otterpop510
New member
been using oceanic and just ran out, so i'm shopping around for salt. seems like IO is cheaper and popular.. wondering what folks are using for salt mixes and maybe experiences with different salts.
wondering what salt do you use?
- Thread starter otterpop510
- Start date
reefnetworth
Premium Member
IO is the only brand i use for several reasons.
1: they've been making salt mix over 40 years.
2: calcium is always 375-380 ppm
3: pH is always 8.1-8.2
4: 5 gallon pails, cheaper by the pound.
5: magnesium always 1150-1175
6: 16 years experience with IO and never a bad batch!
REEF-ON!!!
1: they've been making salt mix over 40 years.
2: calcium is always 375-380 ppm
3: pH is always 8.1-8.2
4: 5 gallon pails, cheaper by the pound.
5: magnesium always 1150-1175
6: 16 years experience with IO and never a bad batch!
REEF-ON!!!
..sfsuphysics
Active member
I was using Instant Ocean on a small prop tank, doing weekly water changes but then I noticed the alk was really low (3-4 dKH) and the calcium?! I want to know what manufacture plant you get yours from such that you have 375 calcium! I've never gotten more than about 320 on any batch I've had, and usually I test in the 300 level.
I use Oceanic too, thought about switching to that SeaChem Reef Salt but I dunno how much of a difference salt really makes as far as long term usage. Sure some have higher this and that, but the end result is if you have any serious demand for any of those minerals you need to do a lot of water changes to keep constant, and you probably already have the means to keep them up (calcium reactor, kalk reactor, 2-part additives, etc).
I use Oceanic too, thought about switching to that SeaChem Reef Salt but I dunno how much of a difference salt really makes as far as long term usage. Sure some have higher this and that, but the end result is if you have any serious demand for any of those minerals you need to do a lot of water changes to keep constant, and you probably already have the means to keep them up (calcium reactor, kalk reactor, 2-part additives, etc).
Blu50Stang
Nobody
I recently switched from IO to Oceanic.
ac green
New member
Kenzo, just be very careful when switching salts and do it slowly. I woul recommend doing 75/25 mix of salts when doing water changes and then go to 50/50 eventaully getting you to 100% of the new salt. I have heard of people losing corals due to the instant changing of salts.
Qwiv
Persistant Perspective
I am an IO user, mostly because I have been using the stuff for 10 years and don't feel the need to change. I find it really easy to boost the levels I need when I am mixing up the salt in the trash can. I let my water sit for a few days before I use it and boosting alk/calcium with the water outside the tanks can be done really fast as you don't have to worry about shocking livestock, only percipitation.
I think IO is so low on alklinity because they design the mix to be used with regular tap water. The RO/DI we use strips all the alklinity out of the water so we get a low value. That is why they have reef crystals.
I think IO is so low on alklinity because they design the mix to be used with regular tap water. The RO/DI we use strips all the alklinity out of the water so we get a low value. That is why they have reef crystals.
sfsuphysics
Active member
I often wondered about this, I have a rather hard water from the tap, now that is full of goodness for a reeftank, unfortunately the TDS part of things probably not so much.
orientalexpress
New member
use reef crystal here,so far so good after 3 buckets.gl
lapsan
lapsan
MorandiWine
Premium Member
After using all of the brands out there for my personal tanks and the tanks at the store the winner is Oceanic!
tyler
tyler
otterpop510
New member
thanks for all the replies.. sounds like IO and oceanic are the two most popular. thinking of sticking with oceanic then as i haven't had any issues for my reef tanks for water changes plus 2-part right now.
just wondering though, how much of a big difference is the IO/RC compared to regular IO (generally known to be kinda low?) and oceanic (generally known to be kinda higher?) in terms of levels of calcium, etc?
just wondering though, how much of a big difference is the IO/RC compared to regular IO (generally known to be kinda low?) and oceanic (generally known to be kinda higher?) in terms of levels of calcium, etc?
otterpop510
New member
thanks aaron for the recommendation about slowly changing salts, didn't think about that much but definitely sounds like good advice.
also, thanks for the cool food mix bars, my fish are really going crazy for it..
also, thanks for the cool food mix bars, my fish are really going crazy for it..
