Which is the better salt?

[tarpon12]

Tropic Marin or Red Sea Coral pro? Any other suggestion would be appreciated. I'm asking for real world results and opinions. Thx.

 

[Ron Reefman]

All salts are good, it just depends on what you are looking for? Some are basic, some have high cal, alk & mag, some add other trace elements. They all work, it's more a matter of 'what are you looking for?'

 

[Dr. Reef]

i am with Ron on this one. every salt on market is good to hold marine life. but the key is what parameters ur looking for. i personally used to use RS coral pro before vodka dosing. i wanted cal 440 alk 10 and mag 1400 RSCpro gave me that but now due to vodka dosing i need less alk so i moved to red sea regular it gives me cal 420 alk 8 mag 1300. which is what i like.
so see what numbers ur looking for and compare them with different salts out there and pick the one closest to ur tanks demands.

 

[tarpon12]

Gotcha, was looking for a salt with normal parameters of Ca, Mg, alk levels. Something better than reef crystals. I read the synthetic salts topic and it answered my questions. Thx guys!

 

[tmz]

I'm not sure what" better" means. I like Mortons for the table. Coralife for the tanks.

 

[tarpon12]

Better as in actual parameters being closer to middle parameters. IE my calcium using RC was at 490. Wanted something closer to 450. I think the parameters advertised by RC is way off. I prefer McCormicks garlic sea salt on my table.

 

[Dr. Reef]

I personally use Kosher salt for cooking but for reef if u want cal 440 alk at 10 and mag at 1400 RC coral pro will work fine for u.

 

[tarpon12]

Thx, yeah I just about picked it up at my LFS but went with h2Ocean pro instead. Fits my needs a little better. My wallet wasn't happy though.

 

[Dr. Reef]

i did use it for a little while DD-H20cean, great salt but expensive.
not a bad choice.

 

[jon99]

My wallet wasn't happy though.

This is why after trying both Tropic Marin and RS coral pro I decided to switch back to good ole instant ocean. You can't beat the price, you can always doctor up the water with supplements to your liking, and I've seen plenty of amazing TOTM's that use it. I find the 200gal boxes with the 4 bags very convenient. One bag mixes up perfectly to 1.026 in my 40gal brute when filled to the top. No more measuring and no more rock solid salt stuck in the bucket because it wasn't closed all the way. I also noticed I'm less reluctant to do water changes when the salt doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Sort of a psychological effect I guess.

 

[tarpon12]

Yeah, that's exactly what I did using reef crystals. Then I started developing chemistry problems, some of it was my fault from having to dose, most of it was due to the chemistry of the salt out of whack. I was using tropic Marin and never had to dose and everything looked awesome. Then I got the great idea to save some money. I want to get back to not having to dose as much or not at all as I'm in the military and my wife has to take care of the tank when I'm deployed.

 

[sleepydoc]

Was using Reef Crystals and had brown crud building up in my mixing tub. Switched to Coral Pro. levels have been good and it seems to mix cleaner.

 

[Joe0813]

i just did a thread on this... search and you will find TONS of these threads. and they all say the same thing. its opinions, everyones tank is different..... i use Reef Crystals and have no complaints. i can easily get it 3 minutes away at petsmart, its only 50 bucks for a 5 gallon bucket and it mixes pretty easy

 

[coralsnaked]

If you really want to manage your foundation elements more closely w/ Salts used, then a 3 - part is what you are looking for.

 

[Reeferz412]

Just switched over to Kent. After using IO reef crystals for 3 years and constantly having residue leftover, I made the switch. I am very pleased.

 

[pete33]

What is everyone's problem with a little residue in their buckets? I used to use TP then DDH2O and now IO. No difference in my corals. I just run some vinegar twice a year in my mixing bucket and that's it. Water is always clear.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[richiero]

esv salt mix

 

[Reeferz412]

What is everyone's problem with a little residue in their buckets? I used to use TP then DDH2O and now IO. No difference in my corals. I just run some vinegar twice a year in my mixing bucket and that's it. Water is always clear.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

I don't like putting that residue in my tank. It can potentially burn your corals.

 

[matt_97055]

So for some one like me that is starting out instant IO or reef crystals should be just fine?

 

[Reeferz412]

IO reef crystals are good for reef tanks but not needed if just starting a tank. Reef crystals is loaded with trace elements for corals.