Who has good results with IO salt and SPS

[crisisback]

I've been using IO and supplementing the Ca and Mg levels. Like someone said earlier, you don't really need to do much supplementing since the new IO Ca and Mg levels are higher. That being said, reef crystals are cheaper than 50 gallon IO bags on drsfostersmith right now so I bought some to try it out. I read that the Alk in the new Reef Crystals has been too high (~13dKH) at 1.026. I just mixed some at a hair under 1.027 and came up with a alk of 10 dKH. We'll see how the transition goes.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Would it be possible that what we pay for with high end salts is consistency. I have heard of IO varying in content but not so much from higher end brands. Higher end salts might have better quality control so you get the same salt every time.

ACTUALLY...
Instant Ocean usually comes up as one of the most consistent (or THE most consistent) artificial saltmix in studies.

Thanks for that info, CleveYank.

 

[30BreederReef]

I was thinking about changing over to something different. I use Oceanic and I get Ca at 500 alk 11 with it and thats a bit to high..So I am going to give IO a try. Plus 50g bag of that cost as much as a 25g bag of Oceanic

 

[stevedola]

ACTUALLY...
Instant Ocean usually comes up as one of the most consistent (or THE most consistent) artificial saltmix in studies.

Thanks for that info, CleveYank.

IME IO salt has been anything but consistant. Usually it was acceptable however my last batch had an ALK of 12.4 dkh. It was justt oo high for me.

 

[JamesJR]

IME IO salt has been anything but consistant. Usually it was acceptable however my last batch had an ALK of 12.4 dkh. It was justt oo high for me.

Did you check and see when it was manufactured? There are some old batches that are still out there that have the higher alk.

 

[stevedola]

sorry never chked just gave it away and changed salt(fed up with the unreliable levels)

jm2c

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Steve- were you using Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals?

Did you mix the entire contents of one bag into aerated freshwater?
Did you use reliable test kits and triple check results?
Did anybody else check results?
If you used a bucket did you thoroughly mix the entire contents of the bucket before use?

No doubt mistakes happen everywhere in manufacturing but the record speaks for itself:
Instant Ocean is one of the most reliably consistent brands of artificial saltmix one can purchase.

I go through a LOT of saltmix and IO has always been very reliable.

 

[MrKite24]

Here is a picture from a behind the scenes tour our club (Florida Marine Aquarium Society) was able to attend, in SEAWORLD ORLANDO . This is behind there 225,000 gallon stingray, and 12000 gallon reef tanks. Need i say more. Any Questions???

That gave me a warm fuzzy feeling when I saw this in person. A lot of the ideas Justin uses at Sea World are the same I use in my own personal tank just on a much, much smaller scale.

 

[Ding2daDong]

A quote I found in the reef chemistry forum, think it's from Randy Holmes Farley

"I use Instant Ocean.

Here's my standard commentary on salts:

I do not think there is a "best" salt mix. Nearly all of them will work fine as long as you know their pros and cons.

I don't want excessive borate, which leaves out Seachem.

I don't want vitamins or anything else organic in my mix (because I doubt their utility, they degrade with time to who knows what, bacteria may thrive on them as I store new salt water for a substantial period, they are totally undescribed with respect to amounts or identity, they are often not naturally present in natural seawater at appreciable levels, and because I've occasionally had them mess with my skimmer), so that tosses out some like Reef Crystals, hW Marinemix Plus BioElements, Kent, Coralife, and Nutri-SeaWater.

I don't want excessive calcium (long term use of limewater as I use drives up calcium, so I do not want it starting high), so that tosses out a bunch, such as Kent, Seachem, Coralife and Oceanic.

There are certain companies that I will not support due to their misleading claims and/or product lines. That tosses out a few which I won't detail here since it is my personal thought as opposed to a specific issue with their salt mix.

I won't use certain lines of natural seawater due to excessive metals in it.

That only leaves a few to choose from, such as Instant Ocean and Tropic Marin Pro. The remaining ones might all be fine for me, but IO is lower in cost, especially if you get it when it goes on sale (which it frequently does). It also has a very long track record of success in many aquaria with relatively few concerning issues of bad batches."

-Matthew

 

[d0ughb0y]

That gave me a warm fuzzy feeling when I saw this in person. A lot of the ideas Justin uses at Sea World are the same I use in my own personal tank just on a much, much smaller scale.

I would have thought seaworld and other aquariums would be using natural sea water. but then again, seaworld orlando is not exactly next to the ocean. I know monterey bay aquarium pumps water directly from pacific ocean then filters it before going into the aquariums. I think the california academy of science aquarium is the same.

 

[stevedola]

It was IO

and yes I mix in a clean bucket with good water movement. I dont mix 50g of water at a time so it was a smaller batch. I bring the water to temp and circulate water before adding salt. I did retest with 2 different salifert kits.

This wasnt my first experience with off levels using IO but the alk had been on the lower side (10.5 which was good imo) in the past. 12+ was just too much and it came at a time where I had something going on and needed a bigbatch of new water. I used a new box and found out it was high at the worst possible time. I usually keep my alk at 9 - 9.5 and using the higher alk wasnt kind to my sps. It was my own fault for not checking the new box before a transfer and leaving something to chance. It never really crossed my mind but now I know. I have to say that Ive never heard of another box(200g) being that high from another local reefer but Im not sure many people test their newly mixed water. I do anytime I perform WCs over 5g.

Everyone has their own choice and can do as they see fit. Im just conveying my experience and I was a long time IO user before getting fed up.

Steve- were you using Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals?

Did you mix the entire contents of one bag into aerated freshwater?
Did you use reliable test kits and triple check results?
Did anybody else check results?
If you used a bucket did you thoroughly mix the entire contents of the bucket before use?

No doubt mistakes happen everywhere in manufacturing but the record speaks for itself:
Instant Ocean is one of the most reliably consistent brands of artificial saltmix one can purchase.

I go through a LOT of saltmix and IO has always been very reliable.

 

[dv0920]

Been using IO and RC for as long as I can tell, I did fall for the scam too and bought some expensive salt, but like others have said, the difference in price doesnt equal what you get at the end of the day.

it's all about import and export, more waste, more export, less waste less export needed imho. I have 3 fish (tomeni, clown and Potters) in an 80g and I do weekly water changes 10-15gallons I think that's less then 15% but I'm happy with the results.

My corals look good, not amazing, but that'y not my salts problem it's mine, I've moved 4 times in last 3 years so moving doesnt do them well.

David

 

[ricwilli]

I want to THANK GARY and REEFSAHOY for taking the time to post pics. They have changed my thoughts on IO.

Is this a joke? You really think it's the salt that is making corals look better? I am sorry to say but that is entirely wrong. Basic husbandry and good water quality trumps the cheapest of cheap aquarium salts.

I don't think there is a need for pictures on this thread since it would soon have to split. lol


-Matthew

NO, my question is not a joke. I just asked for some pics of tanks that use IO. At least GARY and REEFSAHOY took the time to post some and there was no harm in it. And so what if this threads start to split with pics. At least there would be a thread all about IO. I don't see anyone complaining about splits of skimmers, lighting, tank builds etc. etc. etc.

My current bucket of IO tested:

CA - 500+ Salifert
ALK - I didn't bother to check since its always high
Mag - 1280
Salt - 1.025

I'm going to have to try mixing the bucket as Gary stated. I never did that. Maybe thats why my CA was so high in this batch. I don't even aerate the water after I make RO/DI. These are things that I did not know to do.

It would be nice if people posted IO ONLY TANKS PICS on this thread. It wouldn't have to be just SPS tanks.

 

[Felixc]

Yes keep those pics coming. However, since we're in the SPS forum and this discussion is focusing on IO and SPS in particular, we should not stray from this. Thanks to those that have posted pics thus far, it's helping me with my salt decision.

Just popped open a new IO bucket this morning, it was bought on boxing day for $34.99. This is the second bucket from that same purchase. Results @ 1.025
ca= 360
mag=1260
alk=12.5

The previous bucket was:
1.025
ca=300
mag=960
alk=13

Both buckets were purchased from the same skid, same store, same time. However, the levels were drastically different as you can see. This margin of inconsistancy is not acceptable and is one contributing factor as to why I want to switch brand.

 

[thelostrican]

Do you test water parameters? What are you current levels of calcium, alkalinity and magnesium?

I use IO and it's a great artificial saltmix. I don't mind posting a few pix.

WOW...:lol:
Beautiful tank gary...way to rub it lol haha

i myself use tropic marin pro, i wouldnt change it for nothing...
but know people that use diferent brands and do great...

i use the salt that is most available to me...if that helps the decision...i buy my salt in 5 gallon drums, if it runs out, i have 2 lfs close by that always have tmp in stock...

 

[ricwilli]

Yes keep those pics coming. However, since we're in the SPS forum and this discussion is focusing on IO and SPS in particular, we should not stray from this. Thanks to those that have posted pics thus far, it's helping me with my salt decision.

Just popped open a new IO bucket this morning, it was bought on boxing day for $34.99. This is the second bucket from that same purchase. Results @ 1.025
ca= 360
mag=1260
alk=12.5

The previous bucket was:
1.025
ca=300
mag=960
alk=13

Both buckets were purchased from the same skid, same store, same time. However, the levels were drastically different as you can see. This margin of inconsistancy is not acceptable and is one contributing factor as to why I want to switch brand.

Yeah, I was going to edit my post but it was to late.

Did you mix the salt like Gary suggested above. Maybe that will make a difference.

 

[rtparty]

I used Reef Crystals on my 3 tanks for over a year. I fought Cyano for a year with that salt. It was total garbage IMO.

I have since switched back to H2Ocean and the cyano disappeared in a week. I changed nothing else in my tanks. The cyano showed up with the Reef Crystals and left with the new salt. Could there have been some other unknown variable? I am sure there could have been but for now the salt was to blame in my opinion.

I also like to run my Mg upwards of 1500 or so. Doing that has colored my SPS up quite a bit actually. Might want to look into that more.

This is just my experience however. A lot of people have great success with IO and RC. I didn't and won't try it again. I don't care that H20cean cost me more than RC did. I go through a bucket like every 14 months. The $30 isn't worth the ugly cyano I battled for 12 months.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

people keep commenting on Reef Crystals and this thread is in regards to Instant Ocean. Perhaps they're confusing the two. The manufacturer should take note that the new packaging makes it very easy to confuse 'Instant Ocean' with 'Reef Crystals'.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I used Reef Crystals on my 3 tanks for over a year. I fought Cyano for a year with that salt. It was total garbage IMO.

I have since switched back to H2Ocean and the cyano disappeared in a week. I changed nothing else in my tanks. The cyano showed up with the Reef Crystals and left with the new salt. Could there have been some other unknown variable? I am sure there could have been but for now the salt was to blame in my opinion.

I also like to run my Mg upwards of 1500 or so. Doing that has colored my SPS up quite a bit actually. Might want to look into that more.

This is just my experience however. A lot of people have great success with IO and RC. I didn't and won't try it again. I don't care that H20cean cost me more than RC did. I go through a bucket like every 14 months. The $30 isn't worth the ugly cyano I battled for 12 months.

do you use a calibrated refractometer to measure salinity of new artificial saltmix?

 

[rtparty]

do you use a calibrated refractometer to measure salinity of new artificial saltmix?

Yes, I run my tanks at 1.026.

I know that RC and IO are different salts but they are the same company and I bet they use the same base for the salts and then just add some things to RC to bump up its levels. I highly doubt they start from scratch and have two different formulas.