all brands shows alk levels between 10 and 12. I have 8 i m still to find a brand that does not make alk shift each time i do a water change.

I also use io since it is cheap and available. To reduce the stress i mix my salt a week before doing the water change. It let time for the alk to precipitate a bit. When it is at 9 it is ready for me.

 

[Allmost]

Neither Kent or Brightwell are responsible for the Zeo method and have nothing to do with Zeo, but you already know that. I have been carbon dosing since 2005, way before it was cool. I don't see your point? They did not invent carbon dosing. Exactly which Kent or Brightwell product is needed in your tank? The answer is simple, none of them, so why buy them? Most of the time the same exact thing is available without buying a shiny bottle for way too much money.

No one is attacking Zeo and it has nothing to do with Kent or Brightwell.

1. I said I dislike bright-well, cause they basically copied Zeovit. [and some others] and came out with .... NEO-ZEO !

2. on your reply about why u dislike kent and bright-well, you said u dislike them cause their products [which are copy of Zeovit] are junk, and not needed.
"You can have a healthy tank without adding all of those crazy products. A perfect example of this is MB7." MB7 was made after brightwell analysing Zeobak in lab best we can do is something like VSV ... and then dose no3 ... like kno3. Zeostart3 combines them, in correct ratios.

3. your argument makes no sense. everything we see in this planet, is made of elements described in periodic table. so yes, it is possible for us to make a product rather than buying it, after all, its nothing more than whats on periodic table ... does that means its stupid to buy a car, cause its just metal and plastic ? no ! cause me and u can not make a car in our back yard [well I can't maybe u can, ]


anyways ...

 

[sirreal63]

Does someone has the same problem as me with the high Alk in all brands? We almost all have alk between 7-10 and almost all brands shows alk levels between 10 and 12. I have 8 i m still to find a brand that does not make alk shift each time i do a water change.

I also use io since it is cheap and available. To reduce the stress i mix my salt a week before doing the water change. It let time for the alk to precipitate a bit. When it is at 9 it is ready for me.

There are some that are less than others, but unless you are doing large water changes the addition of the higher alk will have a small impact on the tank. This thread, which is getting a little outdated now may help.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1714505

1. I said I dislike bright-well, cause they basically copied Zeovit. [and some others] and came out with .... NEO-ZEO !

2. on your reply about why u dislike kent and bright-well, you said u dislike them cause their products [which are copy of Zeovit] are junk, and not needed.
"You can have a healthy tank without adding all of those crazy products. A perfect example of this is MB7." MB7 was made after brightwell analysing Zeobak in lab best we can do is something like VSV ... and then dose no3 ... like kno3. Zeostart3 combines them, in correct ratios.

3. your argument makes no sense. everything we see in this planet, is made of elements described in periodic table. so yes, it is possible for us to make a product rather than buying it, after all, its nothing more than whats on periodic table ... does that means its stupid to buy a car, cause its just metal and plastic ? no ! cause me and u can not make a car in our back yard [well I can't maybe u can, ]


anyways ...

Kent was peddling unnecessary products long before Zeo came about. They used to have a whole line of trace elements you buy in large quantities, there is no telling how many people polluted their tanks over the years thinking they were doing something good. Brightwell is his son in law and carried the tradition forward. Take a look at all of the various additives Brightwell is peddling and then tell me it is needed, not just the Neo ones, but the entire line. I would allmost guarantee you that they did not actually make a copy of the Zeo products but did copy the name. I have real doubts that they reverse engineered the Zeo products but did find a way to cash in on the name game.

I take it back, there is one useful Kent product, their scrapers are pretty good. :dance:

 

[Jettareefer]

As to expected anything in branded bottle is supposed to be conveint and easy to use(I get brightwell stuff at cost). As much time as I already spend on my tanks I might as well get the raw minerals and mix the solution myself. I see a lot of people using bulk reef supply's stuff. Most of the things kent, brightwell, and other companies sell out side calcium,ph,alk buffers aren't absolutely nessesary if your doing somwhat frequent water changes.

Sirreall63 are you running passive carbon? I have always had a sack In my sump for clarity, and combating chemical warfare. One other question some people say that running carbon on a reef long term detrimental because it will strip water of trace elements. With that said I do disagree and never have had a problem.

 

[sirreal63]

Not all carbon is the same, some is more aggressive than others, Rox .08 has been noted as one of the most aggressive carbons, and it is also the one I use. I use between a fourth and a half the BRS recommended amount. I have some in a TLF reactor and when I change it out I put the stuff I take out of the reactor and use it in a bag for skimmer effluent, I run a small ozone dose in the skimmer and the carbon helps keep that in check. I have noticed sps lighten when too much of the Rox is used, several people have noticed the same over the years. I don't have very many soft corals but still run a little carbon because I always have.

An interesting thing about salt, no matter what brand you use there is someone using that brand that has been a TOTM or has a gorgeous tank with just about any brand of salt. This sort of suggests that the brand of salt is not a critical factor in the health of a tank. There are reasons to use one salt over another, but it is personal and can vary from person to person.

 

[Jettareefer]

You bring up a good point salt is just one thing there are a ton of other factors. I feel sometime getting to technical with my reef takes away from the enjoyment I get, I want to simplify my tanks.

 

[jda]

Does someone has the same problem as me with the high Alk in all brands? We almost all have alk between 7-10 and almost all brands shows alk levels between 10 and 12. I have 8 i m still to find a brand that does not make alk shift each time i do a water change.

I also use io since it is cheap and available. To reduce the stress i mix my salt a week before doing the water change. It let time for the alk to precipitate a bit. When it is at 9 it is ready for me.

Tropic Marin Pro Reef will mix up about 7 if I dry mix the salt. This is the only one all-in-one that I have found that you can stay lower than 9 or 10 with.

 

[zachogden]

Aquavitro salinity. Big fan.

 

[trueblackpercula]

I have used
Kent marine pro very good very expensive
Instant ocean very good this is better for fish only tanks
Reef crystals very good

 

[aqua80]

half IO/ half RC here
have use Deltec salt before, but no differences and more $$

 

[Mr D smack]

I'm glad to see this thread come up. I was wondering this myself. I recently started a 120 sps and have been using IO. The water change I just did was real low on mag, like 760 low.

 

[Nanook]

I'm glad to see this thread come up. I was wondering this myself. I recently started a 120 sps and have been using IO. The water change I just did was real low on mag, like 760 low.

My IO usually mixes to 1100-1200 on Magnesium. I would remix and remeasure as that seems pretty unlikely.

 

[Mr D smack]

My IO usually mixes to 1100-1200 on Magnesium. I would remix and remeasure as that seems pretty unlikely.

I planned on it :thumbsup:

Of course it could be just me getting a dsmacked batch too

 

[Nanook]

That's the great thing about IO, it consistently tests. If you mix to 35ppt, you should see 1100-1200-ish. Let us know.

 

[Volcano1]

I see alot of folks like IO, instead of RC.Is there a big reason?

 

[Psionicdragon]

Io!

 

[Peter Eichler]

Sirreal, I generally have the same rule...

Kent is a copy of Thiel and Brightwell is a copy of Kent, Continuum somehow copies all of them

The only think Zeo did was convince people to remove nutrients to the point that they would have to add some back, and then they sold their customers those things as well with crazy margins! Brilliant! Or was that Prodibio that came up with it and then Zeovit copied it? I can't recall...

 

[maikoa02]

ESV for me. Consistent parameters that match my systems. No need to alter my dosing. The benefits of keeping my parameters stable far outweigh the added cost of the salt.

 

[Nanook]

Reef Crystals costs more due to higher levels of calcium, magnesium and certain levels of minerals and vitamins. I think it was made to compete with other brands offering a salt mix that had closer to what SPS keepers ran chemistry-wise.

 

[Jettareefer]

Me D Smack what mag test kit are you using ?